The Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival, also known as the Queensland Racing Carnival, is the no.1 horse racing event in Queensland and features some outstanding talent. The Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival has been marketed as “Stradbroke Season” in recent years, in a nod to the $3 million Stradbroke Handicap that takes place during the carnival.
Held throughout May and June each year, the Queensland Racing Carnival sees punters head to Eagle Farm and Doomben to watch feature races such as the Stradbroke Handicap, the Kingsford-Smith Cup, the Doomben 10,000, and the Doomben Cup be run and won.
Many of the leading sprinters, stayers, jockeys, and trainers in Australia and some overseas raiders converge upon Brisbane to vie for fame and fortune during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.
Queensland Racing Carnival holds rich history with the Brisbane Cup being run since 1866, while one of the jewels in the carnival’s crown, the Stradbroke Handicap, has drawn racegoers and made racing careers since Pyrrhus took the title in its first running back in 1890.
The Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival is Queensland’s premier racing event and not only strengthens racing careers. but it unearths and makes careers, announcing them on the Group class stage.
Trainers love preparing their horses for this horse racing carnival for this reason and can be used as a stepping stone for spring carnivals in Melbourne and Sydney.
Major Races days during Queensland Racing Carnival
The Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival consists of 10 key race days, which are:
- Queensland Guineas Day (Eagle Farm)
- Hollindale Stakes Day (Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast in 2023)
- Doomben 10,000 Day (Doomben)
- Doomben Cup Day (Doomben)
- Queensland Derby day (Eagle Farm)
- Ladies’ Oaks Day (Eagle Farm)
- Stradbroke Day (Eagle Farm)
- Ipswich Cup Day (Ipswich)
- Tatt’s Tiara Day (Eagle Farm)
- Caloundra Cup Day (Sunshine Coast)
Queensland Racing Carnival Feature Races
There are some Queensland Racing Carnival feature races that stand head and shoulders above the others. Some of the top races during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival include the Doomben Cup and Queensland Derby, with prize money regularly topping $1 million. The best races during the Queensland winter include:
Doomben 10,000
A Group One premier sprint race with a prize purse of $1.5 million, the Doomben 10,000 attracts some of Australia’s best sprinters and is held over the 1200m at Doomben. Once called the Doomben Newmarket Handicap, in its runnings between 1933-1945, it was renamed the Doomben 10,000 after the prize purse of £10,000 on offer in 1946.
Doomben Cup
A Group One weight-for-age race, the Doomben Cup is the main staying 2000m contest during the Winter Racing Carnival. The Doomben Cup carries prize money of $1,000,000, was first run in 1933, and is open to horses aged three and older.
Kingsford-Smith Cup
A Group One, originally called the BTC Cup, was moved from Doomben to Eagle Farm in 2017 and renamed after famous Australian aviator Charles Kingsford-Smith. The Kingsford-Smith Cup is a 1300m race available to horses aged three and older, run under weight-for-age conditions with a winner’s board that includes names such as Black Caviar. The Kingsford-Smith Cup serves as the key lead-up race to the Stradbroke Handicap.
Queensland Derby
A Group 1 feature held on Kingsford-Smith Cup Day at Eagle Farm. The Queensland Derby is a 2400m race for stayers with prize money of $1 million dollars.
BRC Sires Produce Stakes
The BRC Sires Produce Stakes is a Group 2 and with a purse of $1 million dollars. It is run over 1400m and is open to two-year-olds.
Queensland Oaks
The Queensland Oaks was first run in 1951 and is a Group 1 race for three-year-old fillies, run over 2400m at Eagle Farm.
Stradbroke Handicap
The Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap is the biggest race of the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival. Carrying a purse of $3 million, The Stradbroke Handicap attracts some of the best talent from across the country and also marks the final leg of the Queensland Group 1 sprinting Triple Crown after the Doomben 10,000 and the Kingsford-Smith Cup.
JJ Atkins Stakes
The JJ Atkins Stakes is a Group 1 which is regarded as the most prestigious two-year-old race in the Queensland Winter Carnival, carrying prize money of $1 million dollars. The JJ Atkins is run over 1600m at Eagle Farm on Stradbroke Day each June.
