3 minute read
Melbourne Racing Club has announced further changes to the spring racing program, with Underwood Stakes Day to be moved to Ladbrokes Park on Sunday 26 September and Zipping Classic Race Day to be rescheduled for 27 November and held at Caulfield Racecourse.
Additionally, the Caulfield and Thousand Guineas preludes will move forward by a week to be run on MRC Foundation Race Day on 18 September alongside the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes and G3 MRC Foundation Cup (Naturalism Stakes).
As announced by Racing Victoria earlier today, the Zipping Classic (2400m) also received a generous $500k boost in prize money with equine contenders and connections in the running to take home $750,000 in 2021.
MRC CEO Josh Blanksby welcomes the further updates to the spring racing calendar and the positive impact this will have across the Club's racecourses.
"We are thrilled that the programming changes have been ratified by Racing Victoria and in 2021 to officially start and finish spring racing in Victoria," says Blanksby.
"It will be exciting to host a late spring event at Caulfield as headlined by the freshly boosted $750,000 Zipping Classic and the transfer of the Underwood Stakes Race Day to Ladbrokes Park will see Group 1 racing return to the racecourse for the first time in 25 years.
"2021 is the year to shake things up and we are looking forward to a renewed energy across all of our racecourses this Spring."
Melbourne Racing Club's 2021 Spring Racing features will be held on:
- Saturday 28 August –Memsie Stakes Day (Caulfield)
- Saturday 18 September – MRC Foundation Race Day (Caulfield)
- Sunday 26 September –Underwood Stakes Day (Ladbrokes Park)
- Saturday 9 October – Neds Caulfield Guineas Day (Caulfield)
- Wednesday 13 October – Thousand Guineas Race Day (Caulfield)
- Saturday 16 October – Caulfield Cup Day (Caulfield)
- Sunday 31 October –Peninsula Cup Day (Mornington)
- Saturday 27 November – Zipping Classic Race Day (Caulfield)
