The Miracle Mile, Sydney’s signature pacing event, will carry record prizemoney of $1 million next March, making it harness racing's richest race in the southern hemisphere and the richest harness race in the world for Open Class Pacers.
Club Menangle chairman Ray Sharman confirmed the $250,000 boost in stakes was fully funded and sustainable.
Sydney now boasts the world’s richest turf race with the $14 million The Everest, the world’s richest greyhound race with the Million Dollar Chase, and the southern hemisphere’s richest harness race with the $1 million Miracle Mile.
Sharman said the significant lift in prizemoney for the Miracle Mile (up from $750,000), which is run at Tabcorp Park Menangle on March 2, will “ensure that connections of all our Grand Circuit horses will endeavour to secure their place in this great race, further raising the profile of harness racing both in NSW and nationally.’’
Trainers of horses such as the defending Miracle Mile champion My Field Marshal (Tim Butt) and recent Inter Dominion Grand Final winner Tiger Tara (Kevin Pizzuto), which are both trained in NSW, will be enticed to concentrate on the Miracle Mile next March — now double in value of any other Grand Circuit race in Australia.
My Field Marshal, who resumed at Menangle on Wednesday with an easy win, paced the fastest mile ever seen in Australasia when winning last year’s Miracle Mile clocking 1:46.9s.
Tiger Tara smashed the Melton track record with a 1min 53.9ssec mile rate in his Inter Dominion win last week with Pizzuto confirming the exciting pacer will be given a few days to freshen up before announcing race plans for his stable star.
Sharman also revealed the Newcastle Mile (February 8) has been elevated to be a Miracle Mile qualifier where the winner will receive an automatic invitation to the feature.
The Newcastle Mile will carry record prizemoney of $100,000 raising the feature to Group 1 status for the first time.
The other qualifying races for the Ainsworth Miracle Mile will be the Cordina Chariots of Fire (February 16), Canadian Club Sprint (February 23) and the Allied Express Sprint (February 23) at Tabcorp Park Menangle.
All these races are fully funded by the harness racing industry with Harness Racing NSW pivotal in building the Sky Racing Carnival of Miracles and engaging with Club Menangle and the Newcastle Harness Racing Club to work together as a collaborative unit to promote the sport.
“Club Menangle is excited with what the future holds for our industry,’’ Sharman said.
“I express our great appreciation to HRNSW Chairman Rod Smith and his board who have again shown their foresight and forward planning in working with Club Menangle to ensure that this prizemoney increase is possible and that NSW maintains its status as the premier harness racing state in Australia.”
Smith said Harness Racing NSW had increased grassroots prizemoney by 20 per cent and overall stakes by than $5 million this year prior and is now “excited to be able to join with Club Menangle to increase the prizemoney for the Ainsworth Miracle Mile to $1million.”
“These prizemoney injections are fully funded by the harness racing industry and assures a strong future for our code of racing,’’ Smith said.
“Joining the Newcastle Mile into what will be an outstanding Carnival next February is a real uplift for participants and followers alike.”
By Ray Thomas