RACING Victoria Limited (RVL) has today released the Victorian race dates schedule for the 2010-11 season.
The 2010-11 program contains a total of 567 meetings, down from 574 this year, with 113 to be run at metropolitan tracks, two fewer than the current season due to two public holidays falling on Saturdays. The 454 country and picnic meetings is a reduction of five on this year.
RVL Chief Executive Officer Rob Hines said the program includes some modifications with the aim of refining the flow of races but in the main provides certainty about the future for clubs.
“The program has been directly aligned with the second year of the Victorian Racecourse and Training Infrastructure Plan released in May last year. The Plan detailed the allocation of race dates for each club across Victoria for the next five years, providing certainty in planning for the future.“The race dates have been assembled to maximize the use of our best racecourses on days that can generate the best wagering outcomes for the industry. This fundamental requirement is balanced with the requests of individual clubs for event meetings to generate on-course attendance and club revenue,” Hines said.
The metropolitan program for the new season will feature 23 meetings at Flemington, 28 at Moonee Valley and 62 to be shared between Caulfield and Betfair Park Sandown.
The major changes within the program support the following initiatives:
WAGERING REVENUE
The revised 2010-11 program is expected to generate additional wagering revenue year-on-year as a result of the changes to be implemented.
The program is estimated to produce in excess of $5.7 billion in wagering investment on Victorian racing with Australian and international wagering operators.
EXPANDED INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE
Victorian racing is now broadcast into 29 countries and continues to expand.
The international offering includes a mixture of daily meetings to markets such as New Zealand, USA and Brazil, through to exclusive markets such as Singapore (Moonee Valley Friday nights and Metropolitan Saturdays) and Hong Kong which takes a select number of races per season.
MOONEE VALLEY NIGHT RACING
The Group 1 William Reid Stakes will be moved from a Saturday afternoon to become the feature of the night program at Moonee Valley on Friday, 18 February.
The Moonee Valley Racing Club and RVL believe that top quality racing at night can be a successful strategy for broadening the reach and appeal of the night racing product, as well as expanding wagering opportunities across the weekend.
Moonee Valley will also host a special celebratory night meeting on New Years Eve on Friday 31 December, featuring entertainment and a concert after the last race and plans to grow the meeting as one of their major events for the year.
ECLIPSE STAKES DAY
The Melbourne Racing Club’s Eclipse Stakes meeting has traditionally been run after the Spring Racing Carnival is completed at Betfair Park Sandown at the end of November.
Melbourne Racing Club has vacated the date on 20 November which will now move to Moonee Valley and Sandown will race the following week on 27 November.
The Eclipse Stakes will be repositioned to a date yet to be determined to ensure the race attracts the best competitors and wagering outcomes.
WINTER METROPOLITAN RACING
The changes to the jumps program which have resulted in Betfair Park Sandown being the only metropolitan jumps racing venue, provided an opportunity to realign the dates in the winter period and create some additional feature race meetings.
The Victoria Racing Club initiated the Finals Day concept at Flemington last year incorporating the Winter Championship and the finals of a number of other race series conducted over winter, which will be included again on Saturday, 9 July next year.
WERRIBEE RESUMPTION
Racing will resume at Werribee in December 2010 following the departure of international horses from the venue after the Spring Racing Carnival.
The first race meeting at Werribee following the reconstruction of the course proper and installation of quarantine facilities at the new International Horse Centre will be on Saturday, 4 December, involving a community race day celebrating the return of racing to Werribee after a long absence.
The Werribee Cup meeting is scheduled for Friday, 18 March 2011.
COUNTRY RACING
Wodonga has been granted a Non-TAB meeting on Melbourne Cup Day for the first time as a trial to capitalize on the large population in the region.
The Bairnsdale Cup has been shifted from January into the start of the Spring Racing Carnival on Sunday, 3 October to improve attendances.
The summer twilight program will be concentrated predominantly on Mornington during January and twilight meetings will only be conducted at tracks where there is a genuine opportunity to attract attendance and improve wagering and club revenue outcomes.
MELBOURNE FESTIVAL OF RACING
With the 2010 Melbourne Festival of Racing now complete, a full review of all elements of the Summer/Autumn racing program, marketing and events schedule will be undertaken in conjunction with the clubs and our industry partners to determine the best way forward to ensure the growth and success of some of our best race meetings.
This review may result in some changes to the 2011 program which are yet to be determined.
2010/11 SEASON PROJECTED KEY INDICATORS
• Over $145 million in total prize money
• $5.7 billion wagering investment on Victorian racing with Australian and international
wagering operators
• 4,500 races
• 9,250 individual horses and 45,000 starters
• 67 venues conducting racing events for the industry and their communities
• 55,000 owners racing horses in Victoria
Meetings 2009/10 2010/11
METROPOLITAN
MEETINGS 2009-10 2010-11
Saturday & Public Holidays 60 57
Midweek 37 38
Night 18 18
Total Metropolitan 115 113
COUNTRY
TAB 378 380
Non TAB 42 40
Picnic 39 34
Total Country 459 454
Total Meetings 574 567
Metropolitan Venues Saturday Sunday Midweek
RACING VICTORIA MEDIA RELEASE
Media Contact: Rebecca Elliott – RVL PR Co-ordinator
M: 0447 581 706 P: (03) 9258 4628 E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
