After the autumn racing action in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide during the early months of the calendar year, the top-class thoroughbred events move up to Queensland during the cooler months for the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.
2022 Doomben 10,000 winner Mazu (pictured in Sydney). Photo: Steve Hart.
Part of the wider-spanning Queensland Winter Racing Carnival that begins in late April or early May, the Brisbane Winter Carnival officially consists of five Group 1 race days from May – June at Doomben Racecourse and Eagle Farm Racecourse.
Leading up to the majors are Victory Stakes Day and the Gold Coast’s AD Hollindale Stakes Day in early to mid May.
After the Brisbane classics are run and won, the last of Queensland’s Group 1 meetings is the Tattersall’s Tiara Day, which we cover in this section despite Tatt’s owning rights to events on the card.
That brings the Group 1 Brisbane race meetings up to six and in total there are eight elite level races to enjoy across the Sunshine State’s major racing carnival. Queensland’s richest race is the Group 1 $3 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) held in early – mid June.
Brisbane Racing Carnival: Key Races
Doomben 10,000
The $1.5 million weight-for-age Doomben 10,000 kicks off Group 1 racing in Brisbane for the winter and is a popular sprint showdown won by the likes of three-time The Everest hero Redzel (2017) and Eduardo (2021) in recent years.
- Track: Doomben
- Distance: 1200m
- Conditions: Weight-for-age
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $1,500,000
- First Prize: $900,000
- First Run: 1933
- Reigning Champion: Bella Nipotina (2024)
Doomben Cup
The Doomben Cup is a weight-for-age race and the key staying showdown for gallopers during the winter in Queensland. The million-dollar feature serves as a key lead-up to the $1.2 million The Q22 and was recently won by star import Zaaki (2021).
- Track: Doomben
- Distance: 2000m
- Conditions: Weight-for-age
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $1,000,000
- First Prize: $600,000
- First Run: 1933
- Reigning Champion: Bois D’Argent (2024)
Kingsford Smith Cup
The Kingsford Smith Cup is the race formerly known as the BTC Cup, now run at Eagle Farm in late May over 1300m as a lead-up to the Stradbroke Handicap and held on the same day as the Group 1 Queensland Derby.
- Track: Eagle Farm
- Distance: 1300m
- Conditions: Weight-for-age
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $1,000,000
- First Prize: $600,000
- First Run: 1964
- Reigning Champion: I Wish I Win (2024)
Stradbroke Handicap
The Stradbroke Handicap offering $3 million in prize money as of 2023 is Brisbane’s richest race and takes place at the tail-end of the carnival on the same day as the JJ Atkins for the two-year-old milers.
- Track: Eagle Farm
- Distance: 1400m
- Conditions: Open Handicap
- Status: Group 1
- Prize Money: $3 million
- First Prize: $1,800,000
- First Run: 1890
- Reigning Champion: Stefi Magnetica (2024)
Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival Betting
All-in Queensland betting odds on the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival 2024 Group 1 races are available weeks out from the events with juicy prices on offer for the likely top contenders based on the results out of the Sydney Autumn Carnival lead-up races. A few of these futures Brisbane racing odds can be accessed above by following the links to markets in our “Key Races” section.
Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival betting really starts to heat up once the action gets underway in late May with key early indicators for the upcoming Group 1s like the Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m). There are also plenty of promotional betting offers open across the Queensland Racing Carnival including popular Group 1 betting doubles like the Kingsford Smith Cup – Stradbroke Handicap.
Watching the form out of the Sydney races earlier in the season can be key to picking the Group 1 winners in Brisbane over the winter as gallopers head north chasing the lucrative prize money on offer in the Sunshine State.
Major Race Days
See below for the full breakdown of the major Race Days held throughout the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.
2024 DOOMBEN 10,000 DAY
Racecourse: Doomben Racecourse
Date: Saturday May 18, 2024
Feature Races –
A rescheduled Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival calendar from 2017 onwards has Doomben 10,000 Day kick off the elite level racing in Queensland for the season. The day’s feature race is the weight-for-age Doomben 10,000 now run over 1200m – down from 1350m – and featuring a number of graduates out of the Victory Stakes.
