The Chairman’s Stakes meeting at Caulfield will signal the beginning of increased prize money for certain Saturday metropolitan races in Melbourne.
Racing Victoria announced in December minimum prize money of $100,000 would apply to all two-year-old, three-year-old and open handicap races at Saturday metropolitan meetings, beginning from this Saturday at Caulfield.
Outside of three stakes races and the $250,000 Inglis Premier on Saturday’s nine-race program, there are two open handicaps with prize money of $100,000.
Since the start of October, Sydney’s Saturday metropolitan races have been worth a minimum of $100,000 except for the $60,000 Highway Handicaps for country-trained horses.
Racing Victoria said the mid-season enhancement to prize money came as a result of a successful 2016 spring carnival.
“This increase marks the first stage of a strategic review that we’re conducting through the first quarter of this year into our prize money model and which will ultimately inform our decisions on further prize money increases for the 2017-18 racing season,” RV acting chief executive Giles Thompson said.
