CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
products within the Members Enclosures, including dining and car parks. In the first quarter of this year, the VRC announced the results on an independent study conducted by IER on the significant economic impact delivered by Cup Week. The Melbourne Cup Carnival confirmed its status as the number one economic generator of any annual sporting event in Australia with $422.1 million in gross economic benefit delivered to the state of Victoria in 2022. The event provided more than 16,000 jobs and delivered more than 60,000 visitors to the state. We are incredibly proud of the contribution that Australia’s first major event continues to make to Victoria and Australia. The magic of the Lexus Melbourne Cup continues to attract people from across the world, but here in Australia, a total of 10.3 million adults, or one in every two, engaged in Lexus Melbourne Cup Day last year through watching, listening or participating in an activity to celebrate the day. That engagement is evident in initiatives such as the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour, where we have seen a record number of applications to host the 21st annual Tour. We look forward to announcing this year’s tour destinations at the launch on the 6th of June. I thank members for their continued support of your club and I hope to see you at one of our many upcoming race days or events.
James Cummings over the Flemington Racing Spectacular, with Cummings, jockey Ben Melham and eight-year-old gelding Cascadian combining to win the Group 1 TAB Australian Cup which had been elevated to $3 million prize money for the first time. Australian Guineas Day produced a special victory for Matamata based trainers Ken and Bev Kelso who won the Group 1 Australian Guineas. Their exceptional filly Legarto is one of only a handful of horses in training for the husband and wife pair and helped realise a dream for New Zealand thoroughbred racing when becoming the first Kiwi-trained horse to win the Australian Guineas. Never far away from the winner’s circle is Gai Waterhouse and it was Gai and co-trainer Adrian Bott who secured the first of six golden tickets into the 2023 Lexus Melbourne Cup with Goldman with his win in the revamped Lexus Roy Higgins. The race was part of the new standalone TAB Australian Cup Day and offered direct entry into the Lexus Melbourne Cup. A win by Goldman in the Lexus Melbourne Cup would be fitting, given 2023 marks ten years since Gai’s famous victory in the great race with Fiorente. We recently saw Lunar Flare win the second golden ticket into the Lexus Melbourne Cup for Michael Dee and Grahame Begg with victory in the Listed Lexus Andrew Ramsden (2800m). During the months of February and March, the Club increased its engagement to support new, and existing fundraising initiatives. Black Caviar Lightning Race Day saw 3AW’s Ross Stevenson’s sold-out Love Letter to Racing event raise more than $14,000 for the VRC’s 2023 Pin & Win partner Australian Childhood Foundation. More than $50,000 was raised across the three March race days for the Childhood and Racehorse Movement (CARM) and the Good Friday Appeal. On Australian Guineas Day, more than $9,000 was raised for CARM while $41,000 was donated to the Good Friday Appeal as a result of fundraising initiatives on Super Saturday and TAB Australian Cup Day. Planning is well underway for the 2023 Melbourne Cup Carnival, and we look forward to sharing more details with members, sponsors, partners and the public in the coming months. In July, members will receive their 2023 Melbourne Cup Carnival Guide , detailing information on all member exclusive
W elcome to the second edition of Inside Headquarters for 2023. It is with deep sadness that we reflect on the passing of both Dean Holland and Deane Lester earlier this year. Dean and Deane were an important part of racing at Flemington and friends to so many in our industry. Their loss has affected the wider racing community and the VRC continues to keep the families of Dean and Deane in our thoughts with plans already underway to create ongoing recognition of their lives and contribution to racing. We thank those people who immediately attended to the jockeys and horses involved in racing incidents during March at Flemington. Medical team members were quick to assist Mark Zahra, Ethan Brown, Craig Williams and Jamie Kah and we wish those riders well with their recoveries. Horses Holymanz, Maximilius, Dubenenko and Flyball were returned to the care of their stables with no significant injuries. These events are a reminder of the dangers faced by jockeys every day and the level of bravery and courage displayed by horsemen and women across the country. A memory we will treasure forever at Flemington is the win of Dean Holland in our most prestigious sprint, the Group 1 Yulong Stud Newmarket Handicap over 1200 meters down the Flemington straight. Dean was a humble winner of the race after picking up the ride on In Secret following the fall of Jamie Kah. It was a very special moment for me to have had the privilege to present the winning Jockey trophy to Dean. I will never forget the joy on his face. The Yulong Stud Newmarket Handicap was one of two feature race wins for trainer
Neil Wilson CHAIRMAN
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INSIDE HEADQUARTERS ISSUE 2 2023
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