Nominations open for All-Star Mile

Winx is the early All-Star Mile favourite with our trusted online bookmakers. Source: AAP

The battle to secure a start in the world’s richest 1600-metre horse race begins today with the opening of nominations for Victoria’s $5 million The All-Star Mile.

To be held for the first time at Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, 16 March 2019, The All-Star Mile is unique to Australian racing with fans to determine who contests the lucrative race via a public vote.

Winx is the early $1.75 favourite at online bookmaker Sportsbet to win the first ever All-Star Mile ahead of stablemate The Autumn Sun at the $7 quote.

No other runner is in single figures.

The top 10 vote-getters will secure a start in The All-Star Mile, which will be run under weight-for-age conditions. A field of 14 All-Stars will ultimately be assembled with four places reserved for wildcards nominated by Racing Victoria (RV).

Connections of the winning All-Star will pocket $2.25 million and, with prizemoney paid down to last place, the final runner home will collect $90,000.

To be eligible for the public vote, horses must first be nominated for The All-Star Mile via a $500 entry fee that will be donated to charity. Entry is open to horses three-year-old and upwards from across the globe with no acceptance fees to be paid.

In line with RV’s existing Group 1 entry conditions, horses must have an official RV handicap rating of 70 at the close of nominations to be eligible to compete as a fan-voted runner.

Nominations will close on Tuesday, 15 January 2019 with voting to commence online on Monday, 21 January and be open for one month.

Voting will close on Monday, 18 February with the top 10 vote-getters who provisionally accept their position in the field to be announced on Thursday, 21 February.

The four wildcards, who may be selected from outside the nominations, will be announced on or before Monday, 4 March.

RV Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter, said The All-Star Mile offers owners and fans the opportunity to compete for life-changing prizemoney.

“We’re excited to open nominations today for The All-Star Mile, the world’s richest 1600-metre race, and begin what is going to be a unique and fascinating journey for fans and connections over the next three months,” Carpenter said.

“The All-Star Mile is built on our vision of ‘racing for all’. All fans will get the chance to have their say on who competes at Flemington next March, while a huge cross section of stables and owners can chase a dream result.

BEST ONLINE BOOKMAKERS FOR THE ALL-STAR MILE

“Owners will pay just $500 to nominate their horse with that money to be donated in its entirety to charity. Importantly, no acceptance fees will be charged and prizemoney will be paid all the way to last place with each starter to collect a minimum of $90,000.

“We’re inviting owners and trainers to get in now, nominate their horse for The All-Star Mile and start rallying their horse’s fan base ahead of the opening of voting on 21 January.”

In keeping with the theme of The All-Star Mile, fans will also get to share in the thrill with one lucky fan selected for each All-Star. They will become a nominal owner of that horse for The All-Star Mile and each will win a share of $500,000 in prizemoney.

A joint initiative between RV and the State’s three metropolitan racing clubs – the Victoria Racing Club (VRC), Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) and Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC) – The All-Star Mile is set to become the signature race of the Festival of Racing, a showcase of premier Victorian racing held annually throughout February and March.

In a first for Australian racing, it will also be rotated annually across three Victorian metropolitan tracks with Caulfield to host The All-Star Mile in 2020 and The Valley in 2021.

The All-Star Mile Timeline

Nominations open – Tuesday, 11 December 2018
Nominations close – Tuesday, 15 January 2019
Voting opens – Monday, 21 January 2019
Voting closes – Monday, 18 February 2019
Top 10 vote-getters announced – Thursday, 21 February 2019
Four wildcards finalised – by Monday, 4 March 2019
Barrier draw conducted – Tuesday, 12 March 2019
The All-Star Mile Raceday – Saturday, 16 March 2019

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