Champion Pacer Leap to Fame will head the best harness horses from Australia and New Zealand to chase two exciting and huge new bonuses about Victoria summer races.
In a huge boost for sport, Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) today revealed a $ 1.5 million in insured bonuses – $ 1 million for pacers and $ 500,000 for carriers – over the six largest weeks of the summer of glory.
Although there are six legs in the bonus series, the $ 1 million are paid on every pacer that can win four legs (including the Hunter Cup) and $ 500,000 to each trotter that can be four legs (including the Great Southern Star).
Leap to Fame’s Leviathan Queenslander owner Kevin Seymour said that the move would guarantee that Victorians would see more of the richest Australasian Pacer racing in the state in the state.
“This is sensational news for racing harness, not only in Victoria, but in this part of the world,” he said.
“It will give Victorians the chance to see a lot of jump, but will also bring the best open-class Pacers together in this part of the world in Victoria.
“The impact it will have on those big country cups is huge. We like to make people too famous and this is even more stimulus to do this.
“It will be a big step in the direction of a revival for the sport in Victoria and it is a huge credit for all involved.”
HRV CEO Matt Isaacs said that the Victoria bonuses would continue to cement as the “go-to-destination” in the summer.
“It was our goal to make the summer of glory indispensable,” he said. “First the team worked with our country clubs to fully reform where and when we performed our largest country cups and in many cases stimulated their prize money.
“It is the icing on the cake to then throw them seriously and feasible bonus money around them.
“Hunter Cup Night will be huge, but imagine the extra layer of having a pacer and/or trotter in front of those big bonuses in the Hunter Cup and Great Southern Star.
“I want to thank the country clubs with which we worked together to bring all this together. It was a real team effort.
“We look forward to seeing the best horses in this part of the world, pacers and trotters, who come to Victoria early next year and, more importantly, racing a few times, not just once.
“People like to see the best horses racing together and that is what this is designed to do.”
NSW formed a precedent for such bonuses last year, but IR was discouraging because it needed a horse to win all five feet in the series to win the $ 1 million bonus. Mighty Stayer Swayzee was painfully close to $ 1 million banking with four wins and a second. He still earned a $ 500,000 bonus.
The Victorian bonus series starts on January 10 at Bendendo with the $ 75,000 Group 1 Bendendo Cup and the $ 75,000 Group 1 Maori Mile.
It moves to Shepparton (January 17), Ballarat (January 24), Cranbourne (January 31) and Kilmore (7 February).
The summer of glory culminates with the Stellar Hunter Cup card in Melton on February 14.
Summer of Glory – Bonus Series -Beenen
January 10: $ 75,000 GP2 Bendendo Cup (Pacers)/$ 75,000 GP1 Maori Mile (Trotters)
January 17: $ 50,000 GP3 Shepparton Gold Cup/ $ 30,000 GP3 Shepparton Trotters’ Cup
January 24: $ 100,000 GP2 Ballarat Cup/$ 75,000 GP1 Ballarat Trotters’ Cup
January 31: $ 150,000 GP1 Cranbourne Cup/$ 75,000 GP1 Cranbourne Trotters’ Cup
7 February: $ 150,000 GP1 Kilmore Cup/$ 75,000 GP1 Kilmore Trotters’ Cup
February 14: $ 250,000 GP1 Hunter Cup/$ 250,000 GP1 Great Southern Star
Through Adam HamiltonFor Harness Racing Victoria
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