News Detail

Stokes Racing are delighted with this mornings announcement by Racing Victoria, the Pakenham Racing Club and Sportsbet on the launch of Australia’s richest maiden series, Sportsbet Future Stars.

As a strong supporter of racing at our 'home track' , the Sportsbet-Pakenham Sportsbet Future Stars delivers a significant win for  all in the industry with a lucrative $1.2 million maiden series

Our connections will get the chance to chase in 12 maiden heats valued at $75,000 and qualify for the  $300,000 final.

Stokes Racing are proud of the record our team has at Pakenham:

• Pakenham:
  • 94 Runners - 19 Winners - 20% Winning S/R

• Pakenham Synthetic:
  • 114 Runners - 24 Winners - 21% Winning S/R

* Career Statistics for Stokes Racing  - Racing.com as at 28th Nov 2022


Future Stars will launch on 12 January – the opening Thursday night fixture of the 2022-23 season – and continue at each Pakenham Thursday night meeting through to the lucrative final on Thursday night, 2 March.

An overview of Sportsbet Future Stars follows:

• The series will be open to three, four and five-year-old horses only;
• 12 maiden heats of $75,000 each over distances of 1200m or 1400m;
• A $300,000 final run over 1400m as a Class 3 set weights contest;
• The heats and final will feature fields of 12 with the winner of each heat automatically qualifying for the final;
• If qualified horses do not accept for the final then their spots are offered to the highest rated second placegetters among the heats;
• The final heat will be a 1400m repechage open only to those maidens who contested an earlier heat with priority given to the highest placegetters;
• The heats will cater for a broad spectrum of maidens, with two to exclude first starters; and
• One heat will be open only to maidens prepared by Victorian trainers who registered fewer than 15 Victorian metropolitan wins in the 2021-22 racing season

“Pakenham Racing Club is excited to be partnering with Sportsbet, Racing Victoria and Racing.com, to bring this series to life on a Thursday night at Sportsbet-Pakenham. What a brilliant recipe for success!” Blair Odgers , PRC Chief Executive Officer 

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL DETAIL ON THE FUTURE SERIES