Brisbane Winter Carnival

The Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival, the premier carnival in Queensland, is staged during the months of May and June at both Doomben and Eagle Farm racecourses in Brisbane.

Key Races

The Group 1 Doomben 10000 is the biggest race held during the carnival in terms of prestige, but the Group 1 Stadbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm carries the biggest prize money with $1million on offer for those taking part.

Other Group 1 races staged during the carnival are the BTC Cup and Doomben Cup at Doomben and the Queensland Oaks, Queensland Derby, TJ Smith and Winter Stakes at Eagle Farm.

The Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival

The Brisbane Winter Carnival gets underway in mid-May at Doomben when the card is headlined by the Group 1 BTC Cup (1200m), a weight-for-age sprint. The sprint is the first major race of the carnival and traditionally is used as a stepping stone to the Doomben 10000 two weeks later. The Group 3 Rough Habit Plate (2020m), limited to three-year-olds carrying set weights, is staged on the same day as the BTC Cup as is the Group 3 BRC Chairmans Handicap (2020m), a high-quality handicap.

A week later, also at Doomben, the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2020m) is one of seven group races staged on a top-class afternoon of action. Regarded as the most significant staying race of the carnival, the Doomben Cup is a weight-for-age race won by some high-class performers in the past. The Group 2 Champagne Classic (1200m) is the first group race staged during the carnival for two-year-olds, while there are five Group 3 races. The Doomben Roses (2020m) is for three-year-old fillies who perhaps will head to the Queensland Oaks, and the Lady Of The Turf Stakes (1350m) is another limited to fillies and mares. The BRC Sprint (1350m) is a quality handicap sprint, the Fred Best Classic (1350m) is a sprint for three-year-olds carrying set weights and the last of the five Group 3s is the Lord Mayors Cup (1615m), a weight-for-age contest.

The Group 1 Doomben 10000 (1350m) takes place the following Saturday, the final one in May, on the final day of Doomben’s action during the carnival. A weight-for-age race, it is the leading sprint of the carnival with the roll of honour reading impressively with names such as Apache Cat, Takeover Target and Falvelon on it. The Group 3 Grand Prix Stakes (2200m), which sees three-year-olds carry set weights, and the Group 3 Premiers Cup (2200m), an open handicap, are also staged on the same afternoon.

The Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2400m), which features the best of the three-year-old fillies including some of those who contested the Doomben Roses earlier in the carnival, is the headline act when Eagle Farm stages its first day of the carnival on the first Saturday in June. The day’s racecard also features four Group 2 races. The QTC Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) is a sprint contest for two-year-olds, the PJ O’Shea Stakes (2200m) is a weight-for-age race, the Dane Ripper Quality (1400m) is a sprint limited to fillies and mares who carry set weights and the QTC Cup (1300m) is another sprint but this time for handicap grade horses.

A week later, Brisbane’s richest race is staged at Eagle Farm with the running of the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m). An open handicap, it is one of the leading sprints in Australia and is regarded as one of the hardest to win. The day, Eagle Farm’s biggest of the year, also includes the Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) as the best three-year-old colts go head-to-head carrying set weights and the Group 1 The TJ Smith (1600m), a two-year-old race with set weights once again. The Group 2 Queensland Guineas (1600m), for three-year-olds with set weights, adds extra quality to the action along with the Group 2 Brisbane Cup (2400m), an open handicap won by Viewed in 2008 prior to his victory in the Melbourne Cup.

The curtain comes down on the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival two weeks later at Eagle Farm with the Winter Stakes (1400m), a weight-for-age contested limited to fillies and mares, the final Group 1 race of the carnival. The Group 3 Tattersalls Cup (2200m) on the same afternoon is an open handicap, while the WJ Healy Stakes (1200m) is a quality handicap for sprinters.