The 2024 Sydney Spring Racing Carnival offers top quality horse racing around Sydney with the feature events taking place at Rosehill Gardens and Royal Randwick. The highlight races each year at the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival include the $20 million The Everest, the $10 million Golden Eagle for four-year-olds, and the new-look George Main Stakes race now run as the Group 1 $5 million King Charles III Stakes on The Everest Day.
Sydney Spring Racing Carnival News
The Sydney Spring Racing Carnival 2024 runs from August to November each year with the Australian Turf Club (ATC) running a bumper line of of both Group and Special Condition feature races.
Hosting the majority of the carnival’s events at Randwick and Rosehill Racecourses, the carnival takes place during the same time that rival state Victoria is host to the iconic Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Previously the Golden Rose was the richest race of the carnival worth $1 million in prize money, but that now pails in comparison to the recently added and upgraded events including the $10 million The Golden Eagle for four-year-olds!
There has been a major boost to the prestige and prize money offered during the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival in recent years with the festival now host to an incredible number of seven-figure races.
Racing in Sydney during the spring is now headlined by the very popular $20 million The Everest (1200m) run at Randwick in mid to late October on the same day as Melbourne’s Caulfield Cup Day.
The Everest is a buy-in race featuring 12 of the best sprinters and is officially also the world’s richest turf race.
The Everest race gained Group 1 status for the first time in 2024.
Other lucrative Sydney Spring Racing Carnival events not to miss include the $2 million The Kosciuszko for NSW country-trained gallopers contested on The Everest Day and the now Group 2 $2 million The Invitation (1400m) which is an invitation-only event for fillies and mares run in October.
Since 2023 The Everest Day also features the Group 1 $5 million King Charles III Stakes (1600m) which replaced the George Main Stakes.
Ahead of the 2022 Sydney Spring Racing Carnival Racing NSW added a further two lucrative feature events with the $3 million The Big Dance run on Melbourne Cup Day on the first Tuesday of November and The Five Diamonds for five-year-olds at Rosehill.
Both The Big Dance and The Five Diamonds gained Listed status in 2024.
The Sydney Spring Racing Carnival gets underway in early August with Missile Stakes Day, while the Group 1 Winx Stakes is the opening Group 1 meeting.
2024 Missile Stakes Day
Date: Saturday, August 10, 2024
Racecourse: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 2 $300,000 Missile Stakes (1200m)
The Missile Stakes is a Group 2 race held at Randwick Racecourse in early August. The 1200m weight-for-age race is worth $300,000 in prize money and it is the first stakes race in the new racing season.
2024 The Rosebud Day
Date: Saturday, August 17, 2022
Racecourse: Rosehill
Feature Races:
- Listed $200,000 The Rosebud (1200m)
The Rosebud for Golden Rose-bound three-year-olds moved from Missile Stakes Day in 2022 to run a week later as the feature event on its own race card at Rosehill Gardens.
2024 Winx Stakes Day
Date: Saturday, August 24, 2024
Racecourse: Royal Randwick Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $1,000,000 Winx Stakes (1400m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Show County Quality (1200m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Toy Show Quality (1100m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Premier’s Cup (2000m)
Held in August, the Group 1 Winx Stakes is a 1400 metre weight for age race which is worth $1 million in prize money having enjoyed a recent upgrade to honour the three-time champion and historic four-time Cox Plate hero Winx.
The Silver Shadow Stakes is a 1200m event on the card open only to three year old fillies serving as a key lead-up race to the Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes (1400m).
2024 San Domenico Stakes Day
Date: Saturday, August 31, 2024
Racecourse: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 3 $250,000 San Domenico Stakes (1100m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Up And Coming Stakes (1300m)
The headline race on the card is the San Domenico Stakes for three-year-old sprinters, the best out of which may head to Melbourne later in the season to tackle Flemington’s Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes. In 2022 the Up And Coming Stakes was added to the card and is another Group 3 event for three-year-old Golden Rose types.
2024 Wyong Gold Cup Day
Date: Friday, September 6, 2024
Racecourse: Wyong
Feature Races:
- Listed $240,000 Wyong Gold Cup (2100m)
- Listed $200,000 Mona Lisa Stakes (1350m)
Wyong Gold Cup Day traditionally runs on the first Friday of September and is headlined by the Wyong Gold Cup for Sydney stayers heading towards upcoming features including The Metropolitan on Epsom Handicap Day.
