Futurity Stakes 2024

Ladbrokes Tip: Look for horses coming out of the CF Orr Stakes a fortnight earlier for your Futurity Stakes betting.

The Futurity Stakes is one of three Group 1 Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival features traditionally held at Caulfield Racecourse* on Blue Diamond Stakes Day in late February each year. The weight-for-age feature runs over 1400m and offers $750,000 in total prize money.

*In 2023 the Blue Diamond Stakes Day program ran at Sandown’s Ladbrokes Park Lakeside course. 

2022 Futurity Stakes winner Sierra Sue. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

There are three elite level races at the meeting, which is headlined by the two-year-olds facing off in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m).

The traditional lead-up race into the Futurity Stakes is the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m) traditionally conducted at the same track and distance a fortnight earlier.

From 2013-20 five of the Futurity Stakes winners came off a CF Orr Stakes run, including Black Heart Bart (2017) who did the double and the also Darren Weir-trained Brave Smash (2018) who improved on a lead-up third on the Orr Stakes.

In 2022 the CF Orr winner Tofane went on to run third in that year’s Futurity Stakes results.

More recently, Sierra Sue improved on a lead-up fourth to score an upset win in the 2022 Futurity Stakes at $14.

In 2024 Mr Brightside became the latest horse to complete the CF Orr Stakes – Futurity Stakes double. 

The Futurity Stakes winner also gains a guaranteed start in the All-Star Mile field that autumn.

The latest edition of the Futurity Stakes took place on Saturday February 24, 2024 at Caulfield Racecourse and was won by reigning All-Star Mile champ Mr Brightside ($1.50F) for Lindsay Park who celebrated his sixth Group 1 success. 

2024 Futurity Stakes Results

The official Futurity Stakes Results 2024 and Finishing Order will be published below when the race is run and won on Saturday February 24, 2024.

2024 Futurity Stakes winner Mr Brightside was too good again saluting as the deserving odds-on favourite. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

• 1st: #1 Mr Brightside
• 2nd: #2 Pericles
• 3rd: #6 Buffalo River

An All-Star Mile title defence looks set for the Lindsay Park-trained Mr Brightside ($1.50F) who backed up from his narrow CF Orr success first-up to continue his flawless 1400m Caulfield record with a big win late in the 2024 Futurity Stakes results on Blue Diamond Day.

2024 Futurity Stakes Odds

The Futurity Stakes 2024 betting odds will be available below as soon as markets on the Blue Diamond Stakes Day support act are out.

Futurity Stakes Race Info

• Date: Saturday February 24, 2024
• Track: Caulfield Racecourse
• Distance: 1400m
• Conditions: Weight-for-age
• Status: Group 1
• Prize Money: $750,000
• First Run: 1897

Futurity Stakes Betting

Futurity Stakes betting is normally dominated by horses coming off a win with all but four of the 15 Futurity Stakes winners from 2010-24 not having won their lead-up race.

Probabeel (2021) backing-up from a Group 3 Geoffrey Bellmaine Stakes success to take out the feature, the resuming Champions Mile winner from the spring prior Alligator Blood (2023), and last start CF Orr champ Mr Brightside (2024) who did the double are the most recent last start winners to take out the Futurity Stakes.

The CF Orr Stakes is the best guide to Futurity Stakes odds.

Favourites in the markets have a nice recent record with 11 saluting for the punters from 2010-2024 most recently Alizee ($2.80 in 2019), fellow mare Probabeel ($3.50EF in 2021), Alligator Blood ($2.80 in 2023), and the track/distance specialist Mr Brightside ($1.50 in 2024).

Alligator Blood was excellent first-up saluting for the punters fresh in the 2023 Futurity Stakes results. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

In-form mares also usually sit high up the Futurity Stakes betting markets with the mares beating home the boys seven times from 2007-2024 – the latest being Probabeel (2021) and Sierra Sue (2022).

Futurity Stakes Field

The Futurity Stakes race field limit is 16 starters, but the weight-for-age classic has only run at capacity once since 1983 back in 1986 when the Bart Cummings-trained three-year-old Campaign King won.

The race usually attracts horses of all ages however the Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) run two weeks earlier is the traditional lead-up.

Many horses target the CF Orr Stakes – Futurity Stakes double and the double has been achieved four times since 2010 with Typhoon Tracy (2010), All Too Hard (2013), Moment Of Change (2014), Black Heart Bart (2017), and Mr Brightside (2024).

Nominations are taken the Monday before the race with the final Futurity Stakes field of acceptances released on the Wednesday.

2024 Futurity Stakes Field

The official Futurity Stakes 2024 final field and barriers will be released on the Wednesday of race week and detailed in full below.

