Latest news with #VRC
News.com.au
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Melbourne Cup prizemoney to be paid from first to 24th after $10m race confirmed
Racing Victoria has confirmed prizemoney increases for Australia's most famous and best races. Melbourne Cup prizemoney has officially increased to $10m with all starters to share in the bounty. The Cox Plate has also been boosted to $6m – up from $5m – to mark the historic last weight-for-age championship on the traditional Moonee Valley Racecourse before a major redevelopment. Racing Victoria is set to confirm prizemoney schedule for the 2025-25 season on Thursday. This masthead on Monday revealed the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate prizemoney decisions. VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers has welcomed the Melbourne Cup prizemoney increase. 'We are thrilled to finally be able to allocate the prizemoney the Lexus Melbourne Cup deserves,' Rogers said. 'It's the 'People's Cup' and frankly $10m allocated across all participants from one to 24 keeps the dream alive for all local, domestic and international participants.' Prizemoney historically for the Cup has been paid down to 12th place from $4.4m to $160,000. While the status quo remains for the top half of the Cup field, from the first Tuesday in November this year 13th to 24th will each receive $100,000. Last year the Melbourne Cup carried $8m prizemoney and a $750,000 18-carat gold three-handled trophy. Rogers praised VRC chief racing officer Leigh Jordon for the new payment structure. 'It takes a lot to get to the Cup,' Jordon said. 'Spreading it right down to the bottom gives everyone a chance in the race domestically and I think internationally it will help a little bit too … it takes a bit to fly out here and participate in the Cup. 'It's good for our grassroots participants here in Australia and New Zealand … it's the People's Cup and we want everyone to be able to run in it.' The VRC has also officially recognised the Geelong Cup and Moonee Valley Gold Cup as 'win and you're in' Melbourne Cup qualifiers. 'Geelong Cup and Moonee Valley Gold Cup have historically delivered, naturally, Melbourne Cup starters and so we thought we would richly reward them and formalise them as part of our golden ticket program,' Rogers said. 'Now we have a $10m Melbourne Cup with 10 golden tickets leading in.' An industry-wide collaborated and approved 'strategic reallocation' has allowed RV to maintain the overall prizemoney pool while also being able to boost select races from grassroots to elite level. A reduction in All-Star Mile and Australian Cup prizemoney – now $2m from $2.5m last year – has boosted the Newmarket Handicap ($1.5m to $2m) and Melbourne Cup.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
RBI to conduct 2-day VRRR auction to drain Rs 1 trillion in liquidity
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to conduct a two-day Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRRR) auction on Wednesday for a notified amount of Rs 1 trillion. This move comes as system liquidity remains in surplus at Rs 3.4 trillion (as of Monday), despite two seven-day VRRR auctions by the central bank. The surplus liquidity has kept the overnight weighted average call rate (WACR) — the operating target of monetary policy — near the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate of 5.25 percent, and much below the repo rate of 5.50 percent. 'System liquidity will only increase from here as government expenditure picks up, and from September, the CRR cut will come into effect. This could push liquidity levels to as high as Rs 5 trillion by November–December, assuming neutral impact from foreign exchange operations. So, they had to move early to ensure overnight rates remain within the policy corridor. This operation will shift the weighted average call rate closer to the repo rate and, more importantly, pull the TREPS rate above the SDF, which it had consistently fallen below despite previous 7-day VRRRs,' said Gaura Sen Gupta, Chief Economist at IDFC FIRST Bank. 'The 100 bps CRR cut will release Rs 2.5 trillion into the banking system.' The overnight WACR settled at 5.26 percent on Tuesday, while the overnight TREPS rate settled at 5.13 percent. Market participants said that the auction, maturing on Friday, is expected to draw strong demand from banks. 'Because it's a two-day VRRR, it will attract good demand from banks. The RBI may continue such short-tenure operations as long as surplus remains above 1 percent of NDTL. With overnight rates currently trading below the repo rate, the central bank is using VRRRs to keep rates within the LAF corridor, ensuring orderly liquidity conditions without aggressively draining surplus,' said V R C. Reddy, head of treasury at Karur Vysya Bank. The RBI's VRRR operations are aimed at absorbing surplus liquidity from the system and anchoring short-term rates closer to the policy repo rate. The RBI had received bids amounting to Rs 1.70 trillion at its seven-day Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRRR) auction on Friday, against the notified amount of Rs 1 trillion. The central bank accepted Rs 1 trillion at a cut-off rate of 5.47 percent. The recent liquidity surplus can largely be attributed to higher government spending and lower-than-expected GST collections, which have eased the usual liquidity pressures. As a result, the liquidity drain was not as sharp as anticipated, experts said, adding that with the RBI already having reduced the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), its room for deploying other measures for liquidity withdrawal apart from VRRR is limited.
