The Big Dance Race Information

The Big Dance is a 1600 metre quality handicap race run by the Australian Turf Club on the first Tuesday in November. It is held at Randwick on the same day as the Melbourne Cup is run.

  • Race Type: Listed
  • Distance: 1600 metres
  • Conditions:  Quality handicap, 3YOs & upwards
  • Track: Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, New South Wales
  • Prizemoney: $2,000,000
  • Date: Tuesday 5 November 2024

The Big Dance Race History

The Big Dance was announced as a new race to be run for the first time in 2022. It allows winners of 25 Country Cups across NSW to compete for the massive $2 million prizemoney. The field is drawn from the winners and runners-up of those races. Racing NSW then used the benchmark rating at the time of the final acceptances to rank the horses in order and determine the final field.

In 2024 it was given Listed status.

The races that give qualification are:

Race Distance Venue
Goulburn Cup 1400m Goulburn
Snake Gully Cup 1400m Gundagai
Taree Cup 2000m Taree
Mudgee Cup 1600m Mudgee
Nowra Cup 1600m Nowra
Armidale Cup 1600m Tamworth
Moruya Cup 1425m Moruya
Ballina Cup 1590m Ballina
Bega Cup 1600m Sapphire Coast
Albury Gold Cup 2000m Albury
Muswellbrook Gold Cup 1450m Muswellbrook
Orange Gold Cup 2100m Orange
Tamworth Cup 1400m Tamworth
Wagga Wagga Gold Cup 2000m Wagga
Scone Cup 1600m Scone
Wellington Cup 1700m Wellington
South Grafton Cup 1600m Grafton
Forbes Cup 1600m Forbes
Coffs Harbour Cup 1600m Coffs Harbour
Murwillumbah Cup 1550m Murwillumbah
Dubbo Gold Cup 1600m Dubbo
Lismore Cup 2100m Lismore
Bathurst Cup 1800m Bathurst
Port Macquarie Cup 2000m Port Macquarie
Big Dance Wild Card 1600m Randwick
Coonamble Cup 1600m Coonamble
Goulburn Cup 1400m Goulburn

Our Runner by Runner Previews

Useful Facts

To be held in 2022.

Past winners of The Big Dance

The Big Dance was held for the first time in 2022

Year Winner Second Third
2024 Gringotts Vivy Air Suparazi
2023 Attractable Cepheus Super Helpful
2022 Rustic Steel Cisco Bay Sibaaq