Sunday, 31st August 2025
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A significant overhaul to the Melbourne Spring Carnival is set for 2025, with a reshuffling of three of Caulfield’s Group 1 fixtures aimed at refining the structure of the season, according to racing.com. Racing Victoria and the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) confirmed on Tuesday that the Thousand Guineas and Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes will shift back to their traditional October and September timeslots, while the C.F. Orr Stakes – Victoria’s opening Group 1 of autumn – will be repositioned to the tail end of the Spring Carnival. This move comes after the success of continuing elite-level racing beyond Melbourne Cup week in recent years and a desire to build a more cohesive spring narrative. Having been run in late November for the past two years, the Thousand Guineas (1600m) will return to its pre-1988 spot on Caulfield Cup Day, October 18. This aligns it two weeks after the Flight Stakes in Sydney and allows fillies to again follow a traditional path towards the Empire Rose Stakes and VRC Oaks. The Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) also reverts to a September 20 slot, reviving a dual Group 1 meeting with the Underwood Stakes and its historical lead-in to the Toorak Handicap. The C.F. Orr Stakes remains part of the calendar post-Cup Carnival, now locked in for November 15 as the feature of Caulfield’s mid-November fixture, a slot that has delivered positive wagering and attendance figures since 2023. The adjustment also solves programming tensions with the Futurity Stakes by creating a greater gap between the two races. Supporting changes include a suite of date swaps for other black-type events: the Gr2 Thousand Guineas Prelude moves back to September 20, the Gr2 Sandown Guineas returns to November 15, the Gr3 Blue Sapphire Stakes shifts to November 29 and returns to 1200m, and the Gr3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes will be run on February 7 as a Futurity Stakes lead-up. RV chief executive Aaron Morrison said the reset aims to "strengthen our racing calendar throughout the Spring Racing Carnival,” maintaining 12 consecutive weekends of Group 1 racing. MRC’s Tom Reilly said the revamped dates offer a compelling platform for fillies that will ensure Caulfield continues to showcase top-class racing across the entire spring. Further announcements, including prizemoney increases, are expected in coming months.
