CLOSING IN ON BIRDSVILLE RACES, 2022 - TAKE 1

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, March 30, 2022

If it is something that is still on your bucket list … you have two chances to get to the Birdsville Races this year … but you will have to move quickly if your want to get to first edition of the 2022 event as those races, scheduled for April 10 and 11, are now less than two weeks away.

The word iconic is normally associated with Birdsville Races with good reason. The resident population of less than a couple of hundred people swells by many thousands in numbers with the influx of visitors coming for the race-day events and the associated sideshows.

It is fair to say that a really good time is had by all … as evidenced by the fact that many keep coming back year after year. The remote location and the extraordinary vibe marks the event as a truly outback spectacular.

On April 10 six races are due to take place, while the action steps up on April 11 where the seven race card is headed by the Birdsville Cup.

The dual running of the Birdsville races this year has come about because the 2021 meeting, scheduled for its regular annual date in September last year, had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 situation at that time. It was the only the second time in Birdsville Races history (it was first run in 1882) that the races were cancelled, the other time dating back to 2007 when the equine flu brought matters to a standstill.

As incentive for participants to get involved this year, The Birdsville Race Club has announced a bonus of up to $15,000 for a trainer that wins both the April and September editions of the Birdsville Cup … which the Club believes may be the single biggest trainer bonus in the history of racing in Outback Queensland.

The breakdown of this bonus offer is: $15,000 if a trainer wins both the April and September 2022 Birdsville Cups with the same horse: $10,000 if a trainer wins both the April and September 2022 Cups, but with different horses, and $5,000 if any trainer has one or more starters in a race at the April Birdsville Races and goes on to win the September 2022 Birdsville Cup.

A $2000 bonus is also up for grabs for any trainer that trains a double at the April Birdsville Races and a separate $2,000 bonus will also be paid if a trainer wins both feature races of the carnival – the Lyndhurst Stud Open Handicap on April 10, and the TAB Birdsville Cup on April 11, 2022.

Further, A $1000 bonus will be paid to the winning trainer based on most wins over the two-day carnival (this payment was previously $350) and a $500 bonus will be earned by the winning jockey based on most wins over the two-day carnival (this payment was previously $350).

“We’re celebrating a history making two events in 2022 and we want to recognise and reward those that contribute to making our event such a great success,” said Club Vice President Gary Brook.

And there is more.

“We’re the most remote race-track in Australia – so given what’s happening with rising fuel costs the Club has also made the decision to offer all our trainers and jockeys an additional one-off travel rebate to offset the increased cost of fuel.”

This includes: A $300 one-off fuel rebate to each trainer participating in the April event, which is in addition to the already announced $120 per horse per start to trainers. A $100 one-off fuel rebate to each jockey which is in addition to the already announced $250 travel rebate.

Nominations for the April 10 and 11 races close on Friday 1 April 2022.

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