Sydney Autumn Carnival Future

In correspondence received from the AJC this week it was mentioned that the club is still in the process of reviewing the 2008 Carnival to determine whether the carnival should retain its format for the current year.

This years carnival was a success but it did however have its weak points. Those weak points were the Ranvet Stakes Day at Canterbury and Sydney Cup Day at which a shocking crowd turned out compared to recent years. The Easter Saturday Chipping Norton Stakes meeting was a highlight for me due to the massively increased crowd and should hopefully have provided the income needed to make up on the disappointing turnout on the other days.

So where to now for the AJC? The first issue it needs to address is the cost of entry at these meetings. For the last 3 years the AJC has priced its 3 premier meetings at $35-$39 (Epsom Day, Derby Day, Sydney Cup Day). In the Sydney market these prices are way too high and will be punished by the consumer regardless of the prices being similar to the Melbourne . Dwindling crowds are definitely showing this. The first step is to reduce and heavily advertise a price under $30 next year. The Sydney sporting public has an aversion (usually showing up after 2 years at the price point) to events where the cheapest entry price is over $30. Examples of this are NSW Waratahs (Increased to $34 in 2005, sold out only one game since including 2 semi-finals) and Wallabies 2nd string test matches. Over this point the market the AJC is targetting can go to a decent nightclub costing $20 for the same dress standards and looser alcohol licensing. Another issue is that next years lawn party will not sell out due to the licensing restrictions imposed this year. This will cost the AJC significant revenue.

The 2nd issue to take account of is scheduling. This years carnival was almost perfect in the overall scheme of the Australian racing calendar. The Adelaide carnival slotted in nicely attracting some of the best Melbourne horses in years and horses were able to come out of the Adelaide races into the end of the Sydney Carnival. Further horses such as Apache Cat were able to run a double peak, hitting the ground running in Melbourne, spelling, then coming back into work for the end of the Sydney carnival and heading on to Brisbane.

Some of the changes that should come out of this years carnival should be:
*Move the Sydney Carnival forward a week. 2 weeks between the Australian Cup and Chipping Norton meeting resulted in a dead Saturday meeting at Rosehill (albeit with a strong Golden Rose field) that semi-killed the momentum. Additionally, finishing the carnival in May results in weather not suitable for the fashionistas. A bonus of this would result from ANZAC Day falling in the middle of the AJC carnival (or at least a public holiday Monday the following week.)
*Move the Adelaide carnival forward 1 week to ensure the same time scheme of races between Sydney and Adelaide
* Re-schedule the events on the AJC Carnival including the creation of a new day at Warwick Farm the week after the Hawkesbury meeting. The following schedule should be applied.

First Saturday -AJC Derby Day
1. AJC Derby
2. All Aged Stakes

ANZAC DAY (Or Public holiday Monday associated with ANZAC Day)
1. Sydney Cup
2. TJ Smith Stakes

2nd Saturday (Doncaster Day) - Ladies Day used as promotion
1. Doncaster Handicap
2. AJC Oaks
3. AJC Sires Produce (2nd leg 2YO triple crown)

Hawkesbury Stand Alone Meeting

Saturday Stayers Day - To be held as a family day at Warwick Farm following the carnival
1. Queen Elizabeth (2 weeks before Doomben Cup, allows horses from BMW, Doncaster, Derby and Oaks to race fresh) WFA Grand Final as such
2. Champagne Stakes (allows 2 week breaks in 2yo triple crown)
3. AJC St Leger (Re-create this race at 2800m for 3yo's to qualify for Melbourne Cup)
4. AJC Plate (Re-create historic 3600m staying race for horses backing up from Sydney Cup with no Brisbane Cup in future, gimmick race)
5. Provincial Stayers Championship Final
6. Create a country stayers Championship Final
7. Create a 2400m handicap race (Warwick Farm Cup) for open class city horses.

Ranvet Stakes Day will return to Rosehill this year most likely boosting the crowd again for the first day of the Golden Slipper Carnival. One of the successes of this year was the field attracted to the Golden Rose. An increase in prizemoney to the Hobartville can probably be justified next year when it returns to its rightful date 2 weeks before the Randwick Guineas.

On both a national basis and for the strength of the early stages of the Sydney Carnival locking the dates in to a fixed position will provide the AJC and STC with the best opportunities for optimising each day of the carnival.

Example 2009 schedule (2010/2011/2012) in brackets
Saturday 7 March - Australian Cup Day, Flemington (6/3-12/3-10/3)
Saturday 14 March - Chipping Norton Stakes Day
Saturday 21 March - Randwick Guineas Day - Schweppes Oaks/Robert Sangster
Saturday 28 March - Coolmore Classic Day (Golden Slipper Carnival Ladies Day)
Saturday 4 April - Rosehill Guineas Day (Road to The Slipper Final Day)-SA Oaks/SA Derby/Goodwood
Saturday 11 April - Golden Slipper Day (Easter Saturday)
Monday 13 April - Galaxy Day at Warwick Farm (Easter Monday)
Saturday 18 April - AJC Derby Day (17/4-23/4-21/4)
Saturday 25 April - Doncaster Ladies Day (24/4-30/4-28/4)
Monday 27 April - Sydney Cup Day (26/4-25/4-25/4)