Melbourne Cup hopefuls will have an extra chance to gain automatic entry into the race via the Group Three Bart Cummings at Flemington.
But the controversial issue of emergencies remains, with a review led by Racing Victoria concluding it is still not commercially viable to declare reserves.
Australian and international parimutuel operators can only accommodate maximum field sizes of 24 and the review found it would require significant investment in upgrades and regulatory approval to change the status quo.
Last year Big Memory was left stranded at 25th on the Melbourne Cup order of entry leaving connections dismayed when there were two scratchings.
The Tony McEvoy-trained Big Memory won the Herbert Power Stakes in which subsequent Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist finished fourth.
Victoria Racing Club chief executive Simon Love said the VRC remained committed to reviewing the policy on emergencies every two years.
Prize money for the Bart Cummings (2500m) on October 4 has been doubled to $300,000.
Who Shot Thebarman won last year’s Bart Cummings before going on to finish third in the Melbourne Cup.
The Bart Cummings (2500m) joins the Lexus Stakes, Mackinnon Stakes, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate as races in which the winner earns a Melbourne Cup ballot exemption.
An amendment to the distance conditions of the Cup means the winners and placegetters of three Queensland Group One races – the Brisbane Cup, Queensland Oaks and Queensland Derby have passed that clause.
Those races were run this year at Doomben over 2200 metres instead of the usual 2400 at Eagle Farm which is closed for renovations.
