Prize money increases kick in across all codes in Queensland today as the state’s racing industry enters an exciting era on the back of the new wagering deal.
The increases, announced in August, will see overall base level prize money increase by 50 per cent for greyhounds, 20 per cent for thoroughbreds and 16 per cent for harness year on year in a significant boost to the industry.
Racing Queensland CEO Darren Condon said the control body had promised to increase returns for participants and the new wagering deal with TattsBet had enabled it to deliver on that commitment.
“Participants will see immediate benefits with the increased stakes on offer at today’s thoroughbred meeting at Ipswich, the harness meeting at Redcliffe and the greyhound meetings at Albion Park and Rockhampton,” Mr Condon said.
“From a metropolitan Saturday perspective, the base level prize money will be $65,000 per race, which is up from $45,000 a week ago. With QTIS bonuses included, some races will now carry $100,000 in prize money.
“On the greyhound front, class 1 graded races at Albion Park have jumped to $7,500 to rank among the country’s best purses, while in harness, the majority of our Conditioned Metropolitan Open races have jumped from $8,000 to $12,000.
“These increases should provide our existing participants with the confidence to continue to invest in racing, while also attracting new participants to what is a great industry to be involved in.”
Mr Condon said now base level prize money had increased, more feature prize money announcements would be made in the coming months.
“Already we have been able to announce feature prize money increases for thoroughbreds in Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton and Mackay and we will soon be making further feature prize money announcements across all codes,” he said.
“The fact that the likes of Chris Waller and Peter Snowden have said they will race more horses up here as a result of the increases shows great promise and confidence in our product.
“There has never been a better time to be involved in the sport in Queensland and I’m sure there will be plenty of celebrating this week as the new allocations start being paid out.