2024 Chelmsford Stakes Day
Date: Saturday, September 7, 2024
Racecourse: Royal Randwick Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 2 $300,000 Chelmsford Stakes (1600m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Furious Stakes (1200m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Tramway Handicap (1400m)
- Group 3 $1,000,000 Concorde Stakes (1000m)
The Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes is a 1600m weight-for-age race held at Randwick Racecourse in early September. Worth $300,000 in prize money and open only to horses three years old and above, the event is the first weight-for-age race held over a mile in the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival.
Worth $300,000 in prize money, the Furious Stakes is a set weight race of 56kg for all three year old fillies. Racing over 1200 meters, the female contenders will normally go to the Flight Stakes over the mile on Epsom Day.
The Tramway Quality Handicap is a Group 2 race for horses aged three years and older. The handicap race has a low weight of 53kg and a high weight of 61kg which is suited to horses which have previously raced in a handicap race. Worth $300,000 in prize money, the 1400 metre race is preceded by the Show County Quality Handicap held two weeks earlier.
The Concorde Stakes is a 1000m sprint for horses aged three years and older run under set weights with penalties conditions. The Group 3 event has a minimum weight of 53kg and a maximum weight of 61kg. As of 2023 it is the richest race on Chelmsford Stakes Day with $1 million prize money. The Concorde Stakes is a good sprint race which prepares horses for the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint and the Theo Marks Stakes. The Concorde Stakes now also serves as a potential The Everest lead-up with Redzel completing the double in both 2017 and 2018.
2024 Run To The rose Day
Date: Saturday, September 14, 2024
Racecourse: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 2 $300,000 The Run To The Rose (1200m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Sheraco Stakes (1200m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m)
Racing on the day is headlined by the three-year-old Golden Rose-bound gallopers running in the Group 2 The Run To The Rose. Bivouac (2019) was the last horse to do the Run To The Rose – Golden Rose double.
The Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes is contested by horses aged three years and over, the handicap’s minimum weight is 52kg while the maximum weight is 61kg. Worth $300,000 in prize money, the Theo Marks Stakes is the ideal lead-up race to the Group 1 Epsom Handicap.
The Sheraco Stakes is a fast-paced Group 3 sprinting event run over 1200m. Open only to fillies and mares aged three years and older and run under set weights plus penalties conditions, the Sheraco Stakes is a highly entertaining event with a total purse of $300,000.
2024 Newcastle Cup Day
Date: Friday, September 20, 2024
Racecourse: Newcastle Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 3 $300,000 Newcastle Gold Cup (2300m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Cameron Handicap (1500m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Tibbie Stakes (1400m)
The Newcastle Gold Cup is a Group 3 open handicap which tests a staying horse’s abilities over a 2300m distance. Held during September the $300,000 event is regarded as one of the better country cups of the season.
The Newcastle Cameron Handicap is a 1500m open handicap worth $250,000 in prize money. The race a Group 3 status and is the feature sprint race for the Newcastle Jockey Club.
The Group 3 Tibbie Stakes is a 1400m sprinting event worth $250,000 that is run under set weights with penalties and is open only to fillies and mares.
2024 The Shorts Day
Date: Saturday, September 21, 2024
Racecourse: Royal Randwick Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 2 $1,000,000 The Shorts (1100m)
- $1 million 7 Stakes (1600m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Tea Rose Stakes (1400m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Kingston Town Stakes (2000m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Bill Ritchie Handicap (1400m)
The Shorts race now heads its own feature meeting offering $1 million in stakes as of 2023. It is an 1100m sprint for all horses aged three years and older. The Group 2 event is a set weight and penalties race which attracts sprinters that could be The Everest-bound the following month.
Added to the card since 2023 was a new unlisted event called the ‘7 Stakes’, which replaced the George Main Stakes as the mile showdown on the program. $1 million is on offer here and the field attracts a line-up of weight-for-age Group 1 stars.
The Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes is reserved for three year old fillies which must carry a set weight of 55.5kg. This allows the better females to excel in the 1400m race worth $300,000 in prize money.
The Group 3 Bill Ritchie Handicap is another quality handicap for horses aged three years and older. Worth $250,000 in prize money the 1400 metre event has a minimum weight of 53kg and a maximum weight of 61kg.
The Kingston Town Stakes is another Group 3 quality handicap however the event is open to all horses aged three years and over.
2024 Golden Rose Day
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024
Racecourse: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $1,000,000 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m)
- Group 2 $400,000 Golden Pendant (1400m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Shannon Stakes (1500m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Colin Stephen Quality (2400m)
- Listed $200,000 Heritage Stakes (1100m)
The $1 million Golden Rose is the premier race of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival for three-year-olds and is held on the last Saturday in August. The 1400m set weights event requires colts and geldings to carry 55.5kg and fillies 53.5kg.
