RACING Queensland has received another indicator of the success of the recent Jeep Magic Millions Carnival, with the release of official figures from bookmakers revealing significant increases in wagering turnover.

Following on from the success of the inaugural 2015 Origin Jockey Series, which also saw a spike in wagering turnover during the month of December, Racing Queensland recorded an increase in both on-course and overall turnover on Magic Millions Raceday on Saturday, January 9.

The on-track action lived up to the hype of Australia’s richest raceday and overall wagering turnover increased 34.5 per cent year-on-year, while on-course turnover was up 15 per cent.

The wagering figures provided an encouraging outcome on top of record sales results achieved at the Magic Millions Yearling Sales and a record crowd attendance of 24,000 attending the Magic Millions Raceday at the Gold Coast Turf Club.

“These figures prove that the community was well and truly engaged with the Magic Millions right throughout the carnival, from the start of the yearling sales during the week through to the raceday on the Saturday,” said Racing Queensland Acting Chief Executive Officer Ian Hall.

“It’s a great result which provides a successful platform for Racing Queensland and our stakeholders to build from in years to come.”

Racing Queensland’s wagering partner UBET also attracted increased engagement on Magic Millions Raceday, with significant increases in account sign-ups and turnover.

“UBET turnover on the Gold Coast Magic Millions meeting was up more than 20 per cent on 2015,’’ said UBET Chief Operating Officer Barrie Fletton.

“It was also the third largest account acquisition day since launch of UBET, only behind Melbourne Cup and State of Origin.”

The figures come off the back of a successful 2015/16 Queensland Summer Racing Carnival, which was highlighted by the introduction of the first ever Origin Jockey Series, which saw champion jockeys such as Glen Boss, Craig Williams and Opie Bosson riding at Queensland metropolitan race meetings throughout December.

The presence of the star jockeys contributed to an increase in overall wagering turnover to around 20 per cent compared to the same four Saturday race meetings in 2014.

Racing Queensland will undertake a formal review of the inaugural Origin Jockey Series in the coming weeks which will include consultation with key stakeholders such as jockeys, trainers, UBET and the media.

The concept, which brought together some of the best jockeys from Queensland, NSW, Victoria and New Zealand to Queensland over four consecutive Saturdays in December 2015, was developed, managed and implemented by Racing Queensland in partnership with  UBET.