Prizemoney levels maintained with strategic realignment delivering key outcomes for grassroots and bolstering feature races
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Racing Victoria (RV) has today announced that total prizemoney and bonuses on offer for the 2025-26 season will remain at current levels with a strategic realignment to better reward maiden winners and recognise flagship races that contribute substantially to the industry’s health.
Maintaining total prizemoney and bonuses on offer was a primary objective of RV to support participants and owners in the face of broader macro-economic pressures. It will occur despite a small reduction in meetings and the absence of metropolitan track The Valley for three-quarters of the season.
RV’s ability to meet its objective comes courtesy of significant efficiencies realised through a business restructure and other initiatives, together with enhanced contributions from metropolitan clubs, a strategic reallocation from other races, and the redistribution of prizemoney from the race meetings being removed from the calendar.
Headlining a revamped prizemoney model is the announcement that all professional country maidens will increase by $5,000 next season. This unprecedented level of investment represents an additional $7 million in funding for maiden races to boost the initial return that owners receive on their investment.
In other news, Australia’s most famous race, the Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m), will increase to a record $10 million this November in recognition of the engagement and financial returns it generates for racing and the economy, both in Victoria and nationally.
To celebrate the historic final edition of the Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) at the current Moonee Valley Racecourse prior to its major redevelopment, prizemoney for the 2025 edition of Australia’s weight-for-age championship has also been increased to a record $6 million.
Today’s announcement also includes details on a recalibration at the lower end of the race ratings system to provide better opportunities for participants engaged at that level, a redistribution of feature race prizemoney across the 2025 Spring Racing Carnival and 2026 Festival of Racing, and news on an earlier return to owners and participants of funds previously set aside for temporary WorkCover support.
RV’s decisions on the 2025-26 prizemoney model come following detailed submissions, extensive consultation and input from Country Racing Victoria (CRV), Melbourne Racing Club (MRC), Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC), Victoria Racing Club (VRC), Australian Trainers Association (ATA), Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association (TROA), Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria (TBV), Victorian Jockeys Association (VJA) and Southside Racing through the industry’s Racing Forums.
The specifics of today’s announcement are as follows:
Maiden Races – More to celebrate for owners and participants
In total, 1400 country maiden races, representing a third of all Victorian races, will be increased by $5,000 each to support grassroots racing and accelerate the return on investment for owners.
Minimum prizemoney for all professional country maidens has been increased to the following through the redistribution of prizemoney from those meetings removed from the calendar and a reallocation of prizemoney from various metropolitan and country races:
Country Premier Maidens - $55,000 (up from $50,000)
- Country Premium Night Maidens - $45,000 (up from $40,000)
Country Premium Day Maidens - $42,500 (up from $37,500)
Country Standard Maidens - $32,000 (up from $27,000)
Country SKY 2 Maidens - $25,000 (up from $20,000)
Country Non-TAB Maidens - $20,000 (up from $15,000)
In addition, $55,000 (day/twilight) and $60,000 (night) maidens will be programmed at midweek metro meetings, whilst a series of $75,000 maidens will again double as feature race qualifiers.
Flagship Races – Lexus Melbourne Cup up to $10 million and Ladbrokes Cox Plate to $6 million
Victoria’s three most prestigious races will headline the 2025 Spring Racing Carnival with prizemoney increases for two as part of the strategic realignment and increased contributions from host clubs:
$10 million Lexus Melbourne Cup (G1, 3200m, Flemington, 4 November 2025) – up $1.34 million
$6 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate (G1, 2040m, The Valley, 25 October 2025) – up $1 million
$5 million Sportsbet Caulfield Cup (G1, 2400m, Caulfield, 18 October 2025) – remains unchanged with other major prizemoney increases and program enhancements being delivered at Caulfield
The additional prizemoney for the Melbourne Cup will be primarily shared among those horses outside the top 12 placegetters, with all horses placed 13th to 24th to receive a $100,000 payment in recognition of their achievement in qualifying for Australia’s most famous race.
