The Western Crown race series at Gloucester Park this Friday has attracted full fields for both the fillies and colts feature races, following key changes made to the two-year-old racing calendar.
The race series is the first set of features for two-year-olds for the season and will see two full fields of ten for both the fillies and the colts vie for the $30,000 purses.
It comes after Racing WA announced programming changes last December to provide further opportunities for juvenile horses to compete in feature races.
Racing WA Head of Harness and Special Projects Cameron Brown said the two capacity fields reflected the programming’s intent to create more placement options for trainers.
‘‘WA is a great place to race a two-year-old with the prizemoney on offer throughout the season with six races for $100,000 on offer for freshman pacers," he said.
“The full fields for both races highlight the enthusiasm of trainers and owners to support early-season two-year-old racing, with Friday the first chance for feature race glory in the season.
“It’s fantastic to see the industry rallying around these changes and taking advantage of the opportunities they present.
“By allowing trainers more flexibility and providing further incentive for their runners, we have seen an increased interest in nominations with stronger fields as we look to improve on last year’s numbers.’’
“I’m really looking forward to both of these Western Crown events, which are shaping to both be very competitive as we see our next wave of pacing stars come through the ranks.”
While the programming update has led to bolstered field sizes for the Western Crown series, Cameron added Racing WA would continue to seek potential opportunities.
“Change is never easy, so I certainly appreciate the industry’s patience and feedback as we evaluate these adjustments,” he said.
“The participation in this Friday’s races is a great step forward and we will continue to work closely with trainers, owners, and breeders to ensure the long-term sustainability of harness racing in WA.”
