The $3 million Perth Racing Tabtouch Masters has locked in its place as a major new event on Australia’s sporting calendar. The inaugural TABtouch Masters has generated international interest and delivered a significant boost in crowd numbers, wagering and turnover.
Kicking off on Saturday 19 November, the series – named the TABtouch Masters, in recognition of its principal sponsor – saw Ascot become the first racecourse anywhere in the world to stage a Group One race worth $1 million on three consecutive Saturdays.
The first day featured the James Boag’s Premium-Railway Stakes, with the second Saturday offering the Crown-Perth Winterbottom Stakes and the final of the inaugural Regional Championships.
The 2016 TABtouch Masters wrapped up Saturday 3rd December with a full day of racing and entertainment headlined by the running of the Peters Investments-Kingstown Town Classic, the richest Group One 1800-metre race in the Southern Hemisphere.
Across the three days, more than 26,000 came through the gates at Ascot Racecourse, with numbers up by more than 50% on last year.
In addition to the action on the track, crowds at Ascot Racecourse enjoyed a huge range of entertainment and hospitality options over the Masters – including a performance by chart-topping home-grown rockers Eskimo Joe, fashions on the field, shoe shine and barber, Red Bull silent disco and pop-up bar and food options.
The Masters attracted $1 million in sponsorship from key commercial partners including TABtouch, Crown Perth, James Boag’s Premium and Peters Investments.
Perth Racing Chief Executive Officer Julian Sullivan said the inaugural Masters had been an outstanding success.
“Across all key benchmarks, the success of the first ever TABtouch Masters has exceeded our expectations,” he said.
“We had fantastic crowds through the gates, enjoying the upgraded facilities and array of entertainment and hospitality options at Ascot Racecourse, and the feedback from members and guests across the board has been overwhelmingly positive.
“We set out with The Masters to attract a class field and some of the best horses competing on the track today – in WA, Australia and overseas – and we hit our target there, with nominations for the three Group One headline races hitting a record of 281 and the number of interstate and international gallopers more than double last year’s total.”
In a first for Perth Racing, all Group One races in the 2016 TABtouch Masters were broadcast live on the Seven Network in WA.
Through the club’s broadcast deal with Sky, The Masters was shown in key global markets including Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, UK, USA, Canada, and Middle East – meaning Perth Racing’s premium thoroughbred action was beamed onto screens right around Australia and the world.
Perth Racing also hosted some of Australia’s first class trainers over the TABtouch Masters three week carnival including David Hayes, Chris Waller, Darren Weir and Gary Moore, who took out the Crown Perth Winterbottom Stakes with Takedown. International interest from Hong Kong was assured through visitors from Hong Kong Jockey Club and international wins from top form jockeys, Douglas Whyte and Tim Clark.
Perth’s acclaimed local son, leading Australian jockey Damien Oliver has also come home and achieved a significant number of wins across the TABtouch Masters.
“This means The TABtouch Masters has showcased not only the best of Australian thoroughbred racing, but also Perth, to the rest of the nation and overseas,” said Mr Sullivan.
“The potential for The TABtouch Masters to become a key tourism drawcard, bringing with it a substantial boost to the WA economy, has already been recognised and the success of the inaugural event has started that process.
“The feedback from around the country is that the TABtouch Masters clearly demonstrated Perth’s ability to stage a world-class racing event, and we can look forward to building on the relationship there as we move forward.”
Mr Sullivan said success of the inaugural TABtouch Masters had cemented its place as one of WA’s leading annual sporting and social events.
“We are delighted with the response to The TABtouch Masters. We introduced the series as a new centerpiece for the Ascot Racing Carnival, and as a way to showcase the best of WA racing, entertainment and hospitality across Australia and beyond,” he said.
“The support for this initiative from racegoers, members, sponsors and the industry has clearly highlighted the demand for a world-class, iconic event in Perth, and we’re proud to have delivered that.
“We look forward to building on this success and delivering a bigger and better TABtouch Masters series in 2017.”
2016 TABtouch Masters – Fast Facts
- The 2016 TABtouch Masters saw Ascot become the first racecourse in the world to stage a Group One race worth $1 million on each of three consecutive Saturdays.
- The series saw a total of 26,000 racegoers at Ascot Racecourse over the three days, up 50% from last year.
- Restaurants, bars and trackside marquees saw more than 4,500 bottles of champagne poured and more than 550 dozen fresh oysters shucked.
- More than 9,000 gourmet meals were developed and served from the menu.
- Nominations for the three headline Group One races totalled a record of 281 horses – almost 50% higher than last year’s total.
- The number of interstate and international horses taking part in the three Group One races doubled from last year, growing from six to 15.
- Perth Racing has employed more than 2,000 employees over the Masters Series.