Main Events of the Sydney Racing Carnival

March 17, 2011 - by Lawrence · Filed Under Hong Kong Racing News

The Sydney Racing Carnival stretches from the second week of March until the last week of April and it includes 18 group horse races and other horse racing-related events. The carnival starts with a racing mass at the Our Lady of Rosary Catholic Church in Kensington and then followed by the Myer Ladies Day which includes the Fashions on the Field competition for breast cancer awareness and research.

The Sydney Racing Carnival features five main race days and these are the Rosehill Guineas Day, the AAMI Golden Slipper Day, the David Jones Australian Derby Day, the Emirates Doncaster Day and the Schweppes Sydney Cup Day. In 2011, the Rosehill Guineas Day starts the horse racing action on the 26th of March while the Schweppes Sydney Cup Day ends the Sydney Racing Carnival on the 23rd of April.

The Rosehill Guineas Day features nine races wherein five of which are group races. The main attraction is the 2000-metre Group 1 Rosehill Guineas which is a set weights race which has a prize pool of $500,000 with $300,000 going to the top winner. The owner of the winning horse will also get a trophy worth $2,500. The runner-up and the third placer will get $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.

The next racing day on schedule is the AAMI Golden Slipper Day which will happen on the 2nd of April and it features nine Group status races. The highlight of which is the 1200-metre AAMI Golden Slipper Stakes which is a set weights race for two-year old horses. The Golden Slipper has a $3.5 million prize pool with $2 million going to the winner and $620,000 going to the runner-up.

The third major racing day on the Sydney Racing Carnival is the David Jones Australian Derby Day which happens on the 9th of April and it also features nine Group level races. The main race of the day is the 2400-metre AJC Australian Derby which is a set weights race for horses of at least three years old and it has a prize purse of $1.5 million with $900,000 going to the winner and $600,000 to the runner-up.

Happening a week after the Australian Derby Day is the Doncaster Handicap Day which features three Group 1 races, four Listed races and two Benchmark races. The highlight of the day is the Emirates Doncaster Mile which is a handicap race for horse races of at least three years old and it has a prize pool of $2 million with $1.2 million going to the winner. The owner, trainer and jockey of the winning horse will also get trophies worth $9,500, $1,000 and $1,000 respectively.

The final major day of the Sydney Racing Carnival is the Schweppes Sydney Cup Day and it features two Listed races, one Group 3 race, one Group 2 race and four Group 1 races. The main race is the 3,200-metre, Group 1 Sydney Cup which is a handicap race for race horses of at least three years of age. The race has a $500,000 prize pool with $300,000 going to the winning party.

The whole carnival is culminated by the Australian Racing Conference which aims to equip trainers and jockeys on the latest breakthroughs and issues on Australian horse racing. The conference is comprised of talks that will be delivered by the best resource persons on that matter. The Australian Racing Conference on the Sydney Racing Carnival will start on 31st of March and ends on the 3rd of April.

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