Perth Racing's three Group One meetings will form The TABtouch Masters, a world-first event to which the club is committed to attracting high-quality horses from interstate and overseas.
Ascot Racecourse will make racing history this year when it becomes the first track in the world to stage a Group One race worth at least $1,000,000 on three consecutive Saturdays.
Perth Racing wants The TABtouch Masters to be where the best of the west take on the best of the rest so it's operating an incentive scheme, the purpose of which is to alleviate the considerable upfront costs associated with campaigning distinguished competitors trained outside Western Australia.
Neil Pinner, Chairman of Perth Racing, said the club is offering significant sweeteners to lure the best possible horses to The TABtouch Masters, a festival he believes will become a key component of the Australian racing calendar immediately.
"The quality of the horses is paramount if The TABtouch Masters is going to be recognised as a premier event," said Mr Pinner.
"Perth fans have been fortunate over the years in seeing some of the Australian greats, including Better Loosen Up, Buffering, Kingston Town, Miss Andretti, Northerly, Ortensia, Takeover Target and Vo Rogue, run and win at Ascot Racecourse.
"We understand connections of interstate and international horses face substantial out-of-pocket expenses. Perth Racing's incentive scheme removes their substantial upfront costs and requires them only to make a financial contribution if they finish first, second or third in the James Boag's Premium-Railway Stakes, the Crown Perth-Winterbottom Stakes or the Peters Investments-Kingston Town Classic."
The TABtouch Masters, which will be staged at Ascot Racecourse from Saturday 19 November to Saturday 3 December inclusive, is the highlight of the two-and-a-half-month Ascot Racing Carnival that will get under way on Saturday 15 October.