Newmarket Handicap

Race Preview

The Newmarket Handicap is a Group 1 thoroughbred race held annually in March at Flemington racecourse. It is held on 'Super Saturday' which is the Flemington leg of the Melbourne autumn carnival - one of the biggest race days on the Australian race calendar with a whopping seven group races, including two other Group 1 races in the Australian Guineas and Australian Cup.

The race is an open handicap raced over a distance of 1200 metres, carrying the huge prize money of $1,000,000. Only good horses can win this race as its recent roll call attests - Exceed And Excel, Alinghi, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti and Weekend Hussler are the past five Newmarket winners and the past two went on to be Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year in their Newmarket year.

The Newmarket Handicap is the undisputed premier 1200m sprint race in Australia - and the only Flemington race (apart from the Melbourne Cup) in which up to 24 horses are permitted to start. The fastest winner of the Newmarket was Miss Penneymoney with a time of 1:07.60 in 2000.

Trying to pick a winner in this race can be very tough at the best of times, largely due to the amount of runners involved. When analysing the race pay close attention to lead up races as some can be used as a good guide. The Oakleigh Plate, Australian Stakes and Lightning Stakes are the three main races to keep an eye on, as all have produced winners this decade. Interestingly, since 2004 every winner has paid under $10.

Previous Newmarket Handicap Winners