The 1200m Golden Pendant (previously known as the Research Stakes) is a Group 2 set weights with penalties event for fillies and mares. Worth $400,000 in prize money the event’s minimum weight is 53kg and the maximum is 61kg.
Worth $300,000 in prize money the Group 2 Shannon Stakes is a quality handicap for horses aged three years and older. The 1500m race has a low weight of 52kg while the highest weight permissible is 61kg.
The $250,000 Colin Stephen Quality is a 2400 metre endurance race for horses aged three years and over. The quality handicap has a weight minimum of 53kg and a maximum weight of 61kg. The Group 3 event is the ideal lead-up race to the Group 1 The Metropolitan (2400m) held a week later.
2024 Epsom Handicap Day
Date: Saturday, October 5, 2024
Racecourse: Royal Randwick Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $1,500,000 Epsom Handicap (1600m)
- Group 1 $750,000 The Metropolitan (2400m)
- Group 1 $750,000 Flight Stakes (1600m)
- Group 2 $1,000,000 Premiere Stakes (1200m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Breeders’ Plate (1000m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Gimcrack Stakes (1000m)
Held in October at Royal Randwick Racecourse the Group 1 Epsom Handicap is a 1600m event for horses aged three years and over. Worth $1.5 million in prize money the handicap race is the major mile event of the Randwick Spring Carnival.
The Metropolitan is a 2400m handicap event worth $750,000 in prize money. Open to horses aged three years and older the Group 1 event has the same race conditions as the Group 1 Caulfield Cup held later in spring.
The 1600m Flight Stakes is the only Group 1 race in the Sydney Spring Carnival for three year old fillies. The $750,000 event has set weight conditions and attracts some of the country’s best middle-distance females.
The Group 2 Premiere Stakes is a 1200m sprinting event held mid-October on Epsom Handicap Day and is now worth $1,000,000 in prize money. The Rosehill event is a weight-for-age race open to horses aged three years and older and features horses which have run in the Missile Stakes held earlier in the spring.
2024 Hill Stakes Day
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Racecourse: Rosehill
Feature Races:
- Group 2 $2,000,000 Hill Stakes (1900m)
- Group 2 $300,000 Roman Consul Stakes (1200m)
- Group 3 $500,000 Gloaming Stakes (1800m)
- Follow $500,000 Tapp-Craig (1400m)
- Group 3 $250,000 The Nivison (1200m)
- $1,500,000 Alan Brown Stakes (1400m)
Since 2023 a new-look meeting has run at Rosehill in early October with the Hill Stakes now headlining its own race day offering a staggering $2 million.
The meeting also includes the Group 2 Roman Consul Stakes for The Everest-bound sprinters and the Follow $500,000 Tapp-Craig (1400m) for three-year-olds that offers the first three place-getters a ballot exemption into the Callander-Presnell (formerly the Stan Fox Stakes).
A new race was been added in 2023 with $1.5 million in stakes on offer for the Alan Brown Stakes.
The Group 3 Gloaming Stakes also moved to the card in 2024 as a lead-up into the Spring Champion Stakes.
2024 The Everest Day
Date: Saturday, October 19, 2024
Racecourse: Royal Randwick Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $20,000,000 The Everest (1200m)
- Group 1 $5,000,000 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) – formerly the George Main Stakes
- Special Conditions $2,000,000 The Kosciuszko (1200m)
- Group 3 $2,000,000 Sydney Stakes (1200m)
- Group 3 $1,000,000 Silver Eagle (1300m)
- Group 3 $250,000 Angst Stakes (1600m)
- $500,000 St Leger Stakes (2600m)
- Listed $200,000 Reginald Allen Quality (1400m)
- $160,000 Big Dance Wild Card (1600m)
The Everest is the pinnacle of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival and the world’s richest turf race offering an unprecedented $20 million in prize money since 2023 making it the second richest race on any surface in the world. The sprint feature is fast growing in prestige and offers 12 slot-owners the chance at racing immortality.
The Everest is also now officially a Group 1 race as of 2024!
The Everest Day also now features the carnival’s newest Group 1 feature with the addition of the weight-for-age $5 million King Charles III Stakes (1600m) added to the card in 2023. Formerly known as the George Main Stakes and held a fortnight before the Epsom Handicap the event attracts the best milers in the country with many Cox Plate-bound in Melbourne that October.
