Victoria’s Summer of Glory will return in 2027 with a strengthened six-week racing program, a $1 million insured pacers bonus that launches with the SEN Victoria Cup, a new Regional Showdown, and the introduction of the Greg Sugars Medal.
HRV CEO Matt Isaacs said Victoria would again capture the summer spotlight with blockbuster cup racing, rich prizes and a revamped program.
“Last summer showed what is possible when we connect Victoria’s biggest races and give participants and fans a reason to follow the story from week to week,” Isaacs said.
“For 2027, we want to continue building that momentum through strong racing, some different challenges and new pathways that connect even more horses, participants and clubs to the Summer of Glory.
“The ambition is simple – make each week matter and keep building towards one of the biggest nights on the Victorian harness racing calendar at Melton.”
Summer of Glory carnival
The 2027 carnival will begin at Bendigo on Saturday, January 9, before moving through Shepparton, Ballarat, Cranbourne and Kilmore on consecutive Saturdays and culminating at Melton Entertainment Park on Saturday, February 13, with the A G Hunter Cup and Yabby Dam Farms Great Southern Star.
The six-week program will be:
- January 9 @ Bendigo, featuring the $75,000 Garrards Horse & Hound Bendigo Cup
- January 16 @ Shepparton, featuring the $50,000 Neatline Shepparton Gold Cup
- January 23 @ Ballarat, featuring the $100,000 Woodlands Stud Ballarat Cup
- January 30 @ Cranbourne, featuring the $150,000 Decron Cranbourne Gold Cup
- February 6 @ Kilmore, featuring the $150,000 Jet Roofing Kilmore Cup
- February 13 @ Melton Entertainment Park, featuring the $250,000 A G Hunter Cup and the $250,000 Yabby Dam Farms Great Southern Star
The final two weeks of the carnival will receive an additional national spotlight through free-to-air coverage on Channel 7, with both the Jet Roofing Kilmore Cup and A G Hunter Cup showcased to a broader audience.
The broadcasts will significantly extend the reach of the Summer of Glory beyond traditional harness racing followers, providing the sport with an important opportunity to showcase its premier horses, participants and events to mainstream sporting audiences.
The opening two pacing features will carry new race conditions, with the Bendigo Cup moving to a preferential barrier draw based on 2026 prizemoney earnings and the Shepparton Cup returning to a standing-start pacing event.
Shepparton will be Victoria’s first standing start since the practice was abolished for pacers in 2016 – a showcase, club-driven trial that promises to delight trots traditionalists and provide a unique handicapping feature.
“We want trots participants and punters to enjoy a Summer of Glory with excitement, twists and turns, with each cup bringing its own flavour,” Isaacs said.
“That will include a thrilling Bendigo sprint, a traditional Shepparton long-distance standing start, the time-honoured Ballarat Cup without its sprint lane, the Group 1 long-distance Cranbourne Gold Cup and Group 1 middle-distance Kilmore Cup.”
Isaacs said HRV would in the coming weeks announce a lead-in program for the Shepparton Cup, enabling participants to prepare and qualify for the pacing standing start.
$1 million chase begins at the SEN Victoria Cup
The centrepiece of the 2027 Summer of Glory will again be a $1 million insured bonus for pacers, but this time the chase begins almost three months before the traditional carnival gets underway.
The 2026 SEN Victoria Cup on Saturday, October 17, will be the first qualifying leg of the bonus, directly connecting Victoria’s premier spring race with the Summer of Glory.
To collect the $1 million insured bonus, a pacer must win the 2027 A G Hunter Cup after winning four of the following six qualifying races:
- SEN Victoria Cup – October 17, 2026
- Gerrards Horse & Hound Bendigo Cup – January 9, 2027
- Neatline Shepparton Gold Cup – January 16, 2027
- Woodlands Stud Ballarat Cup – January 23, 2027
- Decron Cranbourne Gold Cup – January 30, 2027
- Jet Roofing Kilmore Cup – February 6, 2027
Isaacs said including the SEN Victoria Cup gives even more reason for Australasia’s best open-class pacers to race in Victoria from spring through to the end of summer.
“The million-dollar bonus elevated last year’s carnival and we wanted to take that concept another step forward,” he said.
“By adding the SEN Victoria Cup, the road to the A G Hunter Cup effectively begins in October. It gives owners and trainers another reason to target Victoria’s biggest races and, if a horse remains alive for the bonus as the series progresses, it creates a fantastic story for participants, fans and punters to follow.
“Any horse capable of winning four of those races and then the A G Hunter Cup will have produced an extraordinary run and will deserve every cent of the million-dollar reward.”
Regional Showdown creates a pathway to the big stage
The Summer of Glory will also expand beyond its established feature-race stars through the introduction of the new Regional Showdown, providing horses racing across Victoria with a pathway through regional heats and finals to a major feature-night appearance.
For pacers, 17 regional heats will be conducted across Victoria, while trotters will have 15 regional heats, beginning in December and continuing through the Summer of Glory.
Regional heats will carry $7,000 in prizemoney, with the top horses progressing to $14,000 Regional Finals conducted in conjunction with the Bendigo, Shepparton, Ballarat, Cranbourne and Kilmore Cup programs.
The top horses from each Regional Final will then qualify for a $25,000 Country Final, with the pacing feature to be part of the A G Hunter Cup card on Saturday, February 13, and the trotting feature on the Team Teal Night card on Saturday, February 27.
“Summer of Glory will always showcase our very best horses, but we also want the carnival to excite and involve participants racing week-in week-out throughout Victoria,” he said.
“The Regional Showdown gives those horses a genuine pathway from their regular racing into our major country cup meetings and ultimately onto a feature night.
“It connects more clubs, more participants and more horses to the Summer of Glory story and gives people another reason to follow the carnival from the ground up.”
The Regional Showdown races will be run over the middle distance for pacers and trotters aged four and over with national ratings up to 55.
Greg Sugars Medal to honour Summer of Glory’s leading driver
The 2027 carnival will also mark the introduction of the Greg Sugars Medal, to be awarded annually to the Summer of Glory’s leading driver.
The medal honours the late Greg Sugars, one of Australia’s most beloved and talented drivers, who was sadly lost to the sport last year.
Points towards the Greg Sugars Medal will be awarded on a 3-2-1 basis across Group-level races throughout the Summer of Glory, with the inaugural winner crowned on A G Hunter Cup night at Melton Entertainment Park on February 13.
In addition to receiving the Greg Sugars Medal, the winning driver will receive a $5,000 cash prize and permanent recognition on a dedicated honour board at Melton Entertainment Park.
A further $2,500 charitable donation will be made in the winner’s name to a cause nominated by Jess Tubbs and the Sugars family, providing an additional legacy element to the annual award.
Greg’s partner, Jess Tubbs, welcomed the introduction of the medal.
“This is a wonderful way for the harness racing community to remember Greg,” Tubbs said.
“He enjoyed so much success during the Summer of Glory carnival, winning many of his Group 1 races across that period. To be commemorated through Victoria’s biggest races is a fitting tribute.”
Isaacs said the medal would ensure Sugars remained permanently connected with the carnival and the races in which he enjoyed so much success.
“Greg represented so much of what we want the Summer of Glory to showcase – elite performance, competitiveness, professionalism and a genuine love for harness racing,” Isaacs said.
“The Greg Sugars Medal will recognise excellence among his driving peers, but importantly it will also create an enduring legacy beyond the racetrack.
“The annual charitable contribution in the winner’s name is a particularly meaningful part of the award and will ensure Greg’s influence continues to be felt well beyond the presentation itself.”
