Racing Victoria green lights Saturday night Cranbourne summer racing trial

Racing Victoria has endorsed a “short trial” of Saturday night summer racing at Cranbourne.

Racing Victoria has endorsed a “short trial” of Saturday night summer racing at Cranbourne.

The four Saturday-night window, requested by Southside Racing, operators of Cranbourne and Pakenham racecourses and training centres, will start from December 28.

There will be no increase in meetings held, with the trial meetings replacing two Thursday and two Friday night slots scheduled for late December and early January.

Cranbourne previously hosted two to three Saturday night meetings annually from 2011 to 2019 prior to their cessation during the Covid pandemic.

Southside Racing and RV want the trial to gauge attendances, wagering and engagement around Saturday night racing post the pandemic era.

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Country level night prizemoney will be offered — currently $40,000 minimum for all races — so as not to affect Saturday metropolitan cards.

Standard country day meetings — $27,000 minimum — set for Kerang (December 28), Stony Creek (January 4) and Camperdown (Jan 18) remain unchanged.

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So staff who like to enjoy themselves/have family time on Saturday night are now required to work. Alarm goes off at 3am, day racing, night racing. Trainer needs to be across all runners. Last race at 8:45pm, worker lucky to be home by 10pm. Back at work at 6am Sunday morning. 🤬 https://t.co/iE1XJXkkHw

— Shona Drechsler 🐮🇦🇺🐴 (@ShonaDrechsler) June 12, 2024

RV executive general manager Matt Welsh announced the four-week trial on Thursday.

“These meetings will also start earlier to intersect with the large volume of active customers engaging in Saturday metro meetings, while also enabling an earlier finish for participants,” Welsh said.

“We encourage our clubs to keep trying initiatives to grow the sport and we’re pleased to support Southside Racing who are planning a great festival of meetings and entertainment.”

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Welsh acknowledge Southside Racing’s commitment to growing the sport in the southeast.

Melbourne Cup winners Sam Freedman and Mark Zahra were among participants to previously voice concerns about Saturday night racing as “dangerous” and “unnecessary”.

Southside Racing chief executive Neil Bainbridge welcomed the RV endorsement.

“This initiative represents a significant opportunity to revitalise racing in the southeast and engage with local communities in a new and exciting way,” Bainbridge said.

“This trial is about more than just racing; it’s about understanding how we can evolve and thrive in a dynamic landscape.

“We are committed to learning from this experience and using the insights gained to inform our future strategies.”

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RV and Southside canvassed key stakeholders and leading stables during the consultation period.

RV reported feedback from Wagering Service Providers indicated twice as many of their racing customers are active in the 5.30pm-8.30pm Saturday timeslot than Tuesday and Thursday daytime slots and 50-60 per cent more than the Wednesday and Sunday daytime slots.

Originally published as Racing Victoria green lights Saturday night Cranbourne summer racing trial