New Million Dollar Race For Victoria

A new A$1-million race for 2-year-olds, named 'The Showdown' will be run in Victoria, Australia in 2019. The brainchild of Racing Victoria and Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria, the race will be run exclusively for the progeny of VOBIS Sires-nominated stallions at Caulfield in April 2019. A total of 54 stallions were nominated to the VOBIS (Victorian Owners and Breeders Incentive Scheme) Sires program during 2015, meaning all their 2016-born progeny, provided they are VOBIS Gold and Super VOBIS-nominated, will be eligible to compete for the inaugural race in 2019. The first crop of yearlings to be prepared for the inaugural race will appear at the upcoming 2018 sales and will be identified by VOBIS Sires logos in the sales catalogues, barn signage and hip stickers.

“VOBIS Sires is a further evolution of Victoria's VOBIS program which supports the state's critical breeding industry, TBV President, James O'Brien, said. “Victoria's stallion owners have been great supporters of this scheme with their nomination fees going into the prizemoney of the A$1-million Showdown. Victoria already has some fantastic sires, but VOBIS Sires and the Showdown will help take the quality of the stallion roster in this state to a new level,” he added.

The Showdown is named after Victoria's champion Australian stallion of the 1970s of the same name and RV's general manager Greg Carpenter commented, “Making this announcement helps to reinforce the message of the VOBIS Sires program, and will aid in educating owners and trainers about buying VOBIS Sires progeny so that they are eligible to compete for the first ever A$1 million VOBIS Sires Showdown race in 2019. The name itself also has significant historical links to Victorian breeding, with Showdown being a champion Australian stallion who stood at Stockwell Stud and who produced very classy two-year-old progeny.”