Already brimming after the Towac Park track completed its most recent upgrade – moving the sand crossings and sand tracks – Pilossof is chuffed with the 33 per cent increase in minimum prizemoney for all country clubs.

The increase bumps up the minimum prizemoney figure for all TAB country meetings to $20,000.

While Racing Orange’s Orange Gold Cup day on Friday, April 7, 2017, has been allocated showcase meeting status, meaning the minimum prizemoney for each of the races on that day will be $30,000.

In total, there’s 15 showcase meetings across country NSW, with Narromine (August 14, Narromine Cup), Dubbo (September 18, Dubbo Cup), Mudgee (December 2, Mudgee Cup) and Bathurst (January 27, Bathurst Cup) all also receiving the boost in dollars.

“We’re hoping it’ll generate a lot of interest around Cup day,” Pilossof said.

“It’s a significant increase and if it means there’s a quality field there for all races, then it’s brilliant for the club.”

“These increases are part of a package of more than $21 million in prizemoney increases for Country TAB and Provincial races,” Racing NSW chief executive, Peter V’landys added.

“The prizemoney increases coincide with the second year of the phase-in of wagering parity. These increases would not have been possible without the Baird Government’s reduction in State wagering taxes to bring us in line with Victoria over the next five years.”

Showcase meetings racing in Country NSW will benefit from country showcase meetings to be launched with the first of these to be run at Coffs Harbour on  August 4, 2016.

This series of meetings starts in August with the Coffs Harbour Cup and will be followed by the Narromine Cup and Taree Cup meetings. 

“The Showcase meetings provide excellent opportunities to focus greater attention on some of NSW’s emerging country cup meetings,” V’landys said.

“Increases to minimum prizemoney and country showcase meetings come on top of the highly successful expansion of The Championships to include country and provincial racing and the implementation of highway races at most metropolitan Saturday meetings.

“These prizemoney increases, along with previous minimum prizemoney increases, have seen an increase in minimum Country TAB prizemoney of 110 per cent since 2012,” V’landys concluded.

Minimum prizemoney for provincial meetings will be increased by $5,000 or 23 per cent to $27,000 per race.