The 2014 Sydney Racing Carnival is one of Australia’s biggest annual sporting events, and begins shortly after the wildly popular Autumn Racing Carnival. The event features the Sydney Cup, which runs at the same length as the prestigious Melbourne Cup, and tends to draw a similar level of excitement. Running annually from August to early October, Sydney racing allows fans who have been craving thoroughbred racing since the end of the autumn carnival to see some of the top sprinters in the country run Group 1 races, with huge purses up for grabs. Here’s everything you’ll need to know about this spring’s most exciting horse racing event, whether you’re looking to attend a race, do a little wagering or simply keep up with Australia’s most popular sport.
The Biggest Event of the Spring Racing Carnival: the Golden Rose
The Golden Rose 2014 will be the most well-attended and prestigious race of the spring season, and the race is of great importance to the jockeys and sprinters in terms of establishing themselves on the national horse racing stage. The Golden Rose is a million dollar race, and just recently became a Group 1 event in 2009. Given that the event is scheduled early in the spring carnival, it will prove to be an interesting test for trainers, jockeys and thoroughbreds alike, as racing teams need to be at their best very early in the season in order to claim victory. The race is run under set weight conditions at a distance of 1400 metres, and only by the best qualifying three-year-old sprinters. For punters, the Group 3 Run to the Rose race tends to be a telling lead-up, as it’s also run at the famous Rosehill Gardens, and many horses moving into Group 1 for the spring carnival take part in the Run to the Rose. In fact, Paratroopers and Denman have both doubled in the past, in 2005 and 2009 respectively, so punters should take a longer look at the Group 3 winner before solidifying their Golden Rose selections. However, another fact to keep in mind is that no filly has ever doubled at these events, although Court Commands won the Golden rose in 2006 after winning another highly anticipated lead-up race, aptly titled the Up and Coming Stakes.
What Else Is in Store at the Spring Racing Carnival?
The Australian Spring Racing Carnival is run by the Australian Turf club, who oversees the metropolitan races run at the aforementioned Rosehill Gardens and Randwick racecourse, with smaller events being held at the Canterbury, Newcastle and Hawkesbury racecourses. The most highly anticipated events hosted at Randwick are run over three exciting days in Sydney at the end of September and in early October. The first race day is George Main Stakes Day, which is followed by Epsom Handicap Day. These races are worth $350,000 and $500,000 respectively, and are both Group 1 races. Rosehill Gardens is the only racecourse other than Randwick to host a Group 1 race during the spring carnival, although as mentioned previously, the Run to the Rose, though a Group 3 race, is an event that most horse racing enthusiasts and punters watch closely in order to gauge the ability of thoroughbreds moving from Group 3 to Group 1. There are five races slated to run at Warwick Farm on Saturday, August 23rd, where the Warwick Stakes will award a winner the largest prize of the day – a $150,000 purse – making August 23rd the busiest Saturday outside of Randwick and Rosehill Gardens. The first event to be held at the carnival will be the Group 3 Missile Stakes race, which is run at Rosehill Gardens, traditionally in early August. The entire season wraps up in late October. The spring carnival also has the distinction of being just a few weeks away from the most watched sporting event in the country, the Melbourne Cup, meaning that the eyes of the racing world will be on these spring racing events in order to make sure that the racing teams are at their best for the coming summer season.
Fashion at the Track: Where Tradition Meets Flare
As the Australian Turf Club points out on their website, “Where there’s racing there’s fashion.” The spring carnival will have some of the most well-dressed ladies and gents in horse racing in attendance, not only because these races are formal and grand events, or because it’s tradition, but also because a dress code is enforced by most big racecourses. According to rules enforced by the Australian Turf Club, in order to gain entry to the general admission areas, one must be neatly dressed, and in order to gain entry to general admission dining rooms, one is not permitted to wear shorts or thongs. However, the traditional attire seen at these events is more about embracing a grander and more formal style in order to accentuate the celebratory nature of these events, and it’s therefore not at all rare to see female fans wearing ball gowns to the racecourse, along with tall and flowery hats, while many of the men show up in top hats and tails. Colour is strongly emphasized, and some events have flowers that are designated for each race, emphasizing the fun but formal feel that these events promote.
Between the Golden Rose, Flight Stakes, the George Main Stakes and the other exciting races being run at the Australian Spring Racing Carnival, this year’s season is sure to be an exciting one. The carnival offers Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 events, so as an attendee you’ll have the opportunity to watch up-and-coming sprinters as well as more established thoroughbreds who are bound for bigger things in the coming seasons. The schedule offers countless races at five great venues over August, September and October, so if you live in Sydney, be sure to head down to your local metropolitan track and be sure to wear something colourful!