The prize-money puts us to shame - but is everything really so rosy in Australian racing?
Lewis Porteous takes a look at the country's racing industry as the landscape starts to change
They are the sort of figures British racing can only dream about. The state of Victoria in Australia will offer more than A$315 million (£162m) in prize-money and bonuses next season at an average of more than A$71,700 per race. That represents an A$140m, or 80 per cent, increase on what was offered in 2015 and is just the second time the figure has surpassed A$300m.
Prize-money across the whole of Australia will top more than A$800m (£420m) this season, yet as we near the start of the biggest month of racing in the nation building up to the Melbourne Cup on November 7, there are signs that not everything in the sport is as rosy as it might appear at first glance.
The numbers revealed by Racing Victoria (RV) for the 2023-24 season might be staggering compared to what is on offer in Britain, but the headline total actually represents a year-on-year reduction of A$2.5m as a result of "declining industry revenue".
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Published on 26 September 2023inSpecial reports
Last updated 18:00, 26 September 2023
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