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46,221 people flocked to Randwick Racecourse on Saturday for Giga Kick’s $14 million Everest win, and racing supremo Peter V’landys has reportedly responded by increasing the prize money by another $5 million.
The crowd was the biggest in Randwick for 50 years and easily overshadowed the fans who flocked to see Winx’s final race in 2019 – but a smug V’landys refused to rest on his laurels.
Everest was the brainchild of the footy and race chief in an effort to shake up Victoria’s dominance on the spring calendar; and boy, did it work.
The first edition, won by Redzel in 2017, was worth $10 million and even terrified Racing Victoria bosses admitted it was a resounding success.
Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys has indicated there will be a significant jump in prize money following the huge success of The Everest on Saturday at Randwick
After just six races, the prize money will reportedly be worth double its original amount by 2023, with an impatient V’landys saying he wouldn’t collect the prize money just with the coins in his pocket.
“If we increase the prize money, it won’t be $1-$2 million, but substantial… we’ve always said we’re going to put the revenue back into the race,” V’landys told News Corp.
It wasn’t just the huge crowd that boosted Racing NSW’s coffers, record sales were also achieved despite the difficult economic conditions many Aussies face.
46,221 people flocked to Randwick Racecourse on Saturday for the $14 million Everest
Planning for 2023 has already begun and no doubt the proposed increase to $20 million will be one of the first things discussed.
As well as how they can get the Racing Victoria, which has taken a massive backlash for the wall around Flemington in recent days, stuck in the Racing Victoria’s throat, putting thousands of local residents at risk of flooding.
Slot holders pay $600,000 a year for an Everest slot, top bands like Peking Duk entertain the much younger crowd, and the hype-grabbing barrier draw was done with 500 colored drones over the Sydney Opera House.
Everest has managed to attract a younger target audience to the racecourse, and they’re flocking to it
It was so impressive, even the confident V’landys is surprised.
“Now we (Racing NSW) are competing (with the Melbourne Spring Carnival) and our revenues have grown dramatically,” he said.
“When you get a record 46,221 at Randwick, it definitely exceeded my expectations.
“I’ve never seen such an atmosphere at a racecourse, I’ve never seen an audience enjoy it so much, and the roar as the gates opened to The Everest makes it all worth it.
“Then the roar as they sprinted to the finish, the singing before and after the race, it was just a unique experience. We need to make it bigger and better again and just keep growing Everest Day,” said V’landys.
Peter V’landys, pictured on the 2022 Dally M Medal with his wife Philippa, said he has never seen a racing atmosphere like Randwick on Saturday
Punters largely agreed. Many experienced experts and fans also said it was the best atmosphere they had ever experienced
“Everest works wonders for racing,” analyst Nic Ashman wrote on Twitter, while fellow racer Sam Lyons said the race “is now without a doubt the state’s most exciting racing event and deserves a decent crowd.”
“Sydney has embraced Everest with a freedom and buzz that I have never seen in racing or sport before. The passion for it makes the day at Randwick so intense and energetic, it’s infectious. Then the racing itself is big and fast and it just wins it all,” tweeted another impressed fan.
“In the aggressive marketing sense, I think V’landys knocked us down (Victoria),” top race expert Mick Sharkie said on RSN radio.
Sharkie, on his regular radio segment alongside fellow racing pundits Michael Felgate, pointed out that a major Melbourne newspaper on Monday didn’t even have a story about the Group 1 Caulfield Cup – but did have two stories about Everest.
But not everyone is convinced that raising Everest is successful – however you might define it.
Felgate criticized V’landys and Racing NSW in the segment, adamant that ‘increasing prize money must have diminishing returns on spectator interest’, and Everest should never have been planned on a day to clash with the Caulfield Cup .
Giga Kick (far right) made it to the 2022 Everest in glorious sunshine in Randwick on Saturday
“I still don’t like it (Everest) taking away the best against the best (in the Caulfield Cup),” he said.
“Raising the prize money to $20 million is just insane. Take that $5 million that makes no difference to The Everest and put it into improving your tracks … and making it better for the participants and trainers, because the tracks race like a charm.”
“Increasing prize money (in Everest) must have diminishing returns on spectator interest,” Felgate said.
And surprise, surprise, Felgate is from Victoria. Very jealous?
The hatred of the Everest and Sydney races grew even stronger – with the alleged price hike provoking a visceral reaction from the three men south of the border.
“It’s insulting to the grassroots…it’s gluttony at that point. The size of the grant becomes laughable and you upset your own constituents (trainers),’ the trio agrees.
What none of the critics can take away are the brilliant stories behind Giga Kick’s triumph as the $21 outsider in the world’s richest race on grass.
Winning trainer Clayton Douglas (left) and jockey Craig Williams (right) behind the diamond-encrusted Everest trophy
Williams grins as he first passes the post on three-year-old gelding Giga Kick
Former jockey Clayton Douglas was only 18 months in the training ranks, but the 27-year-old paired with veteran Craig Williams to take the win with the three-year boom.
And Douglas couldn’t praise the atmosphere at Randwick enough.
“It was like a concert vibe. I had never experienced anything like this on a racetrack. The way it was done was phenomenal,” he told the trio on RSN.
The crowd… you could feel them walking out of the tunnel. It felt like they were on top of you. It was a great feeling… the whole audience sang. It was phenomenal, phenomenal stuff.’