THE Victoria Racing Club has increased the prizemoney for the group 1 Mackinnon Stakes to $1 million in a move tipped to attract international runners to the weight-for-age race, reports The Age.It says: By increasing the stakes from $750,000, the VRC expects to draw interest from overseas stables, which have tended to shy away from the 2000-metre race.The Mackinnon Stakes is a traditional lead-up to the Melbourne Cup three days later, however VRC officials believe the move will encourage stable
THE Victoria Racing Club has increased the prizemoney for the group 1 Mackinnon Stakes to $1 million in a move tipped to attract international runners to the weight-for-age race, reports The Age.
It says: By increasing the stakes from $750,000, the VRC expects to draw interest from overseas stables, which have tended to shy away from the 2000-metre race.
The Mackinnon Stakes is a traditional lead-up to the Melbourne Cup three days later, however VRC officials believe the move will encourage stables to target the race in its own right. It was one of several Flemington races for which the stakes have been increased. Prizemoney for the Patinack Farm Classic (1200 metres) and the 2011 Lightning Stakes (1000 metres) has been increased by $250,000 to $750,000; the 2011 Kewney Stakes (1400 metres), for three-year-old fillies, has gone up $100,000 to $500,000. The Patinack Farm Classic and Lightning Stakes are two legs of the Global Sprint Challenge.