The Everest 2024: Racing NSW, Australian Turf Club in talks to increase crowd capacity at Royal Randwick

Racing NSW and Australian Turf Club are in planning mode to increase the crowd capacity at Royal Randwick for The TAB Everest after Saturday’s record sellout of 49,117 fans.

Racing NSW and Australian Turf Club are in planning mode to increase the crowd capacity at Royal Randwick for The TAB Everest next year.

For the first time, Randwick was a sell-out for The Everest last Saturday with a modern-day record crowd of 49,117 fans on track to watch Bella Nipotina win the world’s richest turf race.

This has led to Sydney racing officials already considering how to accommodate the growing demand for the 2025 Everest Day meeting and beyond.

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There are obvious logistical issues to increase Randwick’s capacity to around 55,000 next year and cater for the increasing demand for Everest tickets.

But ATC is investigating the feasibility of having a “marquee city” located in Randwick’s in-field similar to what is available at Flemington during Melbourne Cup Week.

“The ATC wants to try and accommodate as many people as we can for The Everest next year – it pains us to turn anyone away,’’ ATC chairman Peter McGauran said.

“We are trying to grow the sport so we have to find ways to increase the crowd capacity.

“Obviously, we are still working on these plans but our initial thoughts are to have some marquees in the in-field so we can have general admission racegoers.’’

There is also an opportunity to increase the size and number of multi-level marquees located on the grandstand side of the racecourse to increase premium corporate hospitality areas as these are sold out weeks before The Everest.

• Everest success spurs plan for new Randwick feature race date

The success of the Everest meeting also has the ATC considering introducing a “wait list” for punters keen not to miss out on tickets for the race day next year.

Racing enthusiasts will be given an opportunity to register their interest with ATC for Everest Day and guarantee their tickets before they go on sale.

The concept is similar to the season-long “reserve seat” offerings for other sports including the NRL.

Sydney’s spring racing carnival has continually evolved since The Everest was launched in 2017.

On the back of The Everest’s success, a raft of big-money races have since been introduced to the Sydney spring carnival including the $10 million Golden Eagle, $5 million King Charles III Stakes and $3 million Big Dance.

It is understood there are discussions being held about the possibility of another feature race meeting at Royal Randwick in November next year, a week after Rosehill’s Five Diamonds race day.

This would necessitate the successful provincial stand-alone race meetings at The Hunter at Newcastle and The Gong at Kembla Grange both being pushed back a week respectively in November to accommodate the additional Randwick meeting.

Long-term, the ATC has plans to build a $100 million hotel and restaurant development on Royal Randwick overlooking the finishing post which would accommodate more racegoers.

The proposed seven-story complex will include 190 hotel rooms, function rooms, and a registered club known as the Jockey Club.

Originally published as The Everest 2024: Racing NSW, Australian Turf Club in talks to increase crowd capacity at Royal Randwick