In addition, the VRC have announced two further golden ticket races with the winners of the following feature Victorian staying races exempt from ballot in the 2026 Lexus Melbourne Cup:
$500,000 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup (2400m, Wednesday, 22 October 2025)
$750,000 Ladbrokes Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m, Friday, 24 October 2025)
The additional golden ticket races will help build the ongoing narrative of the Lexus Melbourne Cup and create further excitement, drama and discussion in the build-up to the first Tuesday in November.
In the historic 2025 Ladbrokes Cox Plate, the $1 million increase has been allocated in full to the winner who will earn a record $4 million. The second and third placegetters will also collect more through a reallocation of prizemoney which will now be paid down to eighth place instead of 10th.
2025 Spring Racing Carnival – Prizemoney boosts to support major racedays
The MRC had previously announced exciting changes to its spring program, with the Group 1 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) and Group 1 Sportsbet Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) returning to traditional timeslots in October and September respectively.
The Thousand Guineas, which will again be conducted for $1.5 million, will feature alongside the Caulfield Cup delivering multiple Group 1 highlights on a spectacular day of racing at Caulfield.
The Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes returns to Saturday, 20 September 2025 where it will be one of two $1 million Group 1 features to be showcased with prizemoney for the Underwood Stakes (1800m) to be increased by $250,000.
There is a further boost to the MRC’s revamped Group 1 raceday at Caulfield on Saturday, 15 November 2025 with the creation of Victoria’s newest $1 million race – the Thoroughbred Club Stakes (1200m).
Currently a Group 3 event, the sprint race for three-year-old fillies is aiming to become a Group 1 race, given the absence on the Australian racing calendar of a 1200m Group 1 contest for fillies.
The Thoroughbred Club Stakes’ positioning, two weeks after the $2 million Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington, will allow the nation’s best fillies to compete in both events.
Headlining the raceday is the weight-for-age Sportsbet C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) which will be run for an increased $1 million after being moved from February to become the final Group 1 race of the spring.
The 15 November meeting also has been boosted with the Group 2 Sportsbet Sandown Guineas (1600m) returning to the support card where it will feature an increased $400,000 purse.
The Sandown Guineas will link up perfectly with the $400,000 Melbourne Classic (2000m) – a new middle distance feature race for three-year-olds a fortnight later at Caulfield on Saturday, 29 November 2025.
The feature race prizemoney increases at Caulfield are as follows:
Underwood Stakes (G1, 1800m, 20 September 2025) - $1 million (up $250,000)
Sportsbet C.F. Orr Stakes (G1, 1400m, 15 November 2025) - $1 million (up $250,000)
Thoroughbred Club Stakes (G3, 1200m, 15 November 2025) - $1 million (up $800,000)
Sportsbet Sandown Guineas (G2, 1600m, 15 November 2025) - $400,000 (up $100,000)
Further, in recognition of the key role the Caulfield Cup Carnival, Cox Plate Carnival and Melbourne Cup Carnival play in the health of the Victorian racing industry, minimum prizemoney will be increased throughout the three carnivals for all Listed and Group 3 races.
Across the nine race meetings within the three carnivals, minimum prizemoney will increase for 13 Group 3 races from $200,000 to $240,000, and from $175,000 to $200,000 for 11 Listed races.
The spring prizemoney increases and programming enhancements were strongly endorsed by stakeholders, noting that previously announced changes have been warmly received by owners and breeders for their support of the Australian racing pattern and the Spring Racing Carnival internationally.
2026 Festival of Racing – Alignment across premier Group 1 races
There will be greater consistency across features throughout February and March with the four premier Group 1 races during the 2026 Festival of Racing to now each be worth $2 million. They are as follows:
Sportsbet Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m, Caulfield, 21 February 2026)
Yulong Newmarket Handicap (1200m, Flemington, 7 March 2026)
All-Star Mile (1600m, Flemington, 7 March 2026)
TAB Australian Cup (2000m, Flemington, 28 March 2026)
A strategic realignment to take $500,000 from each of the All-Star Mile and Australian Cup helps fund a $500,000 increase to the Newmarket Handicap and deliver the increases to country TAB maidens.
