Victorian harness racing’s previous record was AU$1.15m, at the 2018 Inter Dominion Grand Final night (ID18) at Melton. The new total is a 15% increase from the previous record, and is an all-time state turnover record for the sport.

Victoria Cup night alone climbed 55% from last year, while turnover across the two nights will top AU$15.9m, an increase of 61%.

“It’s a huge result. ID18 had stood alone for a long time for us, but this has smashed it,” said HRV CEO Dayle Brown.

“The great news extended to the whole two nights of the Victoria Cup Carnival. Smoken Up Sprint night, or night one, will land at about $6.8m including international. That’s up 70 per cent on the previous year.

“The figures are even more amazing when you consider we raced at Bendigo, not Melton,” added Brown. “Historically, there’s always been higher turnover at Melton because it’s our major track, but we’ve done a lot to educate people about the great quality tracks we have at our regional centre.”