The Everest will finally gain group 1 status to match its standing as Australia’s richest horse race after changes to the classification system for black-type races.
The $20 million slot race, created by Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club, to give Sydney racing a focal point during the spring, has been a runaway success, consistently being rated Australia’s best race in the seven years since it was established.
Think About It drives to the front on his way to victory in The Everest last year.Credit: Getty
However, it has not held group 1 status, the classification given to the highest level of thoroughbred races.
Racing Victoria has repeatedly vetoed Racing NSW’s attempts to have The Everest awarded group 1 status but a change at the top of RVL has seen the impasse lifted and agreement on a new set of rules for group races in Australia.
According to sources speaking on the condition of anonymity, a media release has been drafted by Racing Australia to announce six new group 1 races, led by The Everest. The announcement should come on Monday after being delayed last week.
The Sydney spring will be littered with new group 1 races, as the Premiere Stakes, The Everest, the Russell Balding Stakes and Golden Eagle will all now carry the premier stamp in racing.
Sam Clipperton lifts the Everest trophy after winning aboard Think About It last year.Credit: Getty
The All Star Mile will also be lifted to group 1 from its next running in 2025, as will The Shorts, which was won by I Am Me as a group 2 on Saturday.
New guidelines for group 1 races in Australia will see any race with a three-year average international rating of 115 given premier status.
In what is set to be a massive win for Sydney racing, the newly minted group 1 races are likely to sit in the top 100 group 1 races in the world, which means in 2025 those meetings will be included in the Hong Kong Jockey Club-powered World Pool.
The World Pool enables bettors from all over the globe to bet into a single multimillion-dollar pool, which will return substantial fees to the cash-strapped ATC as the club hosting the meeting.
Racing NSW has been preparing for the announcement in the past couple of months and dropped the bonus for the Sydney Sprint Series from $3 million to $2 million in the knowledge the majority of races in the series would carry the prestigious group 1 tag.
It is the ultimate recognition for the expanded spring carnival that started with the creation of The Everest, which has gone from $10 million to $20 million in prizemoney in the past seven years, and continued with the $10 million Golden Eagle, which has become a focus of thoroughbred trainers around the world.
Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys has continually claimed he was not concerned by The Everest’s lack of group 1 status, but achieving the classification not only for the $20m slot race but also the four other races in the carnival he has created might be his biggest victory.
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