The Everest is the world's richest race on turf and is run over 1200m under weight-for-age conditions at Royal Randwick in October.
Unlike any other race in Australia, The Everest was first created by Racing NSW in 2017. The race is made up of 12 slots that are sold for $600,000 each on a three-year agreement (total $1.8million). Slot holders then have the choice of which horse will represent them in the race. The slot owner has the right to nominate their own horse for the race, sell their slot or do a deal with the owner of another horse to share the prizemoney.
The race is the centrepiece of a new-look spring racing program introduced by Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club, and is the headline race on the final day of the Carnival. With the total prizemoney of the meeting exceeding $17million, it is now Australia's richest raceday.
In 2017, the prizemoney for The Everest was $10million, but that increased to $13million the following year, with the winner pocketing $6million.
The second placegetter earned $2.1 million, third $1.2 million, fourth $820,000, fifth $600,000 and sixth $350,000. Those sprinters finishing seventh to 12th earn $300,000 for their connections.
In 2019, the prizemoney will rise to $14million and in 2020, the race will be worth $15million.
The inaugural winner of The Everest was the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Redzel in a time of 1:08.36. He represented slot-holder James Harron Bloodstock, who split the prizemoney with the gelding's original owners group, who were part of Triple Crown Sydnications. He was ridden by Kerrin McEvoy and defeated Vega Magic by 0.8 lengths. Brave Smash finished third and Chautauqua ran fourth.
Returning a year later, Redzel once again won The Everest, this time by leading all-the-way with McEvoy again in the saddle. This time, he represented Yulong Investments, who once again shared the prizemoney with his original owners. The 2018 edition was run on heavy ground and with a lack of pace in the race, Redzel clocked a winning time of 1:12.03. He defeated Trapeze Artist by 1.3 lengths, while a further 1.5 lengths away in third place was Osborne Bulls. Le Romain finished fourth in the race, some 3.7 lengths from the winner.
Despite Racing NSW pushing for The Everest to gain Group 1 status, the race is not yet recognized as such. During a Racing Australia board meeting in 2018, Racing Victoria representatives allegedly used their power of veto to reject The Everest attaining elite status. It is understood the potential clash between The Everest and the Caulfield Cup in 2019 was one of the main reasons behind the decision.
