Champion pacer Leap To Fame will headline the best harness horses from Australia and New Zealand to chase two exciting and massive new bonuses on Victoria’s feature summer races.
In a huge boost for the sport, Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) today unveiled a $1.5 million in insured bonuses – $1 million for pacers and $500,000 for trotters – across the six biggest weeks of the Summer of Glory.
Although there are six legs in the bonus series, the $1 million will be paid on any pacer who can win four legs (including the Hunter Cup) and $500,000 to any trotter who can four legs (including the Great Southern Star).
Leap To Fame’s leviathan Queenslander owner Kevin Seymour said the move would guarantee Victorians see more of the all-time richest Australasian pacer racing in the state.
“This is sensational news for harness racing, not just in Victoria, but in this part of the world,” he said.
“It will give Victorians the opportunity to see lots of Leap To Fame, but will also bring the best open-class pacers in this part of the world together in Victoria.
“The impact it will have on those big country cups is massive. We love taking Leap To Fame out to the people and this is even more incentive to do so.
“It’ll be a big step towards a resurgence for the sport in Victoria and it’s a huge credit to all involved.”
HRV CEO Matt Isaacs said the bonuses would further cement Victoria as the “go-to destination” in summer.
“It’s been our goal to make the Summer of Glory unmissable,” he said. “First the team worked with our country clubs to totally reshape where and when we ran our biggest country cups and, in many cases, boosted their prize money.
“To then throw some serious and achievable bonus money around them is the icing on the cake.
“Hunter Cup night will already be huge, but imagine the extra layer of having a pacer and/or trotter going for those big bonuses in the Hunter Cup and Great Southern Star.
“I want to thank the country clubs we’ve worked with to bring this all together. It’s been a real team effort.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the best horses in this part of the world, pacers and trotters, coming to Victoria at the start of next year and, importantly, racing a few times, not just once.
“People love seeing the best horses race against each other and that’s what this is designed to do.”
NSW set a precedent for such bonuses last year, but ir was daunting as it required a horse to win all five legs in the series to win the $1 million bonus. Mighty stayer Swayzee went agonizingly close to banking $1 million with four wins and a second. He still earned a $500,000 bonus.
The Victorian bonus series starts at Bendigo on January 10 with the $75,000 Group 1 Bendigo Cup and the $75,000 Group 1 Maori Mile.
It moves to Shepparton (January 17), Ballarat (January 24), Cranbourne (January 31) and Kilmore (February 7).
The Summer of Glory culminates with the stellar Hunter Cup card at Melton on February 14.
SUMMER OF GLORY – BONUS SERIES LEGS
January 10: $75,000 Gp2 Bendigo Cup (pacers)/$75,000 Gp1 Maori Mile (trotters)
January 17: $50,000 Gp3 Shepparton Gold Cup/ $30,000 Gp3 Shepparton Trotters’ Cup
January 24: $100,000 Gp2 Ballarat Cup/$75,000 Gp1 Ballarat Trotters’ Cup
January 31: $150,000 Gp1 Cranbourne Cup/$75,000 Gp1 Cranbourne Trotters’ Cup
February 7: $150,000 Gp1 Kilmore Cup/$75,000 Gp1 Kilmore Trotters’ Cup
February 14: $250,000 Gp1 Hunter Cup/$250,000 Gp1 Great Southern Star
