Maryborough carnival gets Group 1 boost

Maryborough’s famed all-trotting Redwood Carnival has been “supercharged” for a huge October celebration, with its headline race to return to Group 1 status.

The Aldebaran Park Redwood Classic will be worth $75,000 when it’s run on Sunday October 27, part of a squaregaiting celebration that will also encompass the Group 1 Haras des Trotteurs Victoria Trotters Derby and Group 3 Maryborough Trotters Cup.

Maryborough Harness Racing Club general manager Jackson Barby said the club had realigned its feature racing calendar to prioritise the two-year-old standing start Classic, which would increase from $50,000 to $75,000 and reclaim Group 1 status.

“The foundations of Redwood is built on it being an all-trotting carnival, an event with a great tradition, and if we want to grow that we need to be proactive and innovative,” Barby said.

The club will forgo its September pacing cup, reportioning prizemoney to the Classic and its trotters cup to make for a huge October 27 trotting celebration.

“We always had in mind bringing the trotters cup to Redwood, and a goal was to get the Redwood Classic back to Group 1 status,” Barby said.

“Increasing stakes is difficult in this climate, but we were able to do that by reallocating prizemoney from our pacing cup to the Redwood Classic.  It’s not a decision we made lightly, but working with our major supporter Aldebaran Park, a great promoter of the trotting gait, we want Redwood to be the biggest regional trotting carnival in Australia and an international draw.”

Duncan McPherson, principal of Aldebaran Park, congratulated the club for its forward thinking.

“To their credit they understood the carnival was not achieving the lofty heights it had previously,” McPherson said. “I encouraged them to move in line with the philosophy of HRV, which is to put the spotlight on fewer, bigger showcase race days.”

The Redwood Carnival will now feature:

• The Haras des Trotteurs Victoria Derby Heats on Sunday October 20;
• A Redwood Remembrance Race Day on Friday October 25, which will honour trotting legends of the past;
• Its annual Redwood Dinner Dance on Saturday October 26;
• And the pinnacle, the Group 1 Aldebaran Park Redwood Classic, Group 1 Haras des Trotteurs Victoria Trotters Derby and Group 3 Maryborough Trotters Cup on Sunday October 27.

“Sunday will be an outstanding race day with a quarter-of-a-million in prizemoney and will put the spotlight back on Maryborough as the home of the Redwood,” McPherson said.

“The community will be able to get together for the premier regional all-trotting race day on the Sunday, a showcase meeting that can’t be missed. The club has supercharged the meeting, it has upped the prizemoney and we have a day fit for the best horses from all over Australia. Now it’s up to the trainers and their horses to get there and put on a show.”

Harness Racing Victoria CEO Matt Isaacs congratulated the club on its vision and commitment to trotting.

“The Redwood Carnival has long been one of the state’s greatest celebrations and is so valuable for our rich trotting fraternity,” Isaacs said.

“The Maryborough club is to be congratulated for embracing that and I am optimistic the Victorian harness racing industry will rally for the occasion and support their endeavours.”

Victorian Square Trotters Association president Anne Maree Conroy said she admired the club’s support for this special day on the Victorian calendar.

“They are very strong and determined in what they are trying to do, so all kudos to the club,” Conroy said.

“We all look forward to Redwood Day, if you have a trotter you are planning for a long way out to be there and to race on one of those days. When Dad (Bob Conroy) was in his heyday we took 11 horses one year and, while it was a lot of work, we just wanted to be a part of it and still do. It’s a special trotting carnival and it’s great to see the investment in it.”

Click here to book your tickets for the Redwood Carnival.

by Michael Howard, for Harness Racing Victoria