The Queensland Constellations is set to shine brighter than ever in 2025, headlined by the return of Australia’s premier harness racing series, the Ladbrokes Inter Dominion.
Staged from June 14 to July 19 at Albion Park, Redcliffe and Marburg, more than $4 million in prize money and bonuses will go on the line throughout five action-packed weeks of harness racing, including 15 Group races – seven of which are Group 1 events.
The Inter Dominion will take its place as the Constellations’ crowning jewel, with the Pacing Championship set to double in prize money, with more than $1.2 million on offer – including a $1 million Final.
The Trotters Championship will also receive a significant uplift, with $500,000 on offer in the Final.
It means the final night of the Constellations will offer more than $2 million in stakes and five unforgettable Group 1 races, with the Inter Dominion Finals to be joined by the Queensland Derby, Queensland Oaks and The Golden Girl.
The Constellations will commence on Saturday, June 14 at ‘The Creek’ with The Queensland Sun, serving as Queensland’s ticket into the $300,000 The Rising Sun
The Finals of the APG Brisbane Sales Graduates will be held on Saturday, June 21, along with innovative slot race The Hayden which returns for its third iteration.
Once again, the race that is run exclusively for three and four-year-old QBRED horses and will serve as RQ’s qualifier for the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1 million The Eureka, at Club Menangle.
Marburg hosts The Western Star on Sunday, June 22, before racing heads to the Peninsula on Saturday, June 28 for the Group 2 Redcliffe Gold Cup and Group 3 events the Redcliffe Derby and Redcliffe Oaks.
RQ General Manager – Racing David Brick said the new-look Constellations Carnival would ensure that Queensland remains the place to race this winter.
“With seven Group 1s and over $4 million in prize money on offer, the Constellations continues to solidify its status as one of the nation’s premier and most lucrative harness racing carnivals,” Mr Brick said.
“Now in its fifth year, the Constellations is again set to attract competitors from both sides of the Tasman as they look to make the most of Queensland’s sun and fun in the winter months.
“The addition of the Inter Dominion to this year’s Constellations will take the event to a new level in 2025, with the eyes of the harness racing world to be firmly on the Sunshine State.”
Attention will then turn to The Creek for a red-hot fortnight of racing, starting with The Rising Sun night on July 5 that will include the heats for both the Inter Dominion pacers and trotters and the Group 3 Wayne Wilson Memorial Paleface Adios Classic.
The $300,000 Group 1 The Rising Sun will boast an additional $50,000 bonus for a three-year-old winner, as well as a $25,000 bonus if a 3YO runs second or third.
There will be further incentive for the winner of The Rising Sun, who will progress straight through to the Inter Dominion Pacing Final.
The Constellations’ penultimate night on Saturday, July 12 includes the second round of Inter Dominion heats and the Group 1 Ladbrokes Protostar, being run exclusively for two-year-old pacers.
Following a thrilling inaugural edition in 2024, the $500,000 Protostar will utilise the highly successful slot race concept, with holders this year coming year from Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
Finally, the closing night of the winter carnival on July 19 will see the Queensland Derby and Queensland Oaks run for $150,000 each, as well as the Inter Dominion Grand Finals.
APHRC Chairman Greg Mitchell said the club was looking forward to another bumper Constellations after hosting a successful Inter Dominion in 2023.
“The Albion Park Harness Racing Club is thrilled to be the home of the Australasia’s most iconic pacing and trotting series for the next three years,” Mr Mitchell said.
“A reinvigorated and condensed Constellations carnival, to be headlined by the Ladbrokes Inter Dominion, should allow us to attract the best talent from across the country and New Zealand to The Creek this July.
“Grand Final night headlined by the $1 million Pacers and $500,000 Trotters Finals, along with three other Group 1 events, will be a night of harness racing not to be missed.
“Consequently, a winter Inter Dominion allows us to enhance and bolster our Summer Carnival, hosting Grand Circuit events at The Creek in both the summer and winter months.”
As announced late last year, the Sunshine Sprint, Blacks A Fake, The Great Square, Patrons Purse and Redcliffe Yearling Sales 2YO and 3YO Finals will all form part of a new Summer Carnival that will also provide Grand Circuit and Group 1 racing.
Click here to see the full program for the 2025 Queensland Constellations.