The Spirit Of Boom Classic (formerly the Champagne Classic) is a key support act on the card attracting a host of smart two-year-olds that could eventually extend out to a mile for the Group 1 J.J. Atkins (1600m) on Stradbroke Handicap Day.
The Rough Habit Plate makes a nice Queensland Derby lead-up for the three-year-old stayers of the winter, while the BRC Chairman’s Handicap is a possible lead-up for gallopers that contest the following weekend’s Doomben Cup.
2024 DOOMBEN CUP DAY
Track: Doomben Racecourse
Date: Saturday May 25, 2024
Feature Races –
- Group 1 $1,000,000 Doomben Cup (2000m)
- Group 2 $300,000 The Roses (2000m)
- Group 3 $300,000 BRC Sprint (1350m)
- Group 3 $200,000 Fillies & Mares Stakes (1600m)
The second Group 1 race meeting of the winter racing season in Brisbane sees the Doomben Cup take centre stage, the weight-for-age feature suited to the staying types after the extra distance. The Group 3 BRC Sprint is an open quality handicap offering good prize money for the second tier types that could still make the Stradbroke Handicap field, while the Group 2 The Roses is the key Queensland Oaks lead-up for three-year-old fillies.
2024 KINGSFORD SMITH CUP DAY
Racecourse: Eagle Farm Racecourse
Date: Saturday June 1, 2024
Feature Races –
Formerly run as BTC Cup Day to kick off Group 1 racing during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival, Kingsford Smith Cup Day now takes place in late May and is headlined by the Kingsford Smith Cup. Run over an increased distance of 1300m, the former BTC Cup race is now the last start for gallopers tracking into the iconic Stradbroke Handicap a fortnight later.
The Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) also now runs on Kingsford Smith Cup Day giving punters a double-shot of Group 1 racing to enjoy.
The meeting also features the now $1 million BRC Sires Produce Stakes for two-year-olds targeting the Group 1 JJ Atkins over the mile on Stradbroke Handicap Day, as well as the Premier’s Cup and Lord Mayor’s Cup for the staying types.
2024 QUEENSLAND OAKS DAY
Track: Eagle Farm Racecourse
Date: Saturday June 8, 2024
Feature Races –
Held the Saturday before Stradbroke Handicap Day, is Queensland Oaks Day at Eagle Farm with racing headlined by the $700,000 Queensland Oaks over 2200m for the season’s top young staying fillies. The Group 2 Moreton Cup (1200m) for the last minute Stradbroke hopes is the key support act on the card.
2024 STRADBROKE HANDICAP DAY
Track: Eagle Farm Racecourse
Date: Saturday June 15, 2024
Feature Races –
The biggest race day of the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival takes place on the second Saturday of June and is home to an two Group 1 Brisbane races and the $1.2 million Group 2 The Q22 that has replaced the now defunct PJ O’Shea Stakes. Of course the $3 million Stradbroke Handicap is the headline event and the classic has been won by the likes of Under The Louvre (2016), Srikandi (2015), River Lad (2014) and Linton (2013) all at big odds in recent years.
The JJ Atkins sees a field of smart juveniles stretch out over the mile, while The Q22 attracts Doomben Cup graduates. The Brisbane Cup is the major staying event of the festival held over the two-miles. The other Group events on the card are the Dane Ripper Stakes, which is a lead-up for fillies & mares out to extend their winter with a Tattersall’s Tiara run at the end of the month, and the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic for three-year-olds over the mile.
2024 TATTERSALL’S TIARA DAY
Track: Eagle Farm Racecourse
Date: Saturday June 29, 2024
Feature Races –
Tattersall’s Tiara runs in late June two weeks after Stradbroke Handicap Day and is not officially part of the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival. It is host to the last Queensland Group 1 race of the season with the fillies and mares facing off in the Tattersall’s Tiara worth $700,000 in prize money. The fillies have a gun record over their older rivals in the race and the Dane Ripper Stakes is the key lead-up, the double most recently achieved by Invincibella (2019).