“The letter could not be more clear, it said with immediate effect, so The Everest is a group 1 race. It is why we announced the two upgrades last week.”
While there was some conjecture about the group 1 status of The Everest following a fiery meeting of Racing Victoria officials and its stakeholders on Tuesday, Eriksson and Australia’s representative on the Asian Pattern Committee, Racing Queensland chief executive Jason Scott, could not be clearer about its status.
Eriksson said following the new black type protocols that the Racing Australia board unanimously approved, the All Star Mile and The Everest were put forward for group 1 consideration after meeting the rating standard.
“The Everest and All Star Mile have been ratified as group 1 races by the Asian Pattern Committee and the Asian Racing Federation,” Scott said.
“I was on the call when Winfried [Engelbrecht Bresges] announced they were both group1 races and said congratulations.”
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Engelbrecht Bresges is the Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive, ARF chairman and International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.
Racing Australia has not announced any other upgrades to group and listed racing, but Racing NSW has moved 12 of its races up in status this spring.
It has been six years since any race was upgraded in Australia after a stalemate between Racing NSW and Racing Victoria.
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