The Carrington Stakes, a race that counts Hall of Fame racehorse Bernborough on its honour roll, has been unceremoniously axed from Saturday’s Randwick meeting.
Australian Turf Club (ATC) and Racing NSW officials scrapped the Listed race at acceptance time because they were concerned it could be reduced to a field of three runners after scratchings.
Six horses had accepted on Wednesday for the $200,000 feature but only four entries were guaranteed starters after two potential runners were also entered for interstate races.
“As a result of that we had to make a decision. It was a difficult decision,” ATC head of racing and wagering Nevesh Ramdhani told The Straight.
“Given that there was only six runners and two of them were not certain starters, who knows, if there was another scratching you'd only have three horses in the race.
“We tried to encourage a few more trainers to nominate and make up a bigger field in the race, but it just wasn't supported to that level. And so we had to cancel the race.”
Run at Listed level, the Carrington Stakes had been a fixture on Sydney’s New Year’s Day public holiday meeting at Randwick before its move to a later January timeslot.
With this shift in 2015 came a distance increase from 1100m to 1400m but field sizes were respectable.
Thirteen horses accepted for last year’s race won by the John O’Shea-trained Zou Tiger when prize money was lifted from $160,000 to $200,000.
“There’s been no trend in the past to indicate that something like this would happen. That's the thing that surprised us,” Ramdhani said.
“At the end of the day, we just ended up in a predicament where we are, which was unforeseen.”
Carrington entries Just Folk, Chorlton Lane, Coastwatch and Elettrica are acceptors for the $175,000 Listed John Dillon Stakes over 1400m at Sandown.
Elettrica and another Carrington nomination, last-start Wyong winner Grand Impact, are acceptors for the $160,000 Sunshine Coast Cup, also a race with Listed status decided over 1400m.
The Carrington Stakes was first run in 1930 and Bernborough, an inaugural Australian Hall of Fame inductee, won the 1945 edition.
The victory came towards the beginning of a sequence of 15 victories over a mix of distances that captivated the Australian racing public.
While Bernborough will forever remain the Carrington’s most famous winner, a host of quality sprinters have left their mark on the race.
At Sea won the race three times in the 1980s, while Zephyr Bay (1975), Blazing Saddles (1978), Snippets (1987) and the NSW flying machine Lightning Bend (1991).
The decision to abandon the Carrington Stakes for 2025 comes amid a controversial Racing NSW push to extend its offering of black-type races in line with a relentless rollout of prize money increases.
“There’s been no trend in the past to indicate that something like this would happen. That's the thing that surprised us” - ATC racing and wagering boss Nevesh Ramdhani
Latest changes to the NSW pattern involve an upgrade of two races during the Sydney autumn carnival.
The Neville Sellwood Stakes has been lifted from Group 3 to Group 2 status while the Parramatta Cup, previously a Listed race, will be run at Group 3 level.
