Hunter Cup, Great Southern Star night a huge success

The first merging of the SENTrack A G Hunter Cup with a heats-into-final Yabby Dam Farms Great Southern Star has been hailed a success after trots fans and punters savoured the night’s thrilling harness racing.

Attendants recorded 7693 race goers who flocked to Melton for the Group 1 double-header, while thousands more enjoyed the coverage on Racing.com’s free-to-air channels 68, 78 and 7plus, Sky Racing and TrotsVision, contributing to strong wagering turnover.

Harness Racing Victoria CEO Matt Isaacs said the year-on-year turnover gains had defied trends and were a pleasing result from an incredible night for the industry.

“We saw the best of harness racing in Victoria, including worthy winners in Leap To Fame and Callmethebreeze and a great celebration of Chris Alford’s career,” Isaacs said.

“To have this enjoyed by a broad TV audience as well as a terrific, educated on-track crowd was extremely satisfying, and to now see that reflected in wagering trends is critical for the industry.”

Some of the key wagering positives to emerge from the night included:

• Wagering on the A G Hunter Cup race was up 21 per cent on last year
• Wagering on the Great Southern Star series, including the heats and final, was up 42 per cent on the previous year, when it was held on the preceding Friday night
• It was the fourth highest wagered on A G Hunter Cup card of the last 10 years

Isaacs said: “With fantastic support from our wagering partner TAB, it was positive to see both the Great Southern Star and Hunter Cup grow in turnover on their previous stagings. Critically, this defies recent trends that have seen a softening of wagering markets in all three racing codes from the peaks of 2020 and 2021.”

The night was well supported by the State Government, ensuring those who ventured to Melton Entertainment Park enjoyed wall-to-wall activities. They included roving performers, children’s rides, Kelly Sports outdoor activities, food trucks, an outdoor market, animal farm and live music, including the band Reckless for the afterparty.

HRV Chief Commercial Officer Fiona Mellor said: “It was great to see so many happy faces at Melton, taking in the night’s racing, whether it be getting up close and personal to the champions of the track in the stables or parade ring, or watching the drama of racing and live barrier draw trackside. It was also terrific to see so many race goers and families enjoying the evening’s dining and attractions.”

by Michael Howard, for Harness Racing Victoria