With prizemoney of $2.1 million, The Eureka will be the world’s richest harness race.
The inaugural race over 2300 metres will be held at Club Menangle in September 2023 and for two more years after that.
After 2025 The Eureka will go to a bidding process for hosting rights, but it’s unlikely Club Menangle would easily let such a massive event go somewhere else.
Club Menangle, a brilliant sporting and hospitality complex located in Campbelltown’s backyard, already hosts Australia’s richest harness racing event, the Miracle Mile, which offers $1 million in prizemoney (the 2020 event is pictured above).
“As soon as we heard about the race, we wanted to host it,” said Club Menangle chairman Robert Marshall following the official announcement by Harness Racing Australia.
“We already have Australasia’s richest race, the $1 million Miracle Mile, and now we have The TAB Eureka to look forward to next year as well,” he said.
The race is restricted to Australian-born three and four-year-old pacers.
At $2.1m The Eureka – which has attracted TAB on board as a major sponsor – easily trumps the purse for iconic global harness races like Sweden’s Elitlopp ($A1.67m), France’s Prix d’Amerique ($A1.56m), the USA’s Hambletonian ($A1.3m) and Canada’s North American Cup ($A1.3m).
Harness Racing Australia unveiled The Eureka in a lavish launch on Sydney Harbour yesterday, pictured.
“I’ve driven overseas and follow the biggest races really closely, so to think we’ll have the world’s richest race in our backyard is absolutely amazing,” said Luke McCarthy, a champion NSW driver.
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard it. This is just what harness racing needs, something for us all to aim for and a race which will surely bring new people into the sport,” was the view of Kate Gath, a premier Victorian driver.
Top young driver Jack Callaghan was also excited about the prospect of The Eureka: “As a young person in the game with my whole career ahead of me, this is so exciting. And to have it in my home state of NSW is even better.”