Hans India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Anam comments stirs political tension
Nellore: The statement of Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy sparked controversy, which he said at the public meeting at VRC grounds on the occasion of inauguration of Venkatagiri Raja Municipal Corporation High School (VRMCHS) in Nellore on Monday. Minister Lokesh inaugurated VRMCHS on Monday, which was once called as VR High School and renovated with Rs 15 crore with the initiation of Minister P Narayana. It was renamed as VRMCHS. Anam criticised the renaming of the school to VRMCHS, indirectly warning Narayana of dire consequences if the original name, VR High School, wasn't restored. Anam argued that renaming the school, despite its renovation through Narayana's efforts, was unjustified. He demanded that Narayana and the Nellore Municipal Commissioner explain the rationale behind the name change, even with philanthropic funding. He expressed concern that such actions could lead to all 54 municipal schools in Nellore falling under corporate control, away from the Nellore Municipal Corporation's authority. Minister Anam emphasised that past philanthropists, contractors, and bankers, who donated significantly to revive VR High School and its institutions never pushed for corporatisation, as they lacked vested interests. He recalled how corporate education, originating from Guntur district years ago, burdened poor and middle-class families with high costs, making municipal schools their only viable option. He noted that many politicians in Nellore, including his family, came from modest backgrounds, unlike Narayana, whom he claimed entered politics from the corporate sector. He clarified that he supported reviving municipal schools with external funding but urged that their original names be preserved. Minister Ramanarayana Reddy's remarks, made during the VRMCHS inauguration, stirred political tension, highlighting the clash between preserving traditional identities and modernising educational institutions through corporate involvement. He humbly requested Narayana to reconsider renaming municipal schools, advocating for their historical names to remain intact.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Revealed: The Melbourne Cup is set for a major prizemoney boost for the new racing season
Australia's most famous race, the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), has got richer. This masthead has established a long-held Victoria Racing Club (VRC) dream – a $10m Melbourne Cup – has finally been realised. Racing Victoria is set to confirm prizemoney for the 2025-26 season, as early as this week. The Melbourne Cup has carried an $8m prizemoney pool since 2020 – marketed as $8.75m including the iconic 18-carat gold three-handled trophy, valued at $750,000. It is only the sixth significant prizemoney boost for 'the race that stops a nation' since 1990 – the first seven-figure ($1m) purse. The Melbourne Cup has increased in 2000 ($2m), 2009 ($5.5m), 2010-17 ($6-6.2m), 2018 ($7.3m) and 2019 ($8m). RV controls prizemoney in the thoroughbred racing industry. The VRC has lobbied RV since 2022 for a $10m Melbourne Cup, as part of annual industry-wide prizemoney submissions to RV. This masthead in May revealed the latest VRC bid again included a $10m Cup wish. RV rejected past submissions due to a tough economic and wagering environment. Wagering returns, which fund the racing industry, dropped 10-15 per cent year-on-year after an explosion during the Covid pandemic. While wagering income and cost control remains crucial, better collaboration between RV and stakeholders, including racing clubs has allowed for important prizemoney adjustments. The total Victorian prizemoney pool – $316m last season – is likely to largely be retained but greater flexibility at club level, in particular, to redistribute funds has afforded select changes. It is understood the VRC has been able to trim prizemoney off other feature races to achieve the $1m and change required to secure a $10m Melbourne Cup. The All-Star Mile and Australian Cup dropped from $3m to $2.5m last season. The Group 1 features could be subject to further reductions. RV chief executive Aaron Morrison declined to comment on prizemoney discussions. However, Morrison said any changes for the upcoming season would benefit Victorian racing from grassroots to the top tier. Australia's best race, the Group 1 W.S Cox Plate (2040m), could jump to $6m – up from $5m – ahead of a historic last weight-for-age championship on the traditional Moonee Valley racecourse. The Valley is being redeveloped after the 2025 Cox Plate, with a return to racing on a reconfigured circuit slated for 2027. RV has yet to anoint a host for the 2026 Cox Plate but Flemington remains the logical frontrunner. The $5m Caulfield Cup (2400m) is likely to remain unchanged prizemoney wise however the purses of other Melbourne Racing Club events could be adjusted to afford select increases.
The Age
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
VRC honchos off and racing – but not for Flemington
CBD's spies wandered into the VRC committee room on Saturday to find it suspiciously empty. We were told all committee members – bar vice chairman Michael Ramsden – had flown to the racing mecca of Royal Ascot for its big carnival. While the VRC stumped up for flights for chairman Neil Wilson and chief executive Kylie Rogers, who were 'invited by Royal Ascot and attended on official duties', an insider told CBD that the other directors had paid their own way. The VRC and Royal Ascot have reciprocal membership rights. The case can be made for promoting Melbourne Cup Week among the English racing elite and even luring some of their top-quality horses Down Under for the coming spring, but there is also a question of optics for an organisation with $70 million in debt and four years of losses. The club, which doesn't expect to return to profit until next year, spent $130 million on a new stand at Flemington before COVID and then shed 90 per cent of its revenue during the pandemic. (The stand looks like a cruise ship, for what it's worth). Glamorous international trips aside, board members will have to refine their drinking tastes. Penfolds has ended its four-year partnership with the racing club and Grange is off the menu. The VRC has signed De Bortoli Wines in its place. The Victoria Racing Club board was in good company at Royal Ascot 2025. It was opened by King Charles and Queen Camilla and was also graced by Gillon McLachlan, the king of Melbourne while leading the AFL, and now head of gambling business Tabcorp. The AFL's executive manager for government and stakeholder relations, Jude Donnelly, was also there for the first day of one of the world's most prestigious racing carnivals. Wearing a top hat, McLachlan told UK media that Royal Ascot was the pinnacle. 'There's a lot of Australians in town. I seem to have met hundreds of them,' he said. While on McLachlan, the former AFL top dog has lost his top billing. He was relegated to the graveyard 4pm shift at the recent Macquarie Australia conference, leaving him to compete for attention with .
