Kangaroo Island Carnival Gains TAB Status
- Thursday, 18 February 2010 23:36
Coinciding with the commencement of the 2010 Cooper’s Kangaroo Island Cup Carnival, Thoroughbred Racing SA (TRSA) has announced that next year’s carnival will be TAB meeting.
The Kangaroo Island two-day carnival has historically always been a non-TAB meeting however with an injection of funds from TRSA, racing from the tiny island off the south-west coast of Adelaide will be broadcast nationally.
“This move recognises the great work that has been done by the Club in building the event and puts it in a strong position to take the Cup Carnival and Kangaroo Island itself to a much wider audience,” TRSA Chairman Mr Philip Bentley said in a press release.
“This move is further evidence of the Board’s commitment to growing the South Australian racing industry.”
The move comes on the back of TRSA announcing major prizemoney increases late last year effective from the start of this month.
TRSA have pledged to contribute $121,000 towards prizemoney for both days of the carnival which means in some instances, prizemoney will double to an $8,000 minimum stake.
Open class races will be worth $10,000, up from $8,500 and the Kangaroo Island Cup is guaranteed to be worth at least $15,000. This year’s cup is worth $14,500.
Kangaroo Island Racing Club Chairman Roger Williams acknowledged that a lot of effort had gone into gaining TAB status for the meetings.
“We’ve been racing here since 1883 and the commitment of our committee over the last 10 years has got us into the position where we’ve earned these two TAB meetings,” he said.
“This is fantastic news, not only for the Club and the local industry, but also for the wider Kangaroo Island community.
“Now we have the fantastic opportunity to work closely with Thoroughbred Racing SA and SA Tourism to really promote Kangaroo Island as a tourist destination to a national audience,” Mr Williams added.
Scheduled for Thursday and Saturday this year, the carnival will be held next year on Friday February 18 and Sunday February 20.
On the track at Kingscote, apprentice Amy Herrmann rode her first winner back from a nine-month injury layoff yesterday aboard the Paula Trenwith-trained Brom Blast.
Herrmann, who is now indentured to Trenwith, rode a double on the six race card and will have another six rides tomorrow including Bravely for her master in the $14,500 Coopers Kangaroo Island Cup (1865m).
Picture: Greg Irvine
