Punt Drunk: Do South Australia and Queensland matter to bookies?
The Sydney Autumn Carnival comes to a close on Saturday following the running of the Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m), with all eyes moving to South Australia for a bumper four-week carnival.
Someone just forgot to tell the TAB and the other bookmakers that there were two Group 1 races worth $1 million to be run next Saturday.
Where are the SA Group 1 future markets?
Up until Thursday, April 18, futures punters could not engage in ANY of the South Australian Group 1 races coming up over the next month.
Recently, the South Australian Racing Carnival received a timely prizemoney boost, with all of its Group 1 races now being run for $1 million.
The first of those, the Group 1 Australasian Oaks (2000m) and Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m), are due to be run in eight days on April 27.
Unlike their counterparts in Sydney and Melbourne, where futures markets open in January for Group 1 races throughout the autumn, SA racing fans were forced to wait until the week prior.
And don’t even get us started on the Queensland futures markets.
Outside of the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m), the TAB does not have any futures markets opened for the remaining SEVEN Group 1 races.
We can bet on the Epsom Derby on June 1, and even the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m) on September 21, but heaven forbid we have a futures bet on races a couple of weeks away.
JMac, Kah to light up Radelaide
Adelaide was the centre of the AFL universe for Gather Round earlier in the month, but come next Saturday, the racing world will be fixated on the action at Morphettville.
The first Group 1 raceday of the year in the City of Churches has some added firepower with two of the best to do it, James McDonald and Jamie Kah, set to grace the track.
Kah returns to her home state hunting for her first Group 1 win in Adelaide, while McDonald — booked to ride Roots in the Robert Sangster Stakes — heads to Morphettville for the first time.
Could JMac making an appearance in Adelaide be the best thing to happen in South Australia since Black Caviar scorched the turf?
About Punt Drunk
Welcome to Punt Drunk – our weekly column covering all the latest horse racing and punting controversies, dramas and headline news. Have a story or gripe or issue that just grinds your gears? Just hit us up in the comments or contact us page and our jaded, punt hardened Punt Drunk staff will give it the Punt Drunk treatment it deserves. Don’t expect pleasantries or typical racing media fanboy gloss from Punt Drunk – we’re on the punt and we don’t have time to bullshit; the next is about to jump…
