The countdown to the 2011 spring racing carnival officially begins on Tuesday with the release of nominations for two of Victoria’s marquee races, the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate.
The $2.65 million Caulfield Cup, run on October 15, is the world’s richest 2400m turf handicap, while the $3.05 million Cox Plate (2040m), run at Moonee Valley on October 22, is recognised as the weight-for-age championship of Australia.
Also closing on Tuesday are the nominations for the $1 million Caulfield Guineas (1600m), to be run on October 8 and the $500,000 Thousand Guineas to be run at Caulfield on October 12.
Nominations for the $6.2 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) don’t close until September 1 with handicaps to be declared on September 13.
The Melbourne Cup will be run at Flemington on November 1.
AAP TURF
