subject: Magic Millions Carnival [print this page] The Gold Coast in January is home to the biggest thoroughbred party of the year in the Magic Millions. The Magic Millions Carnival covers a range of events with the highlights being the Magic Million's Raceday and Yearling sale.
Magic Millions race day features eight races for graduates of Magic Millions sales. The main race is the 2yo classic which has been run at the Gold Coast since 1986. Snippets, who was a very good racehorse and later an even better sire, was the first winner. Since then, a number of very good horses have been successful in the 2yo race including Dance Hero, Lovely Jubly, Testa Rossa, General Nediym and Brave Warrior.
In 2001, Magic Millions introduced a 3yo trophy to complement the 2yo feature. It is run over 1400m, and was first won by Paradiddle. Golden Slipper winner, Ha Ha was successful in 2002. The Magic Millions Cup over 1400m for older horses was first held in 2003. January 2007 saw additional annual races for horses aged 3yo and upwards over 1800 called the Magic Millions Stayers race, 1000m called the Sprint, and the 1300m Fillies and Mares race. These races are all restricted to graduates from Magic Millions sales.
The Magic Millions sales complex is located at Bundall, near Surfers Paradise on Queensland's Gold Coast and is opposite the Gold Coast Turf Club. The Gold Coast Turf Club is the home of the Magic Millions race day. The sale complex features an air conditioned covered sales ring, and stabling for almost 1000 horses.
While the race day is a feature of the event, it is run in conjunction with Queensland's largest thoroughbred yearling sale. Magic Millions is one of Australia's most prominent thoroughbred sales companies and is run by some of the countries most colourful businessmen in Gerry Harvey and John Singleton. Harvey and Singleton purchased the sales company after it was almost bankrupt during the 1990's. A feature of the Magic Millions sale has been the depth of the buying bench. Magic Millions has actively marketed their product to buyers throughout the world, but particularly the Asian market.
Magic Millions sales companies has expanded into thoroughbred sales in South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. They have also increased their thoroughbred auction base in Queensland by introducing additional broodmare, weanling, tried horse and ready to run sales throughout the year. Ready to run sales are for horses usually unraced 2yo's who breeze up over a short distance. Buyers are able to assess the horse's ability on the basis of their performance and galloping action.
The Magic Millions carnival continues to grow in importance in both horse racing and cultural circles. With the company at the forefront of horse sales in Australia, Magic Million's innovative methods are almost certain to see the continued growth and success of the company and the feature race it created.
