Million Dollar Races for Kembla and Newcastle

Media Release - Monday June 3
Spring racing in NSW will extend beyond the Everest Carnival in Sydney with Newcastle and Kembla Grange today announced as staging standalone Saturday race meetings with $1 million feature races.

The Hunter headlining the Newcastle meeting on Saturday 16 November 2019, and the $1 million The Gong being the feature race at Kembla Grange on Saturday 23 November 2019.

Racing NSW and the respective race clubs will target attendances of 20,000 on each race day.

The Hunter and Gong meetings will be a focal point of racing in Newcastle and Wollongong and Racing NSW will heavily support the promotion of these events. Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation, Kevin Anderson MP, said Racing NSW understands the need to grow the industry across the whole state, not just in the capital city, which is why this investment is so important.

"Strengthening the racing industry in NSW is more than investing in Randwick and Rosehill, we want to grow the footprint of racing beyond the city limits to Newcastle and Wollongong, and beyond to ensure every corner of the state sees the benefit of a strong racing industry," Mr Anderson said.

"These races will rival races across Australia and the world which in turn will provide a welcome boost to their local economies."

Racing NSW Chairman Mr Russell Balding AO said "These new race days will provide the chance for Newcastle and Wollongong to shine as the feature NSW meetings immediately following The Everest Carnival.

"Racing is a vital part of our social fabric and it is fitting that Newcastle and Wollongong as our next largest cities after Sydney will now have race days that they can be proud of.

"These meetings are a great opportunity for new racegoers in these cities to attend a feature event and see what racing is all about. Just as the Sydney public has embraced The Everest, we are confident that the Newcastle and Illawarra public will embrace The Hunter and The Gong as their race," Mr Balding added.

The $1 million Hunter will be a quality handicap race held at a distance of 1300m and may possibly attract runners from The Everest. The Gong will also be a quality handicap run for $1 million in prizemoney over a distance of 1600m.

The Newcastle Hunter meeting will also feature the Spring Stakes, Group 3 for three-year olds transferred from the existing Newcastle Cup meeting in September. Being the feature NSW meeting on the Saturday, both the Newcastle Hunter and The Kembla Gong race meetings will also carry support races of minimum of $125,000 in prizemoney.

In a further boost for provincial racing in NSW, the Gosford Gold Cup meeting will join the Hawkesbury Gold Cup as a standalone Saturday fixture following the conclusion of the Sydney Autumn Carnival. The Gosford Gold Cup meeting will be run on Saturday 9 May 2020.

Racing NSW Release
Advertisment
More Reading...
Debut Winner for Gilgai Bred and Sold Grunt
Gilgai Farm have bred champions such as Black Caviar, All Too Hard and Ole Kirk and they also bred and sold eye-catching debut winner Ailyak, who scored at Werribee on Monday for the Ciaron Maher stable.
Carrazzo Races into Formidable New Merger
In a strategic move aimed at enhancing its service offerings and client experience, Australia’s most recognised and respected Bloodstock Taxation Accountants, Carrazzo Consulting, are delighted to announce their forthcoming merger with the progressive Top 100 Chartered Accounting firm, Baumgartners, effective 1 July 2024.
New Stakes-Winners for Wootton Bassett and Starspangledbanner
Two new three year-old stakes-winners in two days for Coolmore shuttler Wootton Bassett (GB) with Oaks contender Gala Real successful on Sunday at Longchamp followed by Wootton Verni, who took out the Group III Prix Greffulhe (2100m) at Saint Cloud overnight.
Whistlejacket – Hands Up Who Has One of These at Home?
The first two year-old stakes race of the year in Ireland was run at The Curragh on Monday and the Aidan O’Brien trained winner has a name that is going to be familiar to so many people… Whistlejacket!
Inglis Weanling Sale Concludes as a Record Breaker
The most successful Inglis Australian Weanling Sale in history concluded today with all key financial metrics hitting record highs.
Fastnet Rock Mare Stay Alert Wins G2 Dahlia Stakes
The form of outstanding Fastnet Rock mare Via Sistina (IRE) was once again franked overnight in the UK when the Fastnet Rock mare she defeated to win the Group I Pretty Polly Stakes last year came out and won the Group II Dahlia Stakes Stakes (1m1f) at her first run this season.
Widden Stud Appoints New Management Team
In an exciting, but also somewhat emotional development for Widden Stud, a staffing restructure will be taking place, marking a new chapter in the esteemed history of the Valley of Champions.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday May 7
Here is the full list of 27 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Another Guineas Upset and Shock Result
The Group I Newmarket One Thousand Guineas (1m) for the fillies delivered a surprise package of a result as did the colts edition on Saturday with victory going to the half-sister by Kingman to Woodside Park Stud’s new recruit Benbatl (GB).
$575,000 I Am Invincible Filly Tops Inglis Weanlings Day 1
An I Am Invincible filly for the Alma Vale/Kitchwin Hills partnership which realised $575,000 capped off a record opening day of the Australian Weanling Sale at Riverside.