ARF Announces 2026-27 Australian Black-Type Changes

The Asian Racing Federation has announced its final decisions this week on Australia's black type for the 2026-27 season, featuring 10 upgrades of existing black-type races and five downgrades. The highest-profile upgrade is that of the Apollo Stakes, which has moved from a group 2 to become Australia's 77th group 1 event—the second-highest number of group 1 races in any jurisdiction in the world behind only the United States. Back in July, the ARF approved 11 upgrades of black-type races, announced 15 new Australian black-type races, and made just one downgrade, with the Asian Pattern Committee having taken control of the black-type decisions on Australian racing in December 2025. The APC took over the decision-making process for Australia's group and listed races after it decided the governing bodies had failed to effectively oversee the process since 2017-18. The Black Type Advisory Group was then created by Racing Australia in March 2026 to advise on any upgrades, downgrades, or new black-type