The stars of the Queensland Constellations will shine brightest in 2024, with Sky Thoroughbred Central poised to provide showcase coverage of the nation’s premier harness racing winter carnival.
Following a successful debut on STC in 2023, the Constellations’ three premier harness meetings at Albion Park will once again be broadcast on the channel throughout July, including features The Rising Sun, Sunshine Sprint, The Hayden and Blacks A Fake.
For the first time in 2024, the Redcliffe Gold Cup meeting on June 29 will also be shown on STC, with the nation’s premier pacer and reigning Inter Dominion champion, Leap To Fame, set to draw a huge audience with his presence in the feature race.
The showcase coverage will start at 6pm on each of the four Saturday evenings, featuring a number of the code’s top analysts including Brittany Graham, Ryan Phelan, Greg O’Connor and Gerard Daffy.
The broadcast gets underway on Saturday, June 29 with a huge night of racing at ‘The Triangle,’ including the Group 2 Redcliffe Gold Cup, Group 3 events the Redcliffe Derby and Redcliffe Oaks, and the Listed Garrards Redcliffe Yearling Sale Race Series 2YO Final.
Two weeks later, the Constellations Carnival hits top gear with the Group 1 RacingAndSports.com.au The Rising Sun.
The same night, the second iteration of Group 1 trotting feature The Haras des Trotteurs Great Square will also see $150,000 up for grabs along with a $25,000 bonus if the winner is a three-year old.
Racing Queensland CEO Jason Scott said the agreement to broadcast the Constellations to a wider audience via STC was further recognition of the national interest in the carnival.
“Now in its fourth year, the Constellations continues to attract competitors from both sides of the Tasman as they look to escape to Queensland’s sun and fun in the winter months,” Scott said.
“With eight Group 1s and $4 million in prize money on offer, the Constellations has rapidly become one of the nation’s premier and most lucrative harness racing carnivals.
“Following on from the success of the 2023 Inter Dominion, we are looking forward to showcasing the state’s pacing and trotting ranks to a wider audience across the nation.”
A week later on July 20, The Creek will play host to the second running of $207,000 The Hayden, with a golden ticket into the world’s richest harness race, the TAB Eureka, up for grabs.
The time-honoured $200,000 Group 1 Garrards Sunshine Sprint will take place on the same evening.
Finally, the Queensland Constellations culminates on Saturday, July 27 when the Group 1 Queensland Derby and Group 1 Queensland Oaks will be run for $150,000 each.
That same night, the inaugural $500,000 Ladbrokes Protostar will be held, utilising the highly successful slot race concept and taking its place as Queensland’s richest annual harness race.
Rounding out the carnival, the jewel in the crown of the Constellations and Queensland’s annual Grand Circuit event, the Ladbrokes Group 1 Blacks A Fake, will be run for a mammoth $400,000.
Click here for more information on the Queensland Constellations.
