The first race at Caulfield on Saturday will start at 2.25pm under a new strategy designed by Racing Victoria to enhance wagering turnover. As a result, the final race on the card will be 6.40pm, shifting away from the traditional Saturday afternoon timeslot and becoming more of a twilight program.
"Basically at the moment we have two meetings within 15 minutes or 20 minutes of each other and finish within 15 or 20 mins," said Racing Victoria's Greg Carpenter.
"The idea is that we will run two TAB meetings in Victoria on a Saturday, one will start at one o'clock and finish about 5.15 and the other will start just after two and finish around 6.30pm or later.
"It is a trial over the next six to eight weeks what impact it has on Victorian wagering by allowing people to bet on our products for a longer period during the Saturday afternoon.
"Most people would understand that we are facing a few challenges to increase wagering at the moment, horse racing is a very mature product.
"Basically we are running from 12.30pm to 5.30pm everyday of the year, expect a couple, if we are going to increase wagering we are going to have to try and stretch our footprint."
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