RACING Victoria has boosted its Good Friday offering with a double-header scheduled next year to kickstart the Easter long weekend.
Yarra Valley will host the main Good Friday meeting on March 29, including the $500,000 Country Discovery, as part of the yearly rotation through regional Victoria, with Cranbourne to run a new complementary night fixture.
The day and night meetings will form part of RV’s commitment to Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal fundraising efforts.
In a further surprise twist, the Pakenham Cup will also be run under lights next year, going from a Saturday program to Thursday night, alongside the Future Stars Final, the culmination of Australia’s richest maiden series, on February 29.
RV on Monday will release the 2023-24 program built around “fan friendly” race dates.
It includes 555 meetings, one more (Good Friday night) than last season, 113 metropolitan programs, 391 country cards, 33 picnic dates and 18 non-TAB fixtures.
Three new night cards will take the season total to 56, one less than 2016-17 peak (57).
The amount of night racing has been a vexed issue for participants concerned about burnout and fatigue.
The first of three new night schedules, to coincide with the AFL bye weekend, will be a Synthetic Finals meeting at Pakenham on September 1, as a precursor to the Memsie Stakes the following day, the first Group 1 of Victorian season and traditional Melbourne spring carnival launch.
The schedule includes the previously announced spring shuffle, with Caulfield to host the new Group 1 race day on November 18, a week after TAB Champions Stakes Day at Flemington.
The meeting will be headlined by the Thousand Guineas, Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, and a rich Country Cups Final.
The Victoria Racing Club’s Rapid Racing Flemington fixture has shifted from a late January Friday timeslot to Wednesday, December 20 to capitalise on Christmas party season.
Geelong Racing Club has been allocated a stand-alone metropolitan Saturday meeting on January 6 to entice families and holiday-makers on the Bellarine Peninsula during the busy summer period.
The All-Star Mile will return to Caulfield on March 16.
RV executive general manager Matt Welsh said the schedule supports the “ongoing goal to entertain fans in convenient timeslots, which maximises returns to owners, trainers and jockeys.”
“Hosting the Pakenham Cup on a Thursday night allows the Pakenham Racing Club to use lead-up meetings to promote a Grand Final meeting at the end of February prior to the AFL season commencing,” Welsh said.
“Thursday nights are a premium timeslot that will only grow in coming years, so it’s important to put forward a compelling offering to fans and punters which Pakenham will do, particularly through summer.”
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KEY DATES AND CHANGES
September 1 Synthetic Finals (night), Pakenham
September 2 Memsie Stakes, Caulfield — first Group 1 of the Victorian season
October 21 Caulfield Cup, Caulfield
October 28 Cox Plate, The Valley
November 4-11 Melbourne Cup Carnival, Flemington — Derby Day (Nov 4), Cup Day (Nov 7), Oaks Day (Nov 9) and Champions Stakes Day (Nov 11)
November 18 Group 1 Thousand Guineas and Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, Caulfield
November 25 Cranbourne Cup, Cranbourne
December 9 Ballarat Cup, Ballarat
December 20 Rapid Racing, Flemington
January 6 Geelong stand-alone Saturday meeting to attract Bellarine Peninsula holiday-makers
February 29 Pakenham Cup and Future Stars Final, Pakenham
March 18 All-Star Mile, Caulfield
March 29 Good Friday Yarra Valley (day), Cranbourne (night)