By Danny Russell
Moonee Valley Racing Club has pushed back a decision on where to stage the 2026 Cox Plate until after the spring carnival as it continues to prepare for major on-site surgery.
The superstars of the turf will run on the unique amphitheatre circuit for the last time next year before the old track is ripped up and completely reshaped.
The racecourse will undergo an extreme makeover that will include demolishing an ageing grandstand precinct to make way for new apartments and building a new grandstand on the north side of the course along a new 317m home straight.
Flashback: So You Think races away in the 2010 Cox Plate. Credit: Getty images
The Valley has already asked for expressions of interest from rival clubs to host a one-off Cox Plate in 2026 while the course is closed for 21 months, but will not name a winning bidder until at least the end of November.
The Victoria Racing Club, which runs Flemington Racecourse, was seen as an early favourite, but Caulfield’s landlord, the Melbourne Racing Club, has been given extra time to update its proposal following a recent board upheaval.
New-kid-on-the-block Southside Racing, which operates tracks at Cranbourne or Pakenham, has also submitted a bid. Another 39 Valley meetings in the same time frame are also up for grabs.
“We have agreed to park those conversations until all the clubs have delivered their carnivals, and then we will pick it up again,” Moonee Valley chairman Adam Lennen said.
Speaking ahead of the 2024 Cox Plate barrier draw on Tuesday, Lennen said the club was still tinkering with final designs for their new grandstand, which would form part of a total project cost between $200 million and $250 million.
“We are working on alternatives, such as incorporating a hotel or not,” he said.
“It is probably over the next three or four months that we need to make a call on what that looks like.”
Racing is expected to return to a new-look Moonee Valley in 2027.
The new track will be about 1700m compared to its current 1800m, and will have a new 317m straight – compared to 173m – that will run east to west along Wilson Street, beside the primary school.
By stretching the track three metres wider – from 24 to 27m – it will allow the club to increase future Cox Plate fields to 16 runners compared to the current maximum of 14.
Lennen said the club board and executive would continue to be “prudent” around costs and finances, considering the current economic climate and following a recent decision by Melbourne Racing Club to shelve plans to build a new $250 million grandstand.
Views from the famous Moonee Valley track to the Melbourne CBD.Credit: Penny Stephens
“We are working through a whole checklist of things at the moment, including financing and costings,” he said.
The mega upgrade will be bankrolled by profits from The Valley’s ongoing residential development agreement with Hamton/Hostplus and ISPT – a project that will feature 2000 dwellings at Moonee Valley Park by 2037.
“We will most likely have our next wave of apartments in market in February next year, which is 440 apartments,” Lennen said.
“We want to preserve the amphitheatre ... The new grandstand is going to sit closer to the track. It is still going to be a small, intimate venue.”
Moonee Valley chairman Adam Lennen
“We are very mindful of the money we are spending and the timeframe we are doing it in.
“We don’t want to jeopardise the club from our members’ perspective or from a broader racing industry prospective.”
He said the Valley was also committed to recreating the velodrome-type atmosphere that has existed since 1883.
“We want to preserve the amphitheatre,” he said. “The new grandstand is going to sit closer to the track. It is still going to be a small, intimate venue.
“We are trying to build a facility that is more than just a grandstand that caters for 25-odd race meetings a year. We want to be able to leverage it so it can generate revenue for us potentially 365 days of the year.”
The long-term project to transform 98 acres of freehold land has been driven by club chief executive Michael Browell.
Another key component of the renovation will be utilising the racecourse’s infield, a project that has already attracted interest from golf driving range companies and the AFL, which is always looking to build new ovals to keep up with the sport’s growing demands.
“We want to bring that infield to life and make it work with the residents and the local community, and ideally deliver a return on that land for the club,” Lennen said.
“We have appointed a group to help us on the value management around the civil works.
“We are effectively working towards February next year to finalise all the prices and the scope of the work needed on the infield, or the civil works, which includes the track.”
As part of the new track, the club will install new lights, new horse stalls and new maintenance yards.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.