Australian Summer Racing Carnival

You may think that with the  Melbourne Cup over, a fantastic racing week comes to an end for another year, but this is not true, read on as there is further racing in the rest of the year.

As the heat of summer arrives the racing carnival turns to Western Australia and Queensland. 

As usual, for each of the races, I have included the race name, race distance, whether Group 1 or 2 etc, the horse entry conditions including Weight-For-Age where applicable, the prize money and of course the racecourse.

Once the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival has finished, there is the opportunity for racers to travel over to Western Australia for more warm weather racing. For all intents and purposes almost all the races are held in Perth. These races listed are the most highly prized, especially the 1800m Group 1 Northerly Stakes (formerly the Kingston Town Classic) with the 1st race listed starting in late November and the last at the end of the 2nd week in January:

With $14m of  Magic Millions prizemoney on offer nationwide and $11.25m on the Gold Coast alone on race-day, it is easy to see why the becoming more-famous-by-the-minute Gold Coast Magic Millions Summer Racing Carnival held annually in Queensland is so popular. For 2 weeks in January the Gold Coast racecourse is the centre of attention. Just by viewing the prizemoney on offer you will easily see which are the races that gain the most punter attention with owners and trainers seeking their fortunes.

After a week of, let´s say warm up racing, the 2nd week kicks into gear with the following:

All 9 of the races listed above are only open to horses that were bought at one of the many Magic Millions auctions held around Australia, with the Gold Coast Yearling Sale held during the carnival being by far the largest. 

Race meetings are also held in Sydney and Melbourne during the summer months but they are not classified as Racing Carnivals, the most well-known races are: