Radical new plan for all-star $5m Victorian race

Public involvement in selecting the field and a massive prize of $5 million will make the planned All-Star Mile a radical new event on the Australian racing scene.

The initiative to run the big-money race during the Melbourne autumn carnival next year was announced on Monday morning, with one striking feature being the plan to rotate the contest around Melbourne's three racecourses at Flemington, Moonee Valley and Caulfield.

With its weight-for-age conditions and 14-horse field size, racing officials are clearly targeting Australian superstar Winx for the first running in 2019.

Normally she would be otherwise engaged in preparing to mop up big races during the Sydney carnival which gets into gear later in March.

Part-owner Peter Tighe says the race is an attractive proposition but no decision will be made until the new year.

''We have got to get through [her spell] and make sure she's fine; if she's fine we will look at the programming and planning for the autumn.''

The plan is a bold idea to give the Melbourne autumn carnival a massive new look, and it's also hard to see the race as anything but a modified retort to the $13 million Everest at Randwick, which is designed to take the lustre away from Melbourne's spring carnival.

The contest will be the most valuable 1600-metre races in the world and the public will get a say in who runs with 10 spots to be determined by a vote.

Racing officials will decide the remaining four slots and issue wildcard invitations.

They will be hoping that northern hemisphere trainers will be lured to Australia with the All-Star Mile being a huge carrot for 1600-metre horses in the way the Melbourne Cup is for stayers in the spring.

Racing Victoria CEO Giles Thompson said: ''We’re delighted to join with our three metropolitan Clubs in launching The All-Star Mile which will be shared on rotation across Flemington, Caulfield and The Valley and become a signature event for Victorian racing.

“Australia boasts so many passionate and dedicated racing fans across all states and we want to give them a race to own. The All-Star Mile will be the first race in Australia where the fans decide who secures their shot at stardom.

“We want racing fans to determine who the All-Stars are and who should get their chance to compete for a share of the $5 million in prizemoney on offer. Will you vote for your favourite horse, your favourite trainer or be parochial and vote for your state? The choice is yours."

Owners and trainers will get the chance to nominate their horse for The All-Star Mile by early January 2019.

Fans will from then on be invited to vote online for the horse they want to see contest the race from among the list of nominations. Voting will close late February 2019.

The 10 highest vote-getters will be selected to run, with four wildcards determined by March 5.

The final field will be confirmed and the barrier draw conducted by March 12, 2019.

Thompson said the idea was not replicate The Everest but to do something different. The fact that Melbourne had three race clubs meant the event could be shared around, he said.

Written by By Michael Lynch

Article Courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media)