Ladbrokes Cox Plate boost highlights prizemoney announcements

The $5 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate will be further enhanced in 2019 with the Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC) and Racing Victoria (RV) announcing the Ladbrokes Cox Plate Boost, which will see a further $1 million on offer if the winner of ‘The Race Where Legends Are Made’ is victorious in one of thirteen Victorian races across the Autumn and Spring Racing Carnival.

The winner of the 99th edition of the LEGENDARY race could pocket a $4 million first prize with four eligible races having already been run this season. The current Ladbrokes Cox Plate favourite, Mystic Journey, is eligible having won both the Australian Guineas and All-Star Mile, while Australian Cup hero Harlem and Alister Clark Stakes winner Global Exchange are also in contention.

“The Spring Racing Carnival in Victoria is unsurpassed in its ability to showcase world class racing and the announcement today by Racing Victoria ensures that this remains the case,” said MVRC CEO Michael Browell.

“The thirteen key Victorian feature races that now have a lucrative $1 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate Boost bonus attached to them if they win the Ladbrokes Cox Plate will ensure the best horses will compete in Victoria in the spring.

“It will add huge interest in the Weight-For-Age Championship of Australasia on October 26 for those racing for such a lucrative purse of $4 million”.

The enhancement is one of two bonuses to be attached to the race, with $1 million also on offer to lure the best three-year-olds to compete. Shall any horse take their place in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas or Thousand Guineas as well as the respective Prelude, or the Group 2 Stutt Stakes at The Valley, a $1 million bonus would be awarded if they are to win the 2019 Ladbrokes Cox Plate.

The 2019/20 Ladbrokes Friday Night Lights Season will also now be home to two $1 million sprint features with the Group 1 Moir Stakes increasing from $500,000 on September 27. First run in 1986, the 1000 metre event has been won by some of Australia’s finest speedsters including Miss Andretti, Apache Cat and Black Caviar.

“The Moir Stakes prizemoney uplift ensures the MVRC has the two richest Group 1 races under lights in Australia, joining the Group 1 Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes in offering $1 million in prizemoney. This strengthens our Ladbrokes Friday Night Lights product and showcases a strong commitment by the industry to night racing at The Valley,” Browell explained.

The Moir Stakes prizemoney uplift headlines increases to ten of the Club’s black-type races across the season, including a $455,000 injection to races across the Ladbrokes Cox Plate Day program. To further ensure the Ladbrokes Cox Plate Carnival remains as competitive as ever, the Brent Thomson Jockey Challenge will this year carry a purse of $100,000 to the leading rider(s) on a points-based system across the two-day Ladbrokes Cox Plate Carnival.

“The MVRC aims to have the best horses, trainers and jockeys, both locally and internationally, participating in the 2019 Ladbrokes Cox Plate Carnival and today’s announcement ensures we are well placed to attract the best of the best,” said Browell.

The above announcement complements the Ladbrokes Cox Plate International Series Bonus, which offers a $2 million bonus to the winner of a select series of feature international events throughout key racing jurisdictions, with more international races to be revealed over the coming weeks.

LADBROKES COX PLATE BOOST - ELIGIBLE RACES

2019/20 RACING SEASON INCREASES: