The $5 million feature race in Victoria’s Festival of Racing, which was won in thrilling fashion by Mugatoo earlier this year, has garnered strong support from the Australasian public since its inception in 2019, with more than 420,000 validated votes received over its first three years.
The nomination period closes at 12pm (AEDT) on Monday, 10 January, 2022, with Racing Victoria (RV) again pledging to donate the $500 fee for every horse entered for The All-Star Mile to the race’s official charity, the Good Friday Appeal – an annual fundraiser for the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne.
Any late entries received between 12pm (AEDT) on 10 January and 12pm (AEDT) the following Monday (17 January, 2022) will incur a $2,500 fee, which will also be donated to the Good Friday Appeal.
The introduction of a one-week window for late entries is designed to give connections of horses which perform well on Queensland’s lucrative Magic Millions Raceday or in New Zealand’s Group 1 Telegraph Handicap (1200m) – which are both held on Saturday, 15 January, 2022 – the opportunity to nominate them for Australia’s only fan-voted race.
Greg Carpenter, RV’s Executive General Manager – Racing, said: “We are extremely proud and grateful for the way in which racing participants have supported The All-Star Mile and people right across Australia and New Zealand have embraced the race since it was launched in 2019.
“In its short history we have already witnessed some emotional scenes off the racetrack and stirring battles on it, with Mugatoo’s thrilling win over Russian Camelot in front of a capped but no less vocal crowd at The Valley earlier this year worthy of the race’s status as the world’s richest mile.
“With nominations now open for The 2022 All-Star Mile, we would encourage trainers and owners to enter their stable stars and give themselves the opportunity to turn a $500 nomination fee into a $2.25 million winner’s cheque at Flemington on 19 March.
“The All-Star Mile is, and indeed always has been more than just a horse race, and the charity aspect is a very important component so we will again hope to raise significant funds for the Good Friday Appeal.
“We look forward to receiving some high-profile nominations in the coming weeks, as well as some of the lesser lights from Australasia’s smaller stables whose fairy-tale stories have captured the public’s imagination and contributed hugely to the success of the race.”
From Monday, 24 January, 2022 fans across Australia and New Zealand will begin voting for their ‘All-Stars’, giving the connections of all nominees the chance to mount a concerted campaign to ensure their horse gains a place in the all-important top 10 on the voting leaderboard.
Once the polls have closed on Sunday, 13 February, 2022, the votes will be verified and counted with the 10 most popular horses announced by RV on or before Saturday, 19 February, 2022.
The top 10 vote-getters which accept for the race will be joined in the 15-runner field by five wildcards, with two of those determined by ‘win and you’re in’ races – the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday, 26 February, 2022 and the Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday, 5 March, 2022.
The three remaining wildcard runners, which can be drawn from outside the original nominations list, will be selected by The All-Star Mile wildcard panel and revealed on or before Tuesday, 8 March, 2022.
Once the field has been finalised following the closure of acceptances at 10am (AEDT) on Tuesday, 15 March, 2022, the barrier draw will take place ahead of All-Star Mile Raceday at Flemington, which staged the first running of the showpiece event won by the pride of Tasmania, Mystic Journey. Western Australian raider Regal Power won the second edition at Caufield in 2020, before Mugatoo’s triumph for New South Wales at The Valley in March this year.
The race conditions for The 2022 All-Star Mile remain the same, with a three-year-old horse requiring a minimum Victorian handicap rating of 70 at the close of nominations in order to be eligible to run, whilst horses aged four and older require a minimum Victorian rating of 80 at the close of nominations.
The minimum performance criteria also remains the same, with a horse having to meet one of the following criteria between 1 February, 2021 and the close of nominations on 10 January, 2022:
- Placed first, second or third in a Group or Listed race; or
- Have earned $20,000 or more placing first, second or third in a flat race.
For all late entries, the same minimum performance criteria will apply for the period between 1 February, 2021 and the late nomination deadline of 17 January, 2022.
To view The 2022 All-Star Mile official race conditions, click here
To view an infographic on The 2022 All-Star Mile, click here
Image caption: Mystic Journey winning the inaugural The All-Star Mile at Flemington (Image: Racing Photos)
