Everest is expected to attract more than 45,000 punters to Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse next Saturday, and in a big win for the world’s richest race, more than half of them will be women.
Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys has been on a mission to attract a younger crowd to the event, which this year carries a staggering $20 million purse, and the latest ticket sales data shows it has succeeded.
The emphasis on new entertainment and food options appears to have helped achieve this, as women bought tickets in greater numbers this year.
The Australian Turf Club has also reported that there has been a 74 per cent increase in the number of tickets purchased by large groups of racegoers who want to enjoy the races with their friends.
That figure has no doubt been boosted by the reduction of ticket prices to $35 per person for groups booking in numbers of 10 or more.
“We are seeing impressive trends in general admission ticket sales among a younger demographic, with more than 50 percent of general admission attendees between 18 and 34 years old,” said ATC Chief Business Officer Donna Forbes.
The October 19 event has also been granted Group 1 status in a major push that gives it recognition as one of the world’s largest racing events.
“Everest deserves it,” said V’landys.
Everest’s popularity continues to grow, especially among women, who are on track to make up more than half the crowd at this year’s event (pictured, 2023 Everest race attendees).
Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys’ efforts to attract a younger crowd to the world’s richest race have won (pictured, 2023 Everest racegoers)
‘It has been the highest rated speed race in the world most years since it began, and the highest rated race in Australia.
“If group 1 status means anything, it had to be group 1.”
The update was announced by Racing Australia on Wednesday after it was ratified by the Asian Racing Federation.
According to Forbes, the rise in interest from younger punters has also been fueled by the new Peacock Lounge at Randwick’s Winx Stand, which is open to anyone with a general admission ticket.
Last year, around 45,000 racegoers were on hand to see Think About It emerge as the I Wish I Win winner.
One of Australia’s richest men, advertising guru John Singleton, promised to buy them each a drink if his fastidious Hawaii Five Oh won the main race.
If that had happened, he would have had to pay a bar bill of more than $300,000.
Singleton is no stranger to raising the bar for punters and last year’s pledge was a response to a similar move by the Australian Turf Club.
The ATC had raised its hand to buy its members a drink if Overpass, another of the race’s top contenders, took the title.
“Most of the committee are freeloaders anyway and have lost the common touch if they are just going to yell at members,” Singleton said last year.
More than 45,000 spectators are expected for this year’s race, which will feature a big-name attraction after the main event.
Everest increases entertainment
UK superstar DJ Joel Corry (pictured below) will be the star attraction of this year’s TAB Everest for punters keen to keep partying after the final race, Racing NSW has announced.
General admission tickets to Royal Randwick on the big day are just $35.
Ticket holders will be able to experience the newly opened Peacock Lounge with DJs, bars and pop-up food and, of course, Joel Corry.
The TAB Everest held on October 19 has transcended racing in Australia, attracting a young audience; More than half of those attending will be under 35 years old in 2023.
Many women love the event, too: 43 percent of last year’s bookings came from women eager to have a fabulous day.
‘If Hawaii Five Oh wins, of course I’ll shout to the crowd. “It’ll be a little fun.”
The famous publicist shouted the bar at a race in Menangle, south-west of Sydney, last August.
He paid for spectators’ drinks for an hour between races three and five and said, “Why should people at the track wait without drinking?”
In 2014, she screamed in the Hawkesbury pub after her horse Strawberry Boy won the Ladies Day Cup, and in April 2008 she treated punters to drinks in 19 pubs stretching from Newcastle to Wyong on the central coast of England. New South Wales.
But his most famous act of generosity came in the 2000 Golden Slipper, when the horse he owned with former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Belle du Jour, scored a memorable victory.