The All-Star Mile will be one of the richest 1600 metre events in world racing and will carry a $2.25 million winner’s purse with the public getting the opportunity to decide the make-up of the bulk of the field.
Race nominations will open this December and fan voting will begin in January 2019 with the inaugural running on Saturday, March 16, 2019 and it is set to become the signature of Victoria’s Festival of Racing through February and March.
It may well become an attractive option, time-wise, for Winx’s trainer Chris Waller and his owners ahead of her Sydney autumn engagements.
“We did contact the connections and I think it will be a really attractive race.” – Giles Thompson.
“We did contact the connections and I think it will be a really attractive race,” Racing Victoria Chief Executive Officer Giles Thompson announced on Monday.
“There will be a field of 14, 10 decided by the voting public and the other four wild cards will give us flexibility. The ability to supplement the field will be great.”
Involving racing fans
The voting feature is similar to Japan’s Arima Kinen with public voting deciding the majority of the field. It was promoted to international Group 1 standing in 2007, although the All-Star will not be a black type event.
“To get Group 1 status there are the standard conditions. It has to be run for three years and fit into the pattern,” Thompson said.
“There is no rush or expectation to get black type status. As a feature race it stands on its own.” – Giles Thompson.
“There is no rush or expectation to get black type status. As a feature race it stands on its own.
Lucky fans will also be drawn alongside each starter to become a nominal owner for the day and the opportunity for a share of $500,000 set aside for the voters.
“The All-Star will give the opportunity to showcase racing to fans. It will be a great race and I think there will be international interest in it,” Thompson said.
Annual rotation
The race will rotate annually between the three major Victorian metropolitan clubs, which will see it held at Flemington, Moonee Valley and Caulfield.
“The core of the race will be the same year in, year out, but the experience will be totally different because the clubs will bring what they bring,” Thompson said.
“Australia boasts so many passionate and dedicated racing fans across all states and we want to give them a race to own.
“Our autumn racing schedule is pretty impressive with Super Saturday, but we felt it could do with an injection of newness and innovation.” – Giles Thompson.
“Our autumn racing schedule is pretty impressive with Super Saturday, but we felt it could do with an injection of newness and innovation.
“This really does that. It will create a lot of interest and be the real feature event of the carnival. The two states are very different and bring different things to the racing calendar.
“This is something they couldn’t do in Sydney because they don’t have three different metro clubs for starters.
“Similarly, you could argue, could we do something like the Everest down in Melbourne. But it’s not about that, it’s about us bringing our own things to the racing schedule.”
