Two of Victoria’s premier meetings outside of the metropolitan area will take on added significance with an inaugural slot race series offering $2 million in prize money.
The Cranbourne Cup and Pakenham Cup meetings later this year will feature $1 million slot races.
In a first for Victorian racing, the $1 million Meteorite will be staged at Cranbourne on November 23 and the $1 million Supernova will be run at Pakenham on December 21.
They will be held under the auspices of Southside Racing following the merger of the Cranbourne and Pakenham race clubs earlier this year.
Victoria becomes the fourth Australian state to adopt the concept of slot racing after the emergence of the Everest in 2017 in NSW paved the way for Queensland and Western Australia to follow suit in recent years.
But as a point of difference, Southside Racing has expanded the idea to a series, offering slotholders two chances to have a runner for a $100,000 outlay.
The Meteorite will be decided over 1200m while the Supernova will be a 1400m contest.
Each race will be handicapped under set weights with penalties conditions and open to horses aged three years and older.
Southside racing manager Alastair Dwyer said the introduction of the slot races allowed the new club to boost its feature meetings during a time when prize money levels in Victoria have stagnated.
“In the current climate there were going to be no prize money increases or an opportunity to get a huge influx of prize money from Racing Victoria,” he told The Straight.
“So we had to think outside the square in how we could get a race of this type on our calendar.
“And we thought having slots was the best way to do that.”
Dwyer said the slot series would also help the new club maintain a strong presence at the end of the Victorian spring carnival and beyond.
“To have a million-dollar race now on each Cup day I think will really help them in terms of wagering outcomes,” he said.
“And obviously, each year we’re fighting to keep our spring stand-alone Saturdays, so that'll help that cause as well.”
Southside launched the concept on Thursday, calling for expressions of interest from potential slotholders.
“There will be no grading on the races but we're hoping Group 2, Group 3-level horses will target the series,” Dwyer said.
“But you never know, we might get Group 1 horse potentially - one that has had a campaign extended into late November.”
“To have a million-dollar race now on each Cup day I think will really help them in terms of wagering outcomes."- Alistair Dwyer
Under the conditions of the series, a slotholder can use their discretion in how they choose to target each race.
They are not locked into the same horse for The Meteorite and The Supernova and can mix and match their runners, stables and jockeys.
Slotholders will be vying for a bonus over the series based on a point score system with any incentives parlayed if they are involved in the winner of each race.
The series is the brainchild of Southside chief executive Neil Bainbridge.
“We've been working on this for a while. We had to canvass a few stables and owners just to see what they thought of it and if they thought the idea had legs,” Dwyer said.
“The fact that it's $100,000 (for a slot) and you get access to two $1 million races, it's quite an enticing offer.
“We worked with Racing Victoria to bring it to life. Obviously slot races aren't new in Australia but it's the first one in Victoria so we're pretty thrilled to be the first club to bring it to market.”
With a field limit of 14, winning slotholders and connections will share $450,000 with runners finishing seventh to last earning $25,000.
