13-593: The Frank Packer Plate is an Australian Turf Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds at set weights run over a distance of 2000 metres at Randwick Racecourse , Sydney , Australia during the Autumn Carnival. Total prizemoney is A$ 200,000 Those three year old gallopers who were not able to participate in the Australian Derby or in the Australian Oaks held over
26-683: A distance of 2400 metres often take part in this middle distance event. During recent times the race has been held on the last day of the ATC Autumn Carnival. The race is named in honour of Sir Douglas Frank Hewson Packer , who was a media proprietor and former committeeman of the Australian Jockey Club for 12 years. Australian Turf Club Australian Turf Club ( ATC ) owns and operates thoroughbred racing, events and hospitality venues across Sydney , Australia. The ATC came into being on 7 February 2011 when
39-948: A merger due to financial issues, STC members voted against a merger as they were financially stable. Nevertheless, the board of the STC decided to proceed with a merger. The Australian Jockey and Sydney Turf Clubs Merger Act 2010 merged the two clubs under the name of the Australian Turf Club. Five venues are operated by the ATC: ATC's Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival includes the Golden Slipper Carnival at Rosehill Gardens consisting of Ladies Day, Golden Slipper Day and Stakes Day, followed by three racedays at Royal Randwick: The Championships Day 1 (Derby Day), The Championships Day 2 (Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day) and All Aged Stakes Day. The Everest Carnival in spring features
52-562: A starter, or sell their place in the gate. For example, in the 2017 running, slotholder James Harron struck a deal with the owners of Redzel to use his spot to enter their horse, who went on to win the race. Prior to the 2018 event, the race attracted criticism from the Australian public and media after organisers of the event successfully lobbied for the sails of the Sydney Opera House to be used as an advertisement for
65-593: A year at the tracks and empowered it to wind up other proprietary clubs that still existed in the Sydney area through a special Racing Compensation Fund. Both the AJC and the STC had co-existed as independent bodies since the early 1940s. However, the first push for a merger came at the start of the century, with STC chairman Graeme Pash opening up the possibility of a merger during his tenure. Mentioned briefly in jest by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Craig Young in 2003,
78-474: Is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race run over 1,200 metres on turf at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney , Australia. Between 2017 and 2023 the race was classified as Special Conditions class. In 2024 the race was elevated to Group 1 status. Prize money was increased in 2018 to $ 15 million, and in 2023 to $ 20 million, it is the richest race in Australia and
91-540: The Australian Jockey Club ( AJC ) and the Sydney Turf Club ( STC ) merged. The ATC primarily operates out of their offices at Randwick Racecourse and employs approximately 270 full-time staff and over 1,000 casual staff across the five venues. The venues include Randwick, Rosehill Gardens , Canterbury Park , Warwick Farm and the Rosehill Bowling Club. The Australian Jockey Club (AJC)
104-672: The Victoria Racing Club , formulated the Rules of Racing that are followed by all Australian race clubs. The Sydney Turf Club (STC) was founded in 1943 and was the youngest of Australia's principal race clubs. It was formed following an Act passed by the New South Wales parliament called the Sydney Turf Club Act. The Act had taken 40 years to draft and gave the club the power to hold 62 race meetings
117-624: The first real push for a merger came with the release of a report by Ernst & Young in June 2009 which recommended that a merger would save the New South Wales racing industry from collapse. The Government of New South Wales pledged $ 174 million for Sydney racing if the merger went ahead, including a major revitalisation of Randwick Racecourse . The move for a merger was controversial, with members of both clubs hesitant to lose their respective identities. While AJC members voted in favour of
130-525: The race. Protests against this proposal and government support of it were held at the Opera House along with submission of a petition with over 300,000 signatures collected in less than a week in October 2018, however the pre-race event still went ahead in a modified format. In October 2022, the barrier draw was released to the public with a night time display over Sydney Harbour using 501 drones and
143-542: The richest turf race in the world. It is held annually in October as the feature race of the Sydney Spring Carnival. The race has an unusual entry fee structure, similar to that of the Pegasus World Cup . Twelve "slots" are sold for $ 700,000 each, which represents a slot in the starting gate for a then unspecified horse. The slot holder then has the right to race, lease, contract or share
SECTION 10
#1732793775499156-673: The world's richest race on turf - the $ 15m The Everest , run in October over 1200m at Royal Randwick. It also features the new "Golden Slam", which gives horses the opportunity to win the Golden Slipper Stakes at age 2, the Golden Rose at age 3 and the Golden Eagle at age 4, with an added $ 5 million in prizemoney for the trio. In 2008 the Autumn Carnival was delayed by four weeks due to the 2007 Australian equine influenza outbreak. The Everest The Everest
169-632: Was founded in January 1842. It morphed from the former Australian Racing Committee set up in May 1840 to set the standards for racing in the colony. Races were held at the newly established Homebush Course which was headquarters of NSW racing until 1860. The AJC was considered the senior racing club in Australia and was responsible for founding the Australian Stud Book , which the combined club still oversees today. The club also, in conjunction with
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