.jpg)
The high stakes and the pathway to them have been revealed for April’s Nutrien Sale Race Series.
The rich addition to the calendar, which will run on April 13-14 and incorporate Nutrien Equine’s yearling sales at Inglis and elite racing at Melton, will feature a 30 per cent prizemoney increase to $1.25 million for its third sales series.
The two-year-old pacers will compete for $250,000 in both the fillies and colts and geldings’ classes, while the three-year-old pacers’ finals see a 50 per cent increase to $150,000.
The trotting series will also offer fantastic prize money, with the two-year olds competing for $75,000 each, while the three-year-olds will see an increase of $25,000 to $150,000, making them some of the richest single sex trotting races in the southern hemisphere.
Nutrien Equine’s Mark Barton said it was “fantastic” to confirm the stakemoney hike that would offer “an early race series with serious prizemoney”.
“It means these young sales graduates will have a lot to chase over their first two years of racing,” Barton said.
The path to glory has also been revealed. All heats for the trotters will be at Melton on Thursday April 4 along with the Victorian pacing heats.
New South Wales will also host pacing heats for two and three-year-olds, while Queensland will host pacing heats for two-year-olds. Both the NSW and Queensland heats are planned to be run on Tuesday March 12.
The finals weekend will then culminate not only in the rich race night but the yearling sales, a Magic Millions-like initiative that Barton said the industry had been calling for since Nutrien “became part of it”.
More details at www.nutrienequine.com.au
