The Everest is one of the newest additions to the racing calendar in Australia. Held for the first time last year, it is run over 1,200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, on the second Saturday of October, and is the centrepiece of the famous Spring Carnival. The prize money on offer for the Everest is an impressive $13million, making it the richest turf race on the planet, though it has not yet earned Group status.
As the world’s most lucrative turf race, the Everest has quickly established a reputation as one of the sports most thrilling contests. The race was created to draw the world’s best sprinters together, encouraged by that $13 million prize fund, and it is a vital part of the Spring Carnival that offers a total of $25.5 million in prize money. On the day of the Everest itself, the amount wagered by punters will be more than $15 million, making it one of Australia’s busiest betting days. The challenge of solving this new contest on the betting calendar will attract punters from all over the world and many of Australia’s best tipsters have been studying the unique qualities of this new race, so they can offer punters the best betting advice.
Odds on the Everest are available early in the year, but it is useful to bear in mind that an ante-post bet in this race can be a risky proposition as the unusual entry rules means you can’t be sure which horses will line up until the field is declared. When a horse is named as a starter, its odds will shorten substantially; so many punters will look to make a bet on a horse shortly before it is declared. Everest betting odds are also likely to shift when the jockeys are announced, closer to the day of the race. Antepost odds on the Everest will be made available by most bookmakers during the year and those odds will fluctuate as the weeks go by, depending on the most recent news, so punters looking for the best prices will keep up to date with all the Everest betting news.
The Everest has a quirky entry system, which is similar to the one used with the Pegasus World Cup. It involves the sale of twelve race slots, with each costing $600,000. One race slot provides a place at the starting gate for an un-named horse. The individual owning the slot can enter their own horse, sell their slot on or share an entry with someone else. This means that the Everest Field will usually be limited to the best horses from the top stables that can pay the high entry slot fee. The generous prize money will also attract the world’s best trainers and the leading sprinters, along with the services of leading jockeys such as the Melbourne Cup winner Kerrin McEvoy, who rode the 2017 Everest winner. Another feature of this race is the fact that the 1200 metre start course doesn’t put as much of an emphasis on a good starting barrier position as some other races at the Carnival, although the barrier draw will be closely studied by form students.
In its one-year history, the Everest has already had a big impact with racing fans and the 2018 contest will attract a global audience to watch the event. The official Everest results will be declared soon after the winner has passed the post and quickly made available online. In 2017, Redzel claimed the inaugural Everest. Trained by the father and son duo of Paul and Peter Snowden, who have also had success in the Golden Slipper, Caulfield Guineas and Blue Diamond events, Redzel got an entry thanks to a deal between slot holder James Harron and Redzel’s owners. Redzel is sure to be back again in 2018 to defend his title but will face strong competition from a field of world class sprinting rivals.