A new $530,000 Country Trainers Series, supported by Racing Victoria (RV), Country Racing Victoria (CRV) and the Australian Trainers’ Association (ATA), kicks off in Victoria today (Friday, 25 March), enhancing opportunities for smaller and emerging stables, and their horses, to taste success.
Two separate series will be conducted, one for sprinters and the other over a middle distance, with four heats of each to be run at country tracks across Victoria during March and April in the lead-up to the respective finals.
The Good Friday Country Trainers Series will culminate in two $150,000 finals - one a 1200m Benchmark 70 Handicap and the other a 1500m Benchmark 70 Handicap - on Victoria’s inaugural Good Friday Raceday at Sale on Friday, 15 April 2022.
First, second, third and fourth placegetters in each heat will be exempt from the ballot for the finals.
Only horses who have competed in the heats will be eligible to nominate for the finals, with excess horses, if any, balloted by finishing position in the heats. Horses with the same finishing position in the heats will then be ranked in rating order.
The first 1200m heat will be held at Warrnambool today with the running of the Chris Steel Designs Benchmark 64 Handicap at 4.30pm (AEDT), with the first heat of the longer series set to jump at Benalla next Tuesday, 29 March.
RV Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter, said: “We’re excited to commence the Good Friday Country Trainers Series today, which provides smaller and emerging trainers with the opportunity to challenge for outstanding prizemoney against like competition.
“The inaugural Good Friday Raceday at Sale is shaping to be a terrific event and the two finals of the Country Trainers Series will only add to the spectacle. I look forward to watching the heats over the coming weeks and to seeing some great stories emerge throughout.”
CRV Chief Executive, Scott Whiteman, said: "This is a great initiative for the industry with fantastic support and commitment by RV, CRV and the ATA. It complements The Country Discovery, the headline race on Good Friday, in what is shaping to be a milestone day for country racing and the Sale Turf Club."
ATA Chief Executive, Andrew Nicholl, said: “The Country Trainers Series concept ticks all the boxes.
“A new middle distance and sprint series, each to showcase our regional Victorian racetrack network across their respective heats, culminating in two $150,000 finals to be run at the Good Friday meeting each year.
“It is a terrific industry initiative – and one the ATA is very proud to put its support behind.”
The Good Friday Country Trainers Series is exclusive to trainers who are licensed in Victoria only, had less than 50 metropolitan starters in Victoria in the 2020-21 racing season and less than five metropolitan winners in Victoria in the same period.
To be eligible for either series, horses must have been in the care of an eligible trainer on or before 1 January 2022 as per an official stable return.
Please see the full schedule for the Good Friday Country Trainers Series:
Good Friday Country Trainers 1200m Series
|
Heat
|
Venue
|
Date
|
Race
|
|
1
|
Warrnambool
|
Fri 25 Mar
|
$25k BM64 Handicap 1200m
|
|
2
|
Bairnsdale
|
Sun 27 Mar
|
$35k BM64 Handicap 1200m
|
|
3
|
Benalla
|
Tue 29 Mar
|
$25k BM64 Handicap 1206m
|
|
4
|
Ballarat
|
Tue 5 Apr
|
$35k BM64 Handicap 1200m
|
|
Final
|
Sale
|
Fri 15 Apr
|
$150k BM70 Handicap 1200m
|
Good Friday Country Trainers 1500m Series
|
Heat
|
Venue
|
Date
|
Race
|
|
1
|
Benalla
|
Tue 29 Mar
|
$25k BM64 Handicap 1406m
|
|
2
|
Ararat
|
Sat 2 Apr
|
$25k BM64 Handicap 1300m
|
|
3
|
Sale
|
Sun 3 Apr
|
$35k BM64 Handicap 1400m
|
|
4
|
Hamilton
|
Sun 3 Apr
|
$25k BM64 Handicap 1400m
|
|
Final
|
Sale
|
Fri 15 Apr
|
$150k BM70 Handicap 1500m
|