V’Landys ready to compete with the Melbourne Cup

A new lucrative Sydney race was announced on Wednesday by Racing NSW chief Peter V’Landys which will be held immediately after the Melbourne Cup which starts at 3pm.

It will be known as ‘The Big Dance and will run at Randwick on the first Tuesday in November with Australians already accustomed to the date.

The $2 million prize money on offer will make it one of Australia’s richest races, although it is well short of the Melbourne Cup’s $8 million which sees the winner take home a hefty $4.4 million.

What makes the race so significant is how far V’Landys is willing to go to make racing in Sydney as competitive with its rivals, which includes Melbourne.

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During V’Landys’ involvement with Racing NSW, he introduced the $15 million Everest, the richest race in Australia and the third richest in the world.

The $8 million Golden Eagle was also added into the spring racing calendar and V’Landys has been a major influence in make Randwick and racing in NSW grow tremendously.

While the move has been met with some criticism with some questioning the need for the race, it is a step in the right direction and will only make racing strong across the nation.

Another race was announced by V’Landys in ‘The Five Diamonds’, which will see a $2 million 1800m race for five-year-old horses. It will be held at Rosehill Gardens on November 5.

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