The Perth Summer Racing Carnival takes place from November - February at Ascot Racecourse in WA. The carnival features the Perth Cup as well as three Group 1 events: the Railway Stakes, the Winterbottom Stakes and the Northerly Stakes . Included in the Perth Summer Racing Carnival is the three-day Festival of Perth Racing.
Perth Summer Racing Carnival News
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- Zaaki Heads 2023 Northerly Stakes Field & Betting Markets
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The 2024-25 Perth Summer Racing Carnival is held at Ascot Racecourse in Perth, Western Australia. It runs from late October to early January and incorporates a host of race meetings. Three days of the Perth Summer Racing Carnival, which is also known as the Ascot Summer Carnival, are part of the Festival Of Perth Racing, which features the biggest races hosted during the summer season at Ascot.
Ascot Racecourse is reserved exclusively for Perth’s summer racing season; the winter races, including the Perth Winter Racing Carnival, are held at the alternative venue of Belmont Park Racecourse. The Summer Carnival is intensely popular and attracts visitors from all corners of Australia, as well as a large number of international visitors.
There are three Group 1 races held during the Perth Summer Racing Carnival each year: the $1.5 million Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m), $1.5 million Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) and $1.5 million Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) which was formerly known as the Kingston Town Stakes.
The lucrative Perth racing action extends further into December with the $1.5 million The Gold Rush (1400m) held for the first time in 2022 and now holding Group 3 status.
More information on these races can be found below.
Festival of Perth Racing
The annual Festival of Perth Racing incorporates some of the biggest race days of the Summer Racing Carnival at Ascot Racecourse. The first day of the festival is Railway Stakes Day, the second is Winterbottom Stakes Day and the third day featuring Group 1 racing is Northerly Stakes Day.
Perth Summer Racing Carnival Days
Asian Beau Stakes Day
Asian Beau Stakes Day, held in late October or early November and often falling on the same date as Flemington’s Victoria Derby Day card in Melbourne, features two main races:
- $200,000 Group 3 Asian Beau Stakes (1400m)
- $200,000 Group 3 Prince Of Wales Stakes (1000m)
Lee Steere Stakes Day
Held in early November around the second Saturday of the month, often falling on Melbourne’s Champions Stakes Day card at Flemington, this race meeting is headlined by the:
- $300,000 Group 2 Lee Steere Stakes (1400m)
W.A. Champion Fillies Stakes Day
W.A. Champion Fillies Stakes Day is held in mid-November and hosts a number of Black-Type features including the:
- $500,000 Listed Placid Ark Stakes (1200m)
- $300,000 Group 3 W.A. Champion Fillies Stakes (1600m)
- $200,000 Group 3 Colonel Reeves Stakes (1100m)
- $200,000 Group 3 R.J. Peters Stakes (1500m)
- $120,000 Listed Jungle Mist Classic (1200m)
The features races on this meeting serve as good lead-up races to the upcoming Group 1 Perth races. The best out of the Colonel Reeves will back-up a fortnight later in the Winterbottom Stakes field vying for a share in a $1.5 million in prize money. The RJ Peters Stakes graduates may back-up the following Saturday over a mile in the Railway Stakes, also worth $1.5 million. The Placid Ark Stakes is only a Listed race but offers the highest prize money on the program with $500,000.
Railway Stakes Day
Railway Stakes Day is held in mid-November and offers plenty of Black-Type races for punters to enjoy a summer bet at through Ladbrokes.com.au. Formerly this race meeting was host to two Group 1 races, but from 2016 onwards Perth Racing spread out the state’s features across three massive weekends.
The Group status Railway Stakes Day races are:
- $1.5 million Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m)
- $500,000 Group 2 W.A. Guineas (1600m)
Winterbottom Stakes Day
Originally the Winterbottom Stakes was run on the same day as the Railway Stakes, but from 2016 Perth’s premier sprint race now has its own race meeting to headline. It is the only Group status race on the program and is accompanied by the Listed Jungle Dawn Classic (1400m) and Listed Lee Steere Classic (1400m).
The marquee race at this meeting is the:
- $1.5 million Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m)
Northerly Stakes Day
Northerly Stakes Day is held in early December and features just the one Group status event:
- $1.5 million Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m)
The Gold Rush Day
Seven-figure racing in Perth for the summer extends to mid-November since 2022 with The Gold Rush offering $1.5 million and gaining Group 3 status for the first time in 2024. The day’s marquee race is the:
- $1.5 million Group 3 The Gold Rush (1400m)
Ted Van Heemst Stakes Day
Ted Van Heemst Stakes Day, held in mid to late December, draws crowds with one main Group status feature and Perth Cup lead-up:
- $300,000 Group 2 Ted Van Heemst Stakes (2100m)
The Ted Van Heemst Stakes was formerly known as the CB Cox Stakes.
Perth Cup Day
As the final day of the Perth Racing Summer Carnival, Perth Cup Day offers a great day of racing and punting. The Perth Cup Day date has changed a number of times in recent seasons. It was traditionally held on New Year’s Day but has on times run on different dates during the first week of January.
There were also officially two 2016 editions of the Perth Cup as it was moved again for the 2016-17 Perth Summer Racing Carnival taking place on New Year’s Eve, December 31.
The Perth Cup Day meeting’s feature races include the:
- $1 million Group 2 Perth Cup (2400m)
- $200,000 Group 3 La Trice Classic (1800m)
- $125,000 Listed Summer Scorcher (1000m)
Miss Andretti Stakes Day
Miss Andretti Stakes Day is headlined by the Listed Miss Andretti Stakes (1100m) – formerly the Ruabon Sprint. It offers $125,000 in prize money and runs in mid-January.
Scenic Blast Stakes Day
The Listed Scenic Blast Stakes (1100m) is an exciting sprint event worth $125,000 raced under quality conditions and open to horses aged three years and older; run in late January or early February on the last day of the Perth Summer Festival of Racing.
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