While all eyes will be on Flemington for the Melbourne Cup next week, Victorians are also being encouraged to support their local communities by attending regional race meetings being held across the state.
This Spring Racing Carnival, the Andrews Labor Government is providing more than $385,000 to support country race meetings right across Victoria, from Murtoa to Wodonga and Gunbower to Moe.
The Government’s Raceday Attraction Program (RAP) is funded through the Victorian Racing Industry Fund to help racing codes to attract more people to the race meets.
On Melbourne Cup Day, regional racegoers will have the opportunity to enjoy all that the Spring Racing Carnival has to offer by attending a race meeting at Bairnsdale, Echuca, Mansfield, Mildura or Wangaratta.
Spring also sees the return of the hugely popular picnic racing circuit with 32 race meetings at 12 picnic tracks throughout Victoria.
The Spring Racing Carnival is a flagship event on the Australian and international racing calendar. It features 132 race meetings over 79 days from 3 September to 20 November 2016.
This includes 23 Country Cups worth more than $2.2 million in prize money, and a total of 60 feature country race days with prize money totalling $20 million.
Last year, the entire Spring Racing Carnival generated more than $700 million for Victoria’s tourism, hospitality and retail industries, and attracted more than 630,000 people to race meetings across the state, including 150,000 visitors from interstate or overseas.
Thoroughbred racing in Victoria generates $2.1 billion annually for the Victorian economy, with more than $940 million in regional Victoria alone.
The industry also helps sustain more than 19,000 full-time equivalent jobs across the state, with regional Victoria home to around 80 per cent of trainers and breeders.
Further information about regional Spring Racing Carnival events is available at
Quotes attributable to Minister for Racing Martin Pakula
“The Spring Racing Carnival is a fantastic time of year, not just for Melbourne, but right across Victoria.”
“I encourage everyone to get to the track and support their local racing meetings, which help to generate jobs and attract tourists to our regional cities and towns.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020