RNSW Prizemoney/ Welfare Booosts

Racing NSW have announced a $30m prizemoney surge while revealing investment in welfare and infrastructure will soar to record levels.

The 2022/23 racing season will see NSW thoroughbred racing shell out a remarkable $358m in prizemoney, a figure that represents a $239m increase from levels just a decade ago.

Included in the stakes surge will see a raft of showpiece events bolstered with the Concorde Stakes ($160,000 to $500,000), The Shorts ($500,000 to $1m), The Premiere Stakes ($500,000 to $1m), The Kosciuszko ($1.3m to $2m), The Sydney Stakes ($500,000 to $2m) and The Nature Strip Stakes ($1m to $3m) all receiving major increases.

Two new races will also be added to the spring carnival, with a $1m race to be staged on Everest day, called the Five Diamond Prelude, over 1500m for five-year-olds, which serves as a lead up to the Five Diamonds.

Major boost to country racing with increased prizemoney to all levels – https://t.co/QfoJxfefDspic.twitter.com/EBjkvpyTBi

— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) August 3, 2022

Also, a new $500,000 race will be added to Big Dance Day, called The Little Dance, for those horses eligible, but unable to gain a start in The Big Dance.

Racing NSW will join forces with Sportsbet to bring the Sportsbet Sydney Sprint Series bonus to life where a whopping $6m will be up for grabs.

In a bid to keep Australia’s best horses in Sydney for the spring, the bonus, fully supported by Sportsbet, will be paid to the connections of horses which accumulate the most points across six races; the Concorde Stakes, The Shorts, Premiere Stakes, The Everest, Sydney Stakes and Nature Strip Stakes.

And while the spring and autumn features received major increases, country racing was the other big winner from Wednesday’s announcement, with minimum prizemoney levels for Non-TAB and Country racing increasing while it was also announced two races at every Country TAB meeting will be restricted to NSW Country-trained horses and carry prizemoney of $30,000.

Racing NSW also announced the industry’s Equine Welfare Fund will see contributions increase from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent.

Minimum prizemoney increases

■ Picnic minimum prizemoney increases from $5000 to $7000

■ Non-TAB minimum prizemoney increases from $10,000 to $12,000

■ Sky 2 minimum prizemoney increases from $15,000 to $16,000

■ Country TAB minimum prizemoney increases from $25,000 to $27,000

Spring feature race increases

■ Concorde Stakes $160,000 to $500,000

■ The Shorts $500,000 to $1m

■ Premiere Stakes $500,000 to $1m

■ The Kosciuszko will increase from $1.3m to $2m

■ Sydney Stakes $500,000 to $2m

■ Nature Strip (Winners) Stakes $1m to $3m

New races

■ $1m Five Diamond Prelude (Everest day)

■ $500,000 The Little Dance (Big Dance day)

$6m Sydney Sprint Series bonus

A new $6m bonus to be paid to horses winning the most points across the following six races:

■ Concorde Stakes (1000m) September 3

■ The Shorts (1100m) September 17

■ Premiere Stakes (1200m) October 1

■ The Everest (1200m) October 15

■ Sydney Stakes (1200m) October 15

■ Nature Strip Stakes (1300m) October 29

Points awarded: 5 points for 1st, 4 points for 2nd, 3 points for 3rd, 2 points for 4th and 1 point for 5th in each of the first 5 races.

Double points will be awarded for the Nature Strip Stakes on Golden Eagle day.

It will also be a condition of the bonus that horses must have competed in at least 3 races in the series to be eligible.

Autumn feature race increases

■ Queen Elizabeth Stakes $4m to $5m

■ The Doncaster Mile $3m to $4m

■ TJ Smith Stakes $2.5m to $3m

■ The Galaxy $700,000 to $1m

■ Ranvet Stakes $700,000 to $1m