The Forbes Jockey Club is celebrating the news the Forbes Cup has been included in the $2 million BIg Dance concept.
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"It's giddy up for the Forbes Cup which has been selected as one of the qualifying country cups for the new $2M Big Dance to be held at Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day," the club posted on social media.
"Time to show the 'big' end of town what Forbes racing is made of.
"In the words of 'Big' Kev... we're excited," the club posted.
The 2022 Forbes Cup will be run over 1600 metres on July 31, three months before the Big Dance final which will be run at Royal Randwick on November 1.
The concept has come in for criticism on social media, the concept being labelled as another avenue for city trainers to gain entry into a feature event and at the same time take away prizemoney from country trainers in events they would not normally enter.
The field for the race is set to feature the winners and second-placed horses from 25 Country Cup races from across the state including Dubbo and Wellington.
The Big Dance will be held over 1600 metres while some of the qualifying races already run before the conditions of the concept were made final earlier this week.
Racing NSW also stated on Tuesday, preference would be giving those who won one of the 25 Country Cups leading into the event.
The Big Dance qualifying races have already begun with the Goulburn Cup being the first race to be announced as a qualifier also on Tuesday.
The Wellington, Mudgee, Dubbo, Forbes, Orange, Bathurst and Coonamble Cups in 2022 will all act as qualifiers for the event. The Coonamble event will be the final qualifier.
Qualifiers have already been run at Goulburn, Gundagai, Taree, Mudgee, Nowra, Armidale, Moruya, Ballina, Sapphire Coast, April, Muswellbrook and Orange.
Events to come this year outside our area will be run at Tamworth, Wagga, Scone, Grafton, Coffs Harbour,e Murwillumbah, Lismore, Port Macquarie and Randwick.