A new-look summer carnival to be known as The Starlights is poised to provide a thrilling finish to the Queensland harness racing calendar.
The summer carnival will feature four blockbuster nights at Redcliffe and Albion Park across November and December, with more than $1.7 million in prize money and bonuses on offer.
Staged from November 7 to December 6, The Starlights will be headlined by the Blacks A Fake, Queensland’s time-honoured Grand Circuit event, as well as the Group 1 The Great Square.
The revamped summer schedule comes off the back of the famed Inter Dominion Championship taking its place as the centrepiece of the Queensland Constellations through to 2027.
The summer carnival will commence on Friday, November 7 at Albion Park with the heats of the Sunshine Stars Yearling Sale Classic, followed by the Garrards Redcliffe Yearling Sale Race Series heats on Wednesday, November 12.
The Creek will then host the first of four huge feature nights with the Sunshine Stars Yearling Sale Classic Finals on November 15, with the Queensland Trotters Oaks and Queensland Trotters Derby also taking place one week later on November 21.
Racing returns to the Peninsula for the second feature night of racing for the Finals of the Garrards Redcliffe Yearling Sale Race Series on November 22.
On the same night, the first running of The C J will be held, with the race formerly known as the Patrons Purse renamed to honour the late great Chris Garrard who dedicated his life to harness racing.
Acting Racing Queensland CEO Lachlan Murray said The Starlights would be the perfect way to cap off another great season for harness racing in Queensland.
“With the Inter Dominion being relocated to this year’s Constellations, the Blacks A Fake deserves its own time to shine and the introduction of The Starlights provides the perfect platform for our annual Grand Circuit event,” Mr Murray said.
“We saw the previous success of the Inter Dominion being held during the summer of 2023, and we are expecting similar enthusiasm and quality of fields for this year’s feature racing.
“Following the success of the Constellations, which included record-breaking wagering on the Inter Dominion, there won’t be a better place for pacers and trotters to strut their stuff than right here in Queensland.”
The Starlights’ penultimate night on Saturday, November 29 includes the Group 2 Sunshine Sprint, along with the finals of the Darrell Alexander Trotting Championship and Peak Of The Creek.
Finally, The Starlights closes with a blockbuster evening on December 6, with the state’s premier annual Group 1 feature, the Blacks A Fake Queensland Championship, to be run for $250,000.
The third iteration of the Group 1 trotting feature for three and four-year-olds, The Great Square, will also be contested for $150,000 the same night.
Click here for the full Queensland Summer Harness Carnival schedule.