The New South Wales government will invest A$10M ($9.3M) toward the staging of The Championships in '15, according to Brendan Cormick of THE AUSTRALIAN. NSW Premier Mike Baird, Racing Minister Troy Grant and Racing NSW Chair John Messara announced on Thursday that "the government would be renewing its support of Sydney’s autumn racing carnival event." Messara said that "the announcement would provide certainty to the industry, participants and sponsors and enable Racing NSW to maintain this year’s prizemoney levels for The Championships." Messara said, “I applaud the Premier and NSW government for seeing clear potential to build The Championships into a world class event.” The A$10M investment will, in part, "be directed towards a new permanent quarantine station to allow foreign horses to participate without needing to quarantine in Victoria." There "will also be a race for regional horses during the carnival and funds allocated to marketing and promotions aimed at maximising visitor numbers." Meanwhile, the South Australian Jockey Club "is set to dump jumps racing, describing it as detrimental to its brand" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/15).