New Ratings Races
Building on the foundations of a proposal from the ATA and TROA, RV will adjust the ratings categories in Victoria to better serve the population of horses with handicap ratings in the 50s and 60s.
The creation of the new categories aims to provide these lower rated horses, which make up a sizeable portion of the horse population, with more chances to compete against similarly matched opposition.
The new categories, which will be introduced from 1 September 2025 and trialled throughout the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and their minimum prizemoney levels are as follows:
Benchmark 66 / 0-66 – $27,000
Benchmark 62 / 0-62 – $27,000
Benchmark 56 / 0-56 – $22,000
Benchmark 52 / 0-52 – $22,000
The sliding prizemoney scale seeks to create a clear point of difference between categories to foster more competitive racing, whilst rewarding progression up the ratings bands.
MVRC Transfers
The Valley will close for its major redevelopment following the 2025 Ladbrokes Cox Plate necessitating the transfer of 16 meetings throughout the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
Wagering analysis details that the reallocated MVRC meetings will largely generate a lower wagering return to the industry than if run at The Valley. Accordingly, a hybrid prizemoney model will be enacted as follows for MVRC transfers to best align with projected returns:
2 x Saturday metropolitan meetings (Cranbourne & Caulfield) – Standard metropolitan scale
8 x Friday night meetings at Cranbourne (Metro) - $60,000 minimum per race
2 x Friday night meetings at Sportsbet-Pakenham* (Country) - $40,000 minimum per race
2 x Friday day meetings at Geelong (Country) - $40,000 minimum per race
2 x Wednesday twilight meetings at Geelong (Country) - $40,000 minimum per race
(* Meetings conducted the night prior to Victoria Derby Day and Champions Day at Flemington)
Participant Wellbeing and WorkCover Levy
Since February 2024, a further 1% of prizemoney was retained to support participant wellbeing initiatives and a WorkCover subsidy scheme to provide near term assistance to trainers with managing an acute rise in premiums.
As announced upon its launch, this was planned to revert to 0.5% of prizemoney from February 2026 after parallel work had occurred to better manage WorkCover claims and drive down the cost of the system.
RV has announced that the reduction to 0.5% will take effect from the earlier date of 1 August 2025, thus releasing a further $1.4 million in prizemoney back to owners and participants across the 2025-26 season.
From next season, the overall welfare contributions from prizemoney will be reduced to 3.5% per race, comprising 2% for equine welfare, 1% for jockey welfare and 0.5% for participant wellbeing.
The remaining 0.5% allocation for participant wellbeing will continue to support the ATA Workcover Support Services program, along with other participant support initiatives such as the free Stableline counselling service.
Quotes attributable to RV Chief Executive, Aaron Morrison
“The prizemoney model for 2025-26 reflects a broad range of valuable submissions from our clubs and stakeholder groups whom we thank for their insights. We also acknowledge the commitments from the MRC, VRC and MVRC to increase their contributions to lift prizemoney for key races next season.
“Prizemoney is the lifeblood for participants and owners and provides confidence to continue to invest in Victorian racing. That is why we’ve worked hard to maintain the total prizemoney on offer at current levels despite broader economic challenges.
“At the heart of next season’s prizemoney model is a strategic realignment to primarily turbo charge country maidens and to invest in flagship races that deliver maximum returns to the industry.
“Maidens make up a third of our races and are hard to win. That’s why we’re delighted to increase all professional country maidens by $5,000 to provide a greater initial return for those investing in our sport.
“The Lexus Melbourne Cup is unparalleled in Australian racing generating wagering returns more than six times greater than any other race. An increase to $10 million recognises its incredible value to the sport not just in Victoria, but right across the nation where meetings abound on Melbourne Cup Day.
“The final Ladbrokes Cox Plate on the current Valley track will be an iconic part of Australian racing history. Its increase to $6 million recognises the enormity of the occasion and our desire, with the MVRC, to attract a field befitting this historic event.”
Click here to view the 2025-26 Victorian Prizemoney Minimums