Racing Victoria has announced that meetings held at night outside of the daylight savings period will finish earlier.
Thursday and Friday night meetings held in September, April and May will now conclude at the earlier time of 8:45pm AEST.
Premier night meetings including the Group 1 Moir Stakes meeting held at Moonee Valley will be exempt from the early finish and will finish at 9:45pm AEST.
“Night racing is a valuable feature of Victorian racing allowing more fans and punters the opportunity to engage with our sport at a time that best suits them,” said Racing Victoria Executive General Manager of Racing, Matt Welsh.
“We see this reflected in our results with Friday night country meetings turning over 20 per cent more than a country meeting on Friday afternoon, while Thursday night country meetings turn over 10 per cent more than Thursday afternoons.
“The decision to consistently finish 30 minutes earlier outside of the daylight-saving period seeks to balance the wishes of participants with the need to maximise engagement and industry returns.
The night racing season gets underway on September 1, where a eight-race program is scheduled on the Pakenham synthetic, with the final race jumping at 8:45pm AEST as per the new guidelines.
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