Prizemoney realignment revealed
Racing Victoria has today announced the prizemoney and programming structure for the 2024-25 Victorian racing season including a new home for the All-Star Mile.
Notwithstanding increased financial headwinds for the Victorian racing industry post COVID-era highs, RV has committed to maintain total prizemoney and bonuses on offer at the same level as the 2023-24 season.
This commitment is despite a sharp reduction in wagering turnover of more than 10% over the last 12 months which has contributed to what is expected to be an overall RV financial deficit of around $12 million in FY24, in line with budget.
To maintain total prizemoney and bonuses on offer at the same level year-on-year, the RV Group has embarked on a significant cost savings program with net $10 million of operational expenditure budgeted to be reduced across FY25. This is in addition to significant savings achieved in FY24.
RV will also call upon retained cash reserves to maintain returns to participants and owners and help underpin the 25,700 full-time equivalent jobs that Victorian thoroughbred racing supports.
In 2024-25, Victoria will again offer over $316 million in prizemoney and bonuses with a strategic realignment of the allocation announced to further boost grassroots racing and reward owners celebrating a maiden victory.
“The VRC is not immune to the challenges facing most organisations and with COVID-related financial recovery still in progress and a softening wagering landscape, prizemoney contributions have been reduced across the season by $1.125 million as part of wider fiscal management measures across the Club.
"The updated prizemoney has been announced for a number of races in 2025, and the VRC thanks Racing Victoria for its continued support of world-class racing at Flemington," said Mr Wilson.
Feature Races
As part of the industry’s annual planning and budgeting process, the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) has elected to reduce its prizemoney funding contribution for the 2024-25 season by a net amount of $1.125 million.
RV and the VRC have worked closely to determine a realigned feature race prizemoney model for Flemington to best accommodate the Club’s reduced prizemoney ‘top-ups’.
As a starting point, RV has committed $500,000 from the All-Star Mile reduction to maintain the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at $1.5 million on Super Saturday.
The key prizemoney adjustments at Flemington come in 2025 and are as follows:
- Bagot Handicap (LR, 2800m, 1 January 2025) - $175,000 (down from $200,000)
- Standish Handicap (G3, 1200m, 11 January 2025) - $200,000 (down from $250,000)
- TAB Australian Cup (G1, 2000m, 29 March 2025) – $2.5 million (down from $3 million)
- The Lexus Roy Higgins (LR, 2600m, 29 March 2025) - $300,000 (down from $500,000)
- The Lexus Andrew Ramsden (LR, 2800m, 17 May 2025) - $300,000 (down from $500,000)
The Lexus Roy Higgins and The Lexus Andrew Ramsden will now carry the same prizemoney as The Lexus Archer, with all races offering the opportunity of a guaranteed start in the Lexus Melbourne Cup for the winner.
The TAB Australian Cup will carry the same prizemoney as the All-Star Mile, while the Standish and Bagot Handicaps return to the Group 3 and Listed minimums respectively.
