A record audience and an important gambling growth have underlined the vital importance of the $ 2.1 million tableka in Australian Harness Racing.
The third running of the richest race last Saturday evening saw the largest menangle -several since the official opening of the new house of Sydney Harness Racing in 2008.
While the final deployment figures are still being collected, the early results show an increase of almost 15 percent yoj per race on the eight-race card, compared to nine races held last year.
“That kind of growth is really pleasant and the national trend drills considerably,” said Harness Racing Australia CEO Andrew Kelly.
Menangle reported an official crowd of 9220, a remarkable increase of 47 percent compared to 2024.
“At a time when getting people extra is a real challenge, we now have a total of 24,038 at the three tab Eureka meetings. That is an average of 8013,” said Kelly.
“The 9220 this year was also an increase of 10 percent compared to the year one, of which we always hoped to grow, but knew it would be difficult to do, given the novelty of the first running.
“What struck me, and so many others, was the involvement of the crowd as much as the size.
“They filled the lawns next to the track, looked at the races, cheered and created a fantastic atmosphere.
“So many of the participants, especially the young person, were really taken by it. For the oldies it was a step back to the ‘glory days’ as they call them and the young person would never have seen such a crowd.”
Kelly said it was important to emphasize that much of the growth had been organic.
“We have promised a healthy marketing budget for the first two years to make such a big impact as we could with the Eureka tab and to wound that with 30 percent this year, but still saw such an exciting growth in bets, presence and engagement outside the track in the structure and night itself.
“It really shows that the Eureka tab has left its stamp. Very quickly it has established itself as one of the hugely important events for Harness races in this part of the world.
“A statistics that we had was to get in touch with the thoroughbred audience, so it could not have been better than John, Wayne and Michael Hawkes, together with Tommy Berry, Zac Lloyd and Tyler Schiller, all trackside on the night.”
Leviathan owners Rob Watson and Kevin Seymour, who both had slots in the Eureka and Trackside tab, said the Inter Dominion tab now as the most important and exciting event of the sport.
“I loved this concept from the moment I heard about it,” said Watson. “I made the chance to have a lock, was not lucky in the first two years and then managed to work with Bay of Biscay and win last Saturday.
“For all the success I had in this game, that is the biggest sensation.
“We really need everyone in the industry to get around the Tableka now. We have seen what Everest has done for thoroughbred racing and in our way the Eureka does it for racing harness.”
Seymour said the night brought him back in time.
“We have not seen such a crowd or atmosphere for a long time,” he said. “We have created something special and exciting and now the responsibility is to build on it even further.”
Champion trainer Emma Stewart, who won her second tab at Bay of Biscay in three years, said that last Saturday evening’s victory was the highlight of her great career, which already has 140 group 1 victories.
“I didn’t think we could win the top scender the first Eureka, but the story about Bay of Biscay and what he means for us did it,” she said.
Through Adam Hamilton For Harness Racing Australia
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