Spring Stakes

There are actually two races in Australia called the Spring Stakes – one at Morphettville Racecourse in Autumn and another at Newcastle Racecourse in Spring. Both are Group 3 races, but the earlier Spring Stakes are a 1200 metre sprint, while the Newcastle Spring Stakes are a longer affair at 1600 metres. These races are quite popular with bettors at SportsBet and the time between them means you can place a decent wager on both Spring Stakes races.

Morphettville Spring Stakes

The final event in the Adelaide Autumn Racing Carnival is the Spring Stakes Day at the scenic Morphettville Racecourse. Adelaide is home to a great range of quality group races during its annual carnival that runs throughout March and May, and the Group 3 Spring Stakes is one of them.

Bettors, spectators and racing enthusiasts always anticipate this event as the last major race on the South Australian racing calendar and after weeks of intense and exhilarating racing the Spring Stakes provides punters with one last betting opportunity!

The Spring Stakes is a 1200m sprint run under weight-for-age conditions in early August, and is the first weight-for-age event in the season for Adelaide.

There are plenty of races held earlier in the carnival that provide punters with an excellent opportunity to gauge the form and chances of the entries for the Spring Stakes. Events like the Group 3 Irwin Stakes (1100m), also a weight-for-age event, are essential viewing prior to placing your Spring Stakes bets.

Horses who ran in the Spring Stakes in Adelaide may continue their season by competing in some of the famous and highly regarded Melbourne Spring Carnival events such as the Group 2 Memsie Stakes (1400m).

Really well performing entries may then move on to the very lucrative and more challenging weight-for-age events like the Group 2 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) and the Group 2 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m) held at Flemington and Moonee Valley in early September.

Spotting the dominant horses in the Spring Stakes is a great way to increase your chances of betting success in these Victorian Spring Carnival events that offer huge betting prize pools!

The most successful horse in the Spring Stakes was Redelva who claimed victory in three consecutive years, 1988, 1989 and 1990. The event was first run by the South Australia Jockey Club (SAJC) in 1970 as a principal race over six furlongs. It was converted to a metric distance of 1200m in 1972 and saw a length and status increase in 1979 to 1350m, Group 2 event. The race distance went back down to 1200m in 1981 and the Spring Stakes was demoted to a Group 3 event in 1998.

This is your last chance to clean out the bookies in the Adelaide Carnival, so make the most of it and place your wager on the Spring Stakes today! All major Australian bookmakers offer their full range of bet types on the Spring Stakes and there is plenty of value to be found if you follow the form of the runners and keep a close eye on the odds offered.

Race Details

When: Late May / Early August

Location: Morphettville Racecourse, Adelaide

Race Status: Group 3

Track Distance: 1200m

Race Conditions: Weight-for-age

Prizemoney: $100 000

Inaugurated: 1970

Newcastle Spring Stakes

The Newcastle Spring Stakes is a 1600 metre race for 3 year olds at set weights, run in the middle of September on a Wednesday. It is held as part of the Newcastle Carnival, and it tends to draw a field of surprising quality. The best horses are often aimed at richer events that are also run around the same time, so trainers after less of a challenge will often aim a good-but-not-great runner at the Newcastle Spring Stakes.

Recent winners of the Newcastle Spring Stakes include Lovemelikearock in 2009, Sousa in 2008, Mearas in 2006, and Hotel Grand in 2005. The race was not held in 2007 due to the outbreak of equine influenza.

Race Details

When: Mid-August

Location: Newcastle Racecourse, New South Wales

Race Status: Group 3

Track Distance: 1600m

Race Conditions: Set Weights

Prizemoney: $175,000