One of Australia’s richest horse racing carnivals begins with $20m on the line

ABC NEWS (Australia)

One of the country's richest horse racing carnivals is off to a flying start, with hundreds of the sport's fans flocking to Broadbeach for the Magic Millions' exhibition races and barrier draw. A change of venue and rainy conditions didn't put a dampener on spectator numbers.

Transcript

00:00Thundering down the Glitter Strip, there's no prize money for this morning's three beach

00:11races, but there are more than $20 million on the line at the Gold Coast Turf Club this

00:17week for the annual Magic Millions Carnival.

00:19I'm very lucky to have had a share in an all-female horse that's racing in the two-year-old Magic Millions.

00:27Princess Zara is one of the event's ambassadors and lent a hand in the barrier drawer.

00:34Jockeys are treated like royalty too.

00:37When you're racing for millions on the weekend that's where all the pressure is, so this is

00:39just a bit of enjoyment for us, it's a great spectacle for everyone else to come and see.

00:43The Magic Millions is one of the Gold Coast's first events in the busy tourism calendar and

00:49it brings in millions of dollars to the city's billion dollar tourism industry.

00:55But the aftermath of Cyclone Alfred eroded the beaches, leaving too little sand for a track.

01:01Broadbeach picked up hosting rights, welcoming the horses for the first time.

01:06This is perfect, it's a great venue.

01:09Next year we're going back to Surfers Paradise.

01:13You

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