Adelaide Cup Stays In March - For Now
- Monday, 11 April 2011 22:30
Next year’s Adelaide Cup will be once again held in March but a switch back to May appears inevitable.
The 2012 edition of the Group 2 Adelaide Cup (3200m) will be held on March 12.
However SAJC Executive Officer Brenton Wilkinson confirmed in a recent statement that it was a view of the board to schedule the Adelaide Cup further towards the end of the season.
“However, given the proximity of the 2012 event, next year’s Adelaide Cup will proceed in March as scheduled to enable the SAJC and Thoroughbred Racing SA to work through the issues involved in setting the optimum date for future events,” said Wilkinson.
Thoroughbred Racing SA CEO Jim Watters echoed the sentiments of Wilkinson.
“Thoroughbred Racing SA undertook an assessment with regard to the best placement of the Adelaide Cup on the Australian racing calendar.”
“The clear view of trainers both in South Australia and interstate was that the event would be better placed in May, and this formed the basis for our original request to move the public holiday and Adelaide Cup back to May.
“While South Australia has a number of major races, we believe we lack a defined racing carnival in the state.
“This is the window of opportunity we have identified in the national racing calendar where we can create a carnival and make South Australian racing the centre of attention for that period.
“Obviously, our preference – and that of the SAJC – would be to have the Adelaide Cup as the culmination of that carnival, and we will continue to work towards that outcome.”
Watters added that TRSA would continue to pressure the South Australian government to move the Adelaide Cup public holiday from March to May.
The last time the Adelaide Cup was held in May was back in 2005 when the Danny O’Brien-trained Demerger trounced her rivals to win by 6-3/4 lengths.
Picture: Jenny Barnes
