Road to $1 million race starts with country qualifier at Lismore

Lismore Turf Club is hosting a NSW Country Championships qualifier for the first time on February 17.

The feature race is worth $150,000 with the top two finishers qualifying for $1 million final at Royal Randwick on April 7.

"The Lismore Turf Club is proud to host the Newhaven Park Country Championships for the first time," the club said.

"This will be the most prestigious race meeting the club has ever held and we are excited to put on a show and highlight the North Coast of NSW.

"A huge thank you to Racing NSW for giving us the opportunity to host."

Lismore racecourse has a long history and has been hosting events since the 1870s.

The current Lismore Turf Club was formed in 1968 with the annual cup in September its showpiece event.

The Country championship will bring plenty of interest from owners and trainers beyond the Northern Rivers.

Lismore Turf Club operations manager Daniel Kedraika said all roads were leading to the qualifier after its last meeting on December 22.

They have been able to complete work and have the track in shape for a bigger event.

Races in the qualifying series will be restricted to horses Class 5 and below that have had 20 or less race starts prior to contesting the regional qualifying race.

Total prizemoney, for the Country Championships series in 2024 will be a record $2.35 million.

"The Country Championships have been a tremendous success since their inception," Racing NSW chief exeuctive Peter V'landys said.

"This will be the tenth running in 2024 which is being marked by prizemoney for the Final increasing to $1 million (up from $500,000)."

Lismore will also have its Big Dance qualifier in September.

The top two finishers in the cup will earn a place in the $3 million final.

Visit the Lismore Turf Club website for tickets and packages for the country qualifier event.

Regular tickets cost $10 for Adults, $6 Concession with kids under 16 free.