Upgrades on the cheap
I see that the Memsie, Makybe Diva and Moir Stakes, which were all recently upgraded to Group 1 status, are to have prizemoney of $350,000 each, which is rock-bottom for a Group 1 race.
It appears that the Australian Pattern Committee, a body of people who seem intent on creating a ridiculous number of Group 1s, is causing problems for the race clubs, because the clubs are struggling to come up with Group 1 prizemoney.
An odd thing about the Makybe Diva Stakes, formerly the Craiglee, is that nine years ago, when it was a Group 2 race, its prizemoney was $500,000.
Strange, isn’t it, that now it’s a Group 1 it’s down to $350,000.
Of course, we all know that the Victoria Racing Club is struggling to find the $6 million for what it would like to think is the world championship for stayers, the Melbourne Cup. It has reduced the prizemoney for so many black-type races that it’s not funny.
One race that has been spared, though, is the $1 million Mackinnon Stakes, one of the most dubious races on the calendar. However, nobody seems fazed by that. It’s been going on forever.
Frankston South (Vic)