RACING MAKING BIG WAVES AT THE GOLD COAST

By Graham Potter | Monday, January 9, 2023

While the Magic Millions Carnival takes hold once again on the Gold Coast this week and basks in the racing’s national spotlight, there could be no better time for Magic Millions and Racing Queensland to announce and detail exciting plans destined to take the already iconic carnival to a new level and the powers that be did not miss a trick in promoting the future of the brand at this particular time.

This is what has been announced:

In 2024, both the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic and the Magic Millions Three-Year-Old Guineas will each offer prize-money of $3 million ... up from the $2 on offer this year.

A second division of the Magic Millions Maiden ($250 000) will be added to the 2024 Summer Carnival schedule.

As a result, total prize-money for the Magic Millions Raceday will soar to $14.25 million in 2024 and $14.75 million in 2025 (up from $11.75 million in 2023) ... while maintaining its distinction of having eight million dollar races on one card.

In May 2024 Magic Millions will host a meeting during the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival which to be staged under lights at the Gold Coast Turf Club for the first time.

In 2025, the Carnival will expand with the unveiling of a Friday night program, the day before the main Magic Millions Saturday race-day. The program will see the Gold Coast Turf Club host six races for a total prize-money pool of $5.25 million.

That meeting will include a new $3 million slot race for three-year-old sprinters over 1100m in what will then become what is expected to be the richest night meeting in Australia.

The addition of this feature meeting ... again under lights ... in 2025 will create a two-day feast of racing, with $20 million on offer over the two meetings.

These newly announced features provide a further on-going enhancement to the Magic Millions Carnival, following the inception of both The Syndicate and The Debut, which will be run for the first time next Saturday.

The Debut, restricted to two-year-old debutants, will be run for $500,000, making it the richest two-year-old maiden in the world.

The Syndicate – for horses owned by a minimum of 20 individual registered owners and/or syndicate members, including micro-syndication – will be run for $1 million for horses aged three-years-old and up, creating the world’s largest ownership experience in the process.

All of this comes off the back of a $63 million upgrade at the Gold Coast turf Club, which is currently well under way.

No doubt about it.

Racing is making big waves on the Gold Coast.