Owners and trainers are advised that Racing Victoria has today released the program for the 2020 jumps racing season which will offer over $3.8 million in prizemoney.
The program, which was developed in consultation with the AJRA, TRSA and the participating race clubs, remains very similar to the 2019 program with a total of 61 jumps races – 39 hurdles and 22 steeplechases – scheduled for the 2020 season, the same figure as the previous season.
Trialling will commence at Cranbourne on Friday, 21 February with the first meeting of the season scheduled at Warrnambool on Thursday, 12 March.
Warrnambool will host six jumps meetings, the same figure as 2019, including the three-day May Carnival which boasts a minimum $785,000 in prizemoney for the jumps races.
Pakenham will continue to host the Mosstrooper Jumps Raceday on Sunday, 19 July following a successful first running of the meeting in July this year.
Once again, the season will conclude with the Grand National Steeplechase at Ballarat on Sunday, 23 August, where the six-race meeting will remain exclusive to jumps racing and offer $630,000 in prizemoney.
One of the minor changes within the program is the inclusion of a jumps meeting at Sale, which did not host one in 2019, with the Club to conduct three jumps races as part of their program on Tuesday, 12 May.
Furthermore, to avoid a clash with South Australia’s revamped Oakbank program, the Hamilton meeting that was scheduled to host the $50,000 Eulong Steeplechase among three jumps races on Sunday, 5 April has been brought forward a week to Sunday, 29 March.
Click here to view the full 2020 Victorian jumps racing program.