Racing: Stakes raised in cup carnival

The New Zealand Derby stake has been raised by $100,000 to $600,000.

The derby, traditionally run on December 26, will this season be run as part of the Auckland Cup carnival which has been shifted to March.

The weight-for-age Darley Stakes (2000m), which will be run on the third day of the Auckland Cup carnival on March 11, will have it stake increased from $100,000 to $150,000.

The Ellerslie Sires' Produce Stakes has been renamed the Diamond Stakes and its stake has been increased from $120,000 to $150,000. The Auckland Cup will be run on the second day of the meeting on March 8 (a Wednesday) but the stakemoney has yet to be declared.

ARC racing manager Andrew Castles said as far as the Auckland Cup was concerned "a significant announcement would be made on August 23".

The Great Northern Guineas has been shifted from March to December 26 as a replacement for the Derby. The stake has been increased from $100,000 to $150,000 and will be run over 2000m, instead of 1600m.

Another change is the introduction of the $200,000 City of Auckland Cup on January 1. This is some way replaces the Auckland Cup but is more a replacement of the Queen Elizabeth II Handicap which used to be a cup lead-up race.

The ARC will also be paying a starters' rebate of $200 for horses that finished sixth to ninth in races that carried stakes of up to $20,000. In races that carried stakes above $20,000 the starters' rebate would be 1 per cent of the total stake.

That would mean in a $100,000 race the starters' rebate for sixth to ninth would be $1000.

- NZPA