The 2024/25 Queensland Summer Racing Carnival will reach a thrilling crescendo with a new-look schedule poised to anchor its biggest days.
With the Gold Coast Turf Club’s course proper still being closely managed, the proposed Friday night meeting on the eve of The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday will be replaced with a turbo-charged twilight meeting a week earlier.
As a result, the final two meetings of the Summer Carnival will provide an incredible $20.55 million in prize money and bonuses across two feature 10-race programs conducted at the Gold Coast.
In the lead-up to The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday, the penultimate Summer Carnival meeting on Saturday, January 4, swells from $1.6 million to $6.05 million and includes the new $3 million Magic Millions Sunlight (3YO) slot race.
Additional enhancements include the scheduling of the $1 million Magic Millions The Syndicate, the $250,000 Magic Millions Maiden Plate (1400m), a $250,000 Sunlight Consolation (3YO) and a new $250,000 Magic Millions Class 6 Plate (1200m).
On the same card, prize money for The Wave doubles to $500,000 and the race will be run exclusively for Magic Millions Race Series-nominated horses in 2025, however, it will no longer be age restricted, with the 1800m weight-for-age feature now available to three-year-olds and up.
The $14.5 million The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday on Saturday, January 11 also boasts a raft of enhancements headlined by the Magic Millions Cup doubling in prize money to $2 million.
The Racing Queensland Magic Millions QTIS race will also receive a $500,000 increase to $1.5 million.
“The Magic Millions is the pinnacle of the Queensland Summer Racing Carnival and it’s imperative that we provide certainty to participants and attendees,” Racing Queensland CEO Jason Scott said.
“Having adopted a cautious maintenance programme to the course proper on the Gold Coast, we do not want to overwork the track while it is still establishing itself and we ran the risk of doing that by pushing ahead with three meetings in the space of a week.
“Instead, we have opted to bolster the final two weekends of the Summer Carnival, offering more than $20 million in prize money across two incredible cards.”
While the Magic Millions The Debut races were divided for colts and geldings and fillies this year, the unique $500,000 feature for two-year-olds will be run as an open race for first starters at The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday in 2025.
However, a $250,000 edition of Magic Millions The Debut, open to colts, geldings and fillies, will also be programmed at the Gold Coast on Friday, December 20, which is poised to be run as the club’s first night meeting.
“This new schedule for Summer is the best outcome for everyone – for participants, horses and punters,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said.
“We fully endorse the objectives of Racing Queensland and the Gold Coast Turf Club to provide surety of a fantastic safe racing surface and support its longevity.
“It’s a complementary program of features that achieves all our objectives. The exciting race additions, prize money increases and a new $3 million slot race under lights.
“To have 20 races and more than $20 million in prize money returned to owners, trainers and jockeys across two Saturdays bookending the Gold Coast Yearling Sale will be nothing short of phenomenal.”
Racing resumed on the Gold Coast Turf Club course proper on Saturday with a successful six-race card.
A cautious maintenance programme will be followed ahead of the Summer Carnival features.
“It has certainly been a challenging time for all tracks in South East Queensland but we are very happy with how the course proper has improved during the cooler months and we expect it to improve even further as we get into Spring and Summer,” GCTC CEO Steve Lines said.
“We have completed a series of successful gallops and barrier trials on the course proper and the feedback from riders is that it’s a great uniform surface that is continuing to improve.
“We are really excited about the changes to the GCTC Summer Carnival which creates our biggest ever festival of racing from December right through to late January.”
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