The Q22
The Q22 is the second richest feature race of the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival, with $1.2 million in prize money. The Q22 has Group 2 status and is run over 2200m, contested under weight-for-age conditions.
Tattersall’s Tiara
The Tatt’s Tiara is a Group 1 race for three-year-old fillies and mares, run over 1400m at Eagle Farm, with prize money of $600,000. It is the final Group 1 race of the season in Australia.
How to bet on the Brisbane Winter Race Carnival
Best Queensland Racing Carnival bookmakers
There are many legal bookies in Australia, both online and on track, to ensure that punters can both enjoy and invest in the Winter Racing Carnival.
With a range of Group races throughout the Carnival, it always allows punters to follow horses through the Winter into the marquee races in Spring including the Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup, The Everest, and the race that stops the nation, the Melbourne Cup.
The top betting sites in Australia will have odds available on many of the group races held during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival well in advance of the date they are held. For instance, the Queensland Derby has odds available almost the entirety of the year, with these odds fluctuating depending on current form and performances.
Australian online betting sites can be accessed via many different means, including via mobile betting apps, their websites, telephone betting and even in-person, depending on the bookie you are looking to wager with. For instance, betting sites like PendleburyBet are renowned on-course bookies that have expanded their operations to online betting.
Some of the best betting sites for Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival Betting include bet365 (bet365 review), Ladbrokes (Ladbrokes review) and Palmerbet (Palmerbet review)
Five famous moments from the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival
There have been some great Queensland Racing Carnival moments over the years, with horses as diverse as Winx and the Autumn Sun basking in glory up north. Our top five moments from the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival are:
Winx launches into beast mode
The mighty mare herself, Winx, as we all know won 37 of 43 career starts, including her last 33 races, highlighted by 25 Group Ones. But she announced herself as a star at the back end of her three-year-old campaign, winning the Group 1 Queensland Oaks, to start her winnina streak. The win at Doomben racecourse was by three and a half lengths over Ungrateful Ellen.
Think About It lights up 2023 Queensland Racing Carnival
The 2023 Winter Racing Carnival was dominated by the gelded son of So You Think, Think About It. Within five races and the time span of four months, the Joe Pride-trained Think About It went from a benchmark 88 runner to a two times Group One winner. He lined up in the Group One Kingsford Smith at $5.50 odds taking it out by 0.8 lengths over the 1300m Eagle Farm contest. He then returned a fortnight later for a shot at the Group One Stradbroke Handicap as the $3.60 favourite and saluted by 1.5 lengths, taking out the $3 million dollar feature.
Redzel uses Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival as springboard
Redzel serves as a key example of winners from the Queensland Winter Carnival going on to bigger races and far bigger prize money for connections. The winner of the Doomben 10,000 in 2017, he would springboard from that win to line up in the world’s richest turf race, The Everest, before backing up and winning it the following year (2018) also. He has two Group Ones to his name, the Darley Classic (2017) along with the Doomben 10,000 win that year, amassing $16.4 million in prize money for connections.
The Autumn Sun puts racing world on notice
The Autumn Sun took out the 2018 running of the JJ Atkins Stakes, by six lengths, before saluting in further Group class races: the G1 Golden Rose Stakes (2018), G1 Caulfield Guineas (2018), G2 Hobartville Stakes (2019), G1 Randwick Guineas (G1) (2019) and G1 Rosehill Guineas (G1). In 2018 Redzel was named Australian Champion Three Year Old.
Zaaki wins third Hollindale Stakes
Back to back to back! The Annabel Neasham-trained import Zaaki stole the 2023 edition of the Group Two Hollindale Stakes by 0.4 lengths, making it three straight victories in the $500,000 weight-for-age contest over 1800m. In its inaugural running during the 2021 carnival the gelded son of Leroidesanimaux beat home Fifty Stars and Shard Ambition to take the win, before adding wins in the G1 Doomben Cup and G2 Q22, to make it a hat-trick for that year’s Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival. Zaaki has won four Group Ones and earned $10.3 million in prize money for connections.
