Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys is playing for good in his war on Victorian racing’s spring carnival, claiming the state’s latest gem, The Big Dance, will keep punters off Melbourne-style Cup.
The Big Dance will make its debut on Tuesday, a $2 million race that will take place 30 minutes after the Melbourne Cup is played.
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V’landys thinks the race could follow the success of Everest, which attracted 46,221 fans just two weeks ago for the sixth race of the 1,200m sprint.
The Big Dance will be half the Melbourne Cup distance of 3,200m to 1,600m and will have a quarter of the big race’s $8million purse, but V’landys said that was just the start .
“If we compare the first Tuesday in November of 2019, which was before Covid hit, that Tuesday is up 206% in ticket presales,” V’landys said.
“We will have one of the biggest crowds ever on a Tuesday at Randwick.
“I think the Big Dance can get to where Everest is. I’m sure in the next five years it will get to that.
The field will include winners and runners-up from 25 selected races in the NSW region and has been described as ‘the Melbourne Cup of 25 years ago’ when Australian horses dominated the race.
V’landys added that the day was designed to provide Sydneysiders with a local alternative to Victorian racing, on what is traditionally the biggest betting day of the year.
He added that the field was strong at this time of year when the horse racing world usually focuses on the Spring Carnival.
“In the past at this time of year you had fields with five and six horses because everyone is in Melbourne,” V’landys said.
“But what we’ve done is keep our customers in Sydney.
“Why go to Melbourne when you can have the exact same experience here?”
Former Winx Legend trainer Chris Waller said the opportunity was “a big deal” having already landed a TV deal with Seven, while the Cup will air on Ten.
“It gives those horses that wouldn’t be racing in the biggest races a chance to stand up and say I’m here and give the owners a chance to race for $2 million,” Waller said.
“Once again Racing NSW has created a race that has enormous appeal.”
Big Dance competitor Cognac’s coach Richard Freedman says offering an alternative to Sydney could only be a good thing.
“The Big Dance series obviously worked,” he added. Freedman said via racenet.com.au.
“They have two large fields of horses for the Big Dance and the Little Dance that race for excellent prizes.
“The confusion arose because some peasants thought it was a race that should benefit country horses, but it is not a country race only. The benefits are to bring the best horses to the national cups and to stimulate the economy in these regions. ”
‘The race that stops the nation’ is traditionally held on the first Tuesday in November and V’landys claimed when announcing the race that he was ‘taking no glory away from the Melbourne Cup’.
During the announcement, Victorian Racing Minister Martin Pakula said Victoria was not worried about the new threat.
“We have the best racing industry in the country, we have the most iconic spring carnival, we have all the biggest events and I think that’s a testament to our strength and the nature of our calendar, that d ‘Other jurisdictions want what we have,’ Pakula said.
“But they won’t get what we have.”
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