Queensland's Summer Racing Carnival
Summer Carnival set to shine in Queensland
All roads lead to the Gold Coast as the Queensland Summer Racing Carnival returns in 2026/27, featuring 23 black-type races and more than $28 million in prizemoney and bonuses across nine thrilling weeks of racing.
From the Mooloolaba Cup opener at the Sunshine Coast on November 21 to the glitz and glamour of Magic Millions in January, the carnival will feature racing across the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and Gold Coast.
The Sunshine Coast Turf Club’s opening meeting will introduce the General Nediym, a new set-weights sprint over 1000m launching the two-year-old pathway to Magic Millions. The race is named in honour of the multiple Group 1-winning gelding who took out the Magic Millions 2YO Classic in 1997.
Seven days later, the Tattersall’s Listed Recognition Stakes and Tattersall’s Classic take centre stage at Doomben, starting six weeks of racing at the Brisbane Racing Club.
The Group 3 George Moore Stakes on December 5 will feature some of the state’s top sprinters, alongside the Listed Phelan Ready for two-year-olds continuing their Magic Millions path. The meeting will also host the Country Cups Challenge and Country Stampede finals, giving regional participants the chance to compete for more than $300,000 in prizemoney on a metropolitan raceday.
The Gateway follows on December 12, with four-year-olds racing for a berth in the $3 million Stradbroke Handicap in 2027. Winning connections can run their own horse or negotiate to designate their slot to another nominated horse in the top 40 order of entry.
The Gold Coast will showcase racing under lights on December 18, featuring a $200,000 edition of Magic Millions The Debut for unraced two-year-old colts, geldings and fillies.
The Group 3 Grand Prix Stakes takes place on December 19, continuing a three-year-old staying programme that has helped launch Group 1 champions including Kovalica and Gypsy Goddess. The $300,000 event sits three weeks before the TAB Magic Millions The Wave on January 9. Run over the same distance, The Wave is again open to all Magic Millions Race Series nominated horses aged three and older.
The Group 3 Vo Rogue Stakes returns to Eagle Farm on January 2, 2027, alongside the newly named Better Than Ready 2YO 1200m handicap. The race will carry $150,000 in prizemoney, an increase of $45,000. Its new name honours Better Than Ready’s enduring success as a sire of two-year-olds.
The carnival then heads towards two marquee Magic Millions racedays, offering $18.8 million in prizemoney and Racing Women’s Bonuses.
The twilight Magic Millions Gold Raceday on January 9, 2027, will feature the third running of the $2.5 million TAB Magic Millions Sunlight 3YO slot race. Newly granted black-type status, the race will be run at Listed level in 2027. The $1 million Racing Queensland Magic Millions QTIS race also retains its place at the carnival’s penultimate meeting, with more than $6 million in prizemoney on offer across the card.
The TAB Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday on January 16, 2027, will be the carnival’s crowning jewel, headlined by the $3 million TAB Magic Millions 2YO Classic and $3 million Magic Millions 3YO Guineas.
The January racedays coincide with the 2027 Gold Coast Yearling Sale, held from January 12 to 17.
