Marburg is again set to host the Queensland Constellations to host the top performers in harness racing from around the country on June 21.
The carnival, across three SEQ venues, will be headlined by Australia’s premier harness racing series, the Ladbrokes Inter Dominion.
From June 20 to July 18 at Albion Park, Redcliffe and Marburg, more than $4 million in prize money and bonuses will go on the line, including in 15 Group races – eight of which will be Group 1 events.
The Inter Dominion will again take its place as the Constellations’ crowning jewel, with $1 million going on the line in the Pacing Championship Final, along with $500,000 for the final of the Trotting Championship.
The return of Group 1 feature the Yabby Dam Farms The Great Square to the Queensland Constellations will provide another go-to destination for Australia’s best trotters this winter.
The carnival’s feature racing gets underway at the Peninsula on Saturday, June 20, for the Group 2 Redcliffe Gold Cup and Group 3 events the Redcliffe Derby and Redcliffe Oaks.
The following day, Marburg hosts their annual The Western Star meeting, before the action heads to Albion Park on Saturday, June 27 for The Queensland Sun, again serving as Queensland’s ticket into the $300,000 The Rising Sun.
A red-hot fortnight of racing will then get underway, starting with The Rising Sun night on July 4 with heats for both the Inter Dominion pacers and trotters, The Great Square will follow, and the Group 3 Wayne Wilson Memorial Paleface Adios Classic.
The $300,000 Group 1 The Rising Sun will once again hold 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 added incentive for the winner of The Rising Sun should they be a four-year-old, progressing straight through to the Inter Dominion Pacing Final.
Additionally, the winner of The Great Square can also book their spot into the Inter Dominion Trotting Final, provided they are a 4YO and run the following week in the 3YO & 4YO Trotting feature on Friday, July 10.
Excitingly, invitations have already been extended to, and accepted by, Group 1 winners Captains Mistress to run in The Rising Sun, along with Tracy The Jet for The Great Square.
The Constellations’ penultimate night on Saturday, July 11 includes the second round of Inter Dominion heats and the Group 1 slot race, the Benstud Protostar, being run exclusively for 2YO pacers.
“With eight 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,” RQ Acting CEO Lachlan Murray said.
“The return of the Inter Dominion for its second year during the Constellations will take the event to a new level in 2026, with the eyes of the harness racing world to be firmly on the Sunshine State,”
