All-Star Mile finds permanent home

The All-Star Mile has found a permanent home at Flemington which will ensure the race will attains Group 1 status by 2026.

However, the flip side is the ASM will be run for $1.5 million less than the $4 million that was on offer this year.

The ASM will be run on Super Saturday, March 8 at Flemington, alongside the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap, bringing together some of the best sprinters and milers in the country to Flemington.

In the six editions of the ASM, the race has met the benchmark for Group 1 status, and it is Racing Victoria and the Victoria Racing Club’s intention, in conjunction with Australia’s Black Type Committee, for the All-Star Mile to be given Group 1 status for the 2026 edition, or by moving an existing Group 1 race to Super Saturday in the 2025-26 season.

To assist the chances of the ASM gaining Group 1 status, the race will remain at weight-for-age while voting on which horses gain a start will be abolished.

However, the All-Star Mile Owner Ambassador competition will remain.

Prize money reduction from the ASM is being diverted to support the picnic season along with helping deliver a $50,000 maiden every Sunday in country Victoria, beginning on October 1.

As part of the industry’s budgeting for the season, the VRC has elected to reduce its funding contribution for feature races at Flemington for the 2024-25 season by $1.125 million.

While the VRC’s Spring Carnival will not be affected, autumn races have had prize money cuts at the upper echelon while RV has allocated $500,000 from the ASM prize money reduction to maintain the Newmarket Handicap at its $1.5 million level of this year.

With wagering turnover down resulting in a loss for RV last financial year, the racing authority has dipped into cash reserves to maintain prize money levels at 2023-24 levels.

Along with the $50,000 Sunday feature maiden there will be a newly created series of 10 maidens worth $75,000 each run at Ballarat, Geelong and Warrnambool throughout spring, with the winners qualifying for the $250,000 The Emerging Star (1400m) on Ballarat Cup Day December 7.

RV also announced that feature races on Cox Plate Day and the main lead ups to the Blue Diamond Stakes – the Previews and Preludes – have had prize money increases.

Prizemoney boosts for the Crystal Mile and Tesio Stakes on Cox Plate support changes to the race conditions for both.

Newly appointed chief executive Aaron Morrison said one of RV’s key goals was to maximise returns to participants and owners.

“Over the past eight years returns to participants have grown by over $140 million, however a more recent downturn in wagering and other financial pressures facing the industry mean that such growth has become more challenging to sustain,” Morrison said.

“We’re undertaking a review of our industry operating model and have been executing a range of cost saving initiatives to ensure that the prize money and bonuses we offer this season can remain at the same level as last season.

“We also recognise the importance of investing in grassroots racing for a strong foundation, as well as protecting our major events and that’s why we’ve also sought to strategically realign the allocation of prize money across the season.”