Also on The Everest Day is the leading race for NSW country-trained gallopers with The Kosciuszko worth a lucrative $2 million. The Sydney Stakes also offered $2 million for the first time in 2022.
Another recent change-up saw the $1 million Silver Eagle for Golden Eagle-bound four-year-olds adding further excitement to the meeting that offers just shy of $35 million in total prize money!
A spot in the Big Dance field (run in Sydney on Melbourne Cup Day) is also up for grabs in the Big Dance Wild Card race for horses that have contested but not won a qualifier.
2024 Spring Champion Stakes Day
Date: Saturday, October 26, 2024
Racecourse: Royal Randwick Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 1 $2,000,000 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m)
- Group 2 $2,000,000 The Invitation (1400m)
- Group 2 $2 million Callander-Presnell (1600m) – previously the Stan Fox Stakes (replacing the Bondi Stakes)
- Group 3 $750,000 Craven Plate (1800m)
- Listed $200,000 Brian Crowley Stakes (1200m)
- Listed $1 million Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m)
Spring Champion Stakes Day’s marquee event is the Spring Champion Stakes which is now worth $2 million in prize money. Raced over a 2000m distance the set weight race is open to all horses aged three years old. Colts and geldings carry 56.5kg while fillies must carry 54.5kg.
The meeting also hosts the popular $2 million The Invitation race run for the first time in 2021 as an invitation-only feature for fillies and mares which gained Group 2 status in 2024.
Previously the $1 million Bondi Stakes (1600m) was the premier three-year-olds event of the carnival in Sydney. That race ran from 2019-2021 before being replaced in 2022 by the Stan Fox Stakes – renamed the Callander-Presnell and now run over a mile offering $1 million.
Five-year-olds chasing a run in the $2 million Five Diamonds race contest the million-dollar Prelude.
2024 Golden Eagle Day
Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024
Racecourse: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Special Conditions $10,000,000 Golden Eagle (1500m)
- Special Conditions $3,000,000 Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) (formerly the Winners Stakes)
- Group 3 $750,000 Rosehill Gold Cup (2000m)
- $500,000 The Four Pillars Midway (1500m)
The Golden Eagle is now the second richest race of the spring season worth an incredible $10 million as of 2022. The event is open only to four-year-olds and attracts many of the same horses that contested the Golden Slipper as two-year-olds and Golden Rose as three-year-olds.
The $3 million Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) – previously known as the Winners Stakes and renamed each year in honour of the previous season’s The Everest winner up until a renaming in 2024 – is the key support act on the card.
Racing in Melbourne on the same day is hosted by Flemington with VRC Derby Day kicking off the world-famous four-day Melbourne Cup Carnival.
2024 The Big Dance on Cup Day
Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Racecourse: Randwick
Feature Races:
- Listed $3 million The Big Dance (1600m)
- $750,000 Little Dance (1600m)
Royal Randwick hosted The Big Dance race for the first time in 2022. The event is open to qualified Country Cups horses on the first Tuesday of November, the same date is Flemington’s famous Melbourne Cup Day program at HQ, and offer $3 million since the second edition in 2023.
2024 Five Diamonds Day
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024
Racecourse: Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Listed $2,000,000 Five Diamonds (1800m)
- Group 3 $1,000,000 Golden Gift (1100m)
- Group 2 $500,000 Hot Danish Stakes (1400m)
Since 2023 the $2 million The Five Diamonds (1800m) heads its own race meeting. The lucrative event is open only to five-year-old runners and took place for the first time in 2022.
The $1 million Golden Gift for two-year-olds also takes place on Five Diamonds Day in 2024 and holds Group 3 status.
The other key support act on Five Diamonds Day is the Hot Danish Stakes which is a race formerly known as the Breeders Classic.
2024 The Hunter Day
Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024
Racecourse: Newcastle Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 2 $1,000,000 The Hunter (1300m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Spring Stakes (1600m)
Newcastle Racecourse now has its own million dollar event running in mid-November with The Hunter which attracts some of The Everest horses that failed to win Australian racing’s biggest sprint race.
2024 The Gong Day
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
Racecourse: Kembla Grange Racecourse
Feature Races:
- Group 3 $1 million The Gong (1600m)
- Group 3 $300,000 The Warra (1000m)
The official Sydney Spring Racing Carnival feature events come to a close in late November when eyes move to Kembla Grange Racecourse for the running of the $1 million The Gong, a mile showdown that attracts a classy field of late-season runners.
