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Celebrities take a spin around Albion to launch UBET Winter Carnival

1 June 2018

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Racing Queensland has launched the 2018 UBET Queensland Winter Harness Racing Carnival at Albion Park, with the first Group 1 of the season to be run at Redcliffe on Friday night.

The 2018 UBET Queensland Winter Harness Racing Carnival features four Group 1 classics, across 10 weeks, at Redcliffe and Albion Park, with more than $1.1 million in feature prize money on offer.

Racing Queensland CEO Brendan Parnell said he looked forward to enjoying his first carnival in the role, and thanked UBET for their generous support of the carnival by way of the new UBET Grand Slam bonuses.

“This year’s carnival has a great air of expectation, with some of the best horses both Queensland and Australia has to offer eyeing-off feature success in the Sunshine State,” Mr Parnell said.

“UBET’s major sponsorship of the 2018 Winter Racing Carnival has allowed Racing Queensland to offer up to $120,000 in bonuses set across a series of races, which are aimed at keeping some of the best horses here for an extended period during the carnival.”

The launch, held at the Albion Park Harness Racing Club on Thursday, also offered a sneak-peek at a new promotion that will give punters the chance to win a lap around Albion Park or Redcliffe, with the help of an experienced driver and harness horse, over eight feature nights of the Carnival.

Channel 7 Creek To Coast presenter Roger Vickery, RadioTAB presenter Peter Psaltis and The Courier-Mail’s chief sportswriter Robert ‘Crash’ Craddock, were the first to give the new thrilling experience a test-run.

Mr Psaltis said: “It’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. It’s great that people have the opportunity to do it during the carnival.”

Attendees also heard from the CEO of Albion Park Harness Racing Club, Damian Raedler, and President of the Redcliffe Harness Racing Club, Bernie Ring, about their upcoming feature events and promotions set to attract more punters trackside this winter.

Racing Queensland’s campaign  to attract interest from punters across the country also began this week, with new program ‘The Driver’s Seat’ premiering on popular social media channel ‘Puntersland’.

Hosted by harness racing media expert Jason Bonnington, the show will give punters an inside look at each of the feature meetings during the carnival, with form analysis from RQ and UBET harness expert Darren Clayton.

For your chance to put yourself in the driver’s seat this Winter Carnival, enter the competition at www.racingqueensland.com.au.

About the $120,000 UBET Grand Slam Bonuses

UBET’s generous sponsorship of the 2018 Queensland Winter Harness Racing Carnival has allowed Racing Queensland to offer up to $120,000 in bonuses, including:

  • $50,000 UBET Grand Slam Bonus  - Offered to the connections of any horses that can win both the Garrard’s Sunshine Sprint (July 14) and the UBET Blacks A Fake (July 21).
  • $15,000 UBET Slam Bonus – Available to the connections of any horse that can place in both the Blacks A Fake and Sunshine Sprint, or, win one and place in the other.
  • $20,000 Trainers’ Slam Bonus – Available to any trainer who wins two or more of the following feature races:
  • Queensland Derby
  • UBET Blacks A Fake
  • Queensland Oaks
  • Queensland Trotters Cup