Ballarat Cup pushed to December

RACING Victoria has rescheduled the Sportsbet Ballarat Cup to Saturday, 9 December with the move coming as part of a wider Spring Racing Carnival review.

Although there was an original effort to move the Cox Plate to 25 November, the Moonee Valley meet is now staying put, but the 2023 Cranbourne Cup has changed to that date, driving Ballarat back by two weeks.

Ballarat Turf Club CEO Belinda Glass said their preference was always to retain the third Saturday after Melbourne Cup.

“We’re obviously disappointed but we also understand that we need to accept that now, move on, and try and build the success of that new date,” she said.

“We felt we had a very strong event on that date, and it’s been a standalone Saturday for many years with strong fields, good turnover and really good attendance, even coming out of COVID or when we were impacted by weather.

“We’re disappointed to lose that, but we press on now, and we work really hard as a team to build that new date as the Ballarat Cup Day, for the club, our patrons that come along, the Ballarat community and racing calendar in general.

“We want to still be a standout feature country cup… for the benefit of everybody, not just the club. But there’s no doubt it’s harder to establish a new event than it is to carry on with a date that’s been successful already.”

Ms Glass said there is a level of concern about the horses they will be able to field a week into summer, and closer to the autumn feature events.

“Horses need a break between those feature periods, and we certainly hope, given the notice is out there early, that there’ll be trainers that target the Ballarat Cup still, and prepare their horse for a December 9 finale or feature.

“As a realist, I expect there are going to be some horses that can’t continue to race during that length of time over spring, but I hope we still see the same strong fields. Time will tell,” she said.

“The event in the past has certainly been very strong from a racing perspective, and the prize money has assisted that, alongside a good spot in the calendar.”

As a priority, BTC staff are contacting members and patrons who have already booked to attend in November, and are speaking with key suppliers to ensure they can re-book catering, toilets, security, and all they need to stage the event two weeks later than planned.

“We need to consider our broader marketing to let people know we do have a new date but we’re going to offer an event that’s hopefully bigger and better than what we’ve had in the past,” Ms Glass said.

RV executive general manager racing Matt Welsh said changes to the carnival “enhance the existing racing schedule.”

“The dates of the Cranbourne, Ballarat and Pakenham Cups will change next season, but they will retain prominent timeslots where the clubs can continue to deliver fantastic meetings for fans and participants.

“Work is continuing with clubs on the broader spring program and this will intersect with our annual prizemoney process. We will have more announcements to make in the weeks and months ahead.”

RV chief executive Andrew Jones said the carnival is “evolving from a position of strength.”

“Our clear view is that we can grow racing’s audience by enhancing our schedule in November,” he said. “This view is shared by the majority of those we consulted.

“There was terrific discussion and debate about the best way to do so. The Ladbrokes Cox Plate works brilliantly already. It would also work well as a Carnival-ending weight-for-age grand final in November.

“In the end, we were reluctant to make such a monumental change until the uncertainty around our future funding from the wagering licence is resolved. We will continue to innovate our schedule across the year.

“Our goals are always to provide more entertainment for fans and punters, and to increase returns to owners, trainers and jockeys.

“I want to thank all who engaged with our review process, particularly the Clubs, trainers and owners. We are united in our goal to make Victoria’s Spring Racing Carnival the best it can be.”