WHILE it’s been a long time in the making, Australian harness racing's first slot race has been announced this week.
The TAB Eureka will undertake its inaugural running next September as the richest harness racing event on the planet.
To be run at Tabcorp Park Menangle over 2300 metres, 10 Australian bred three and four-year-olds will race for $2.1 million worth of prize money and bonuses. The winner’s cheque will sit at a cool $1 million dollars while breeding and a three-year-old bonus will also be on offer.
With the slot race concept proving to be highly successful in both the galloping and greyhound codes, and more recently in New Zealand harness racing, The Eureka will also take on this form.
Ten slots will be available, with each costing $100,000 for a minimum three-year commitment. With murmurings of immense early interest from several parties keen to be involved, it is expected the race will be over subscribed leaving Harness Racing Australia to decide on an appropriate ballot or selection strategy.
Expressions of interest for slot holders are set to open at the end of this month, with the next 17 months set to take several twists and turns on its journey to the big event.
TAB has already opened a futures market on the groundbreaking new race with New South Wales Derby champion LEAP TO FAME heading the proceedings at $9.
The Mildura Carnival will once again reach its crescendo tomorrow evening with the running of its Group 2 Tasco Petroleum Mildura Pacing Cup amid a jam-packed undercard.
This evening the trotters will take centre stage with their Group 3 Aaron Bain Racing Mildura Trotters Cup feature as part of an 11-race programme, followed by the same length of card for the finale Saturday.
Coming off their record-breaking Tasmanian invasion last week, Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin will again have the strong hand leading into this weekend's feature.
Both OUR MILLIONARE and PHOENIX PRINCE were painless heat victors when cruising to triumph in their respective qualifiers on Tuesday night and, despite coming up with second row draws, look set to fight it out between themselves.
Mark Pitt smashed all records when hauling nine victories last weekend in Launceston and has no doubt given a strong lead when he opted to stick with Our Millionaire for the $60,000 Sunraysia feature.
The Trot Rods took flight for its third season on Wednesday night with the hot lap concept again proving popular around the Redcliffe circuit.
SCHOOBY set the early time to beat in the opening heat of 66.7 seconds when coming from well back to score.
The grades rise each Wednesday, with the expectation that the times will also lower as we edge closer to the final night on May 25 featuring an entire card of 10 Trot Rods contests.
The fastest time at the end of the series will pocket a cool $10,000 cash bonus as well as a brand-new Otto Tuza float.
Again, Sky Racing will bring you that night showcased live on Sky Racing 2.
BEST of the weekend: Menangle, Saturday, R2 N9 Pearl Harbour
Brittany Graham is a regular host on Sky Racing and the Sky Racing Active app, plus In The Gig with Ben Way and Gareth Hall every Tuesday night on Sky Racing 2 from 6pm.
The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.