The 2024 Futurity Stakes field features just eight runners with five-time Group 1 champion and last start CF Orr winner Mr Brightside scaring off the bulk of his rivals.

2024 Futurity Stakes Nominations

Nominations for the Futurity Stakes 2024 close the Monday leading up to Blue Diamond Stakes Day with the full list of early entries to be published here.

The early 2024 Futurity Stakes nominations attracted just seven weight-for-age hopefuls dominated by Lindsay Park’s All-Star Mile champ Mr Brightside coming off gutsy first-up win in the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes at the track and trip.

Nominations extended until 10:00am (AEDT) – 20/02/2024

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Futurity Stakes Tips

The best Futurity Stakes tips are to look for horses coming off a Group race win especially the CF Orr Stakes winner at the same track and distance a fortnight before and to look for horses drawn in barriers 4 – 6 as those gates produced seven winners between 2010 and 2024.

Other good Futurity Stakes betting tips include backing the favourite and steering away from runners that didn’t have their final lead-up in a Melbourne race. That said, in 2019 Alizee saluted for the punters on the back of a lead-up Group 2 Expressway Stakes win in Sydney.

2024 Futurity Stakes Tips

Our insider Ladbrokes’ Futurity Stakes 2024 betting tips will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned for the gallopers to back and sack in the autumn Group 1.

• To Win: #1 Mr Brightside ($1.45 at time of publish) – BET NOW

There is zero value in Mr Brightside to win the Futurity but the WFA champion for Lindsay Park looks near impossible to beat in a small field. He returned to winning form fresh at this track and trip in the CF Orr showing plenty of grit to narrowly deny an upset from Pride Of Jenni in a thriller. Fitter now and gets the run of the race from gate five in an eight-horse field lacking a bit of depth. Craig Williams in the saddle again. Back don’t sack.

Futurity Stakes Form Guide

The Futurity Stakes form guide shows punters the trainers, jockeys, barriers and other crucial information on the horses in the field. The guide shows the CF Orr Stakes is the best form to follow into the Futurity Stakes field each year with 10 winners of the latter coming out of the earlier event from 2005-2020.

Other important Futurity Stakes form guide facts to consider include the solid form of three-year-olds over the past two decades, the strong record of trainer David Hayes and the winning strike rate in the race of jockey Damien Oliver who boasts four wins to date.

The Futurity Stakes form from 2022 franked with the second placed Mo’unga coming back that spring to finishing in the money in a number of key Group 1 events including the Makybe Diva Stakes (3rd), Underwood Stakes (2nd) and VRC Champions Stakes (2nd).

The 2023 Futurity Stakes form was franked by the winner Alligator Blood who finished fourth in The All-Star Mile results at his next start. That spring the ‘Gator had a massive preparation including taking out the Group 1 Underwood Stakes – Caulfield Stakes double.

Futurity form that year was further franked by the second placed Mr Brightside who went on to complete the All-Star Mile – Doncaster Mile interstate double that autumn before a big spring bid headlined by a Cox Plate second.

Futurity Stakes Form Facts

• Last start winners dominate recent the recent Futurity Stakes results with all but four of the 15 winners from 2010 – 2024 coming off a win.
• Alizee (11 of 12 in 2019) is the only Futurity Stakes winner to jump from a double-digit barrier draw since Niconero (10 of 12 in 2008).
• The CF Orr Stakes has produced more Futurity Stakes champions than any other lead-up in the past two decades with Mr Brightside (2024) the last to do the double.
• Favourites in Futurity Stakes betting saluted for the punters 11 times in the 14 years from 2010 – 2024 most recently Mr Brightside ($1.50 in 2024).

2024 Futurity Stakes Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Futurity Stakes 2024 Form Guide will be provided below the week of the race.

Futurity Stakes Results

The Futurity Stakes race results and finishing order showing the placings of all the runners in the field along with the winning margins, trainer, jockey and time are out when the race runs in Melbourne as part of Blue Diamond Stakes Day.

The results also show the successful Futurity Stakes exotics like quinella and trifecta combinations.

Favourites have dominated the Futurity Stakes results over the past decade as have last start winners and notable champions of the race include More Joyous (2011), All Too Hard (2013), Black Heart Bart (2017), Alizee (2019), Probabeel (2021), Alligator Blood (2023), and Mr Brightside (2024).

Sierra Sue (2022) was the last Futurity Stakes winning mare.

All Too Hard (2013) was the last three-year-old Futurity Stakes winner.

More Joyous holds the current Futurity Stakes race record winning in 2011 in a time of 1 minute 21:79 seconds.

Recent Futurity Stakes Winners

Past Futurity Stakes winners and place-getters dating back to the year 2006 are detailed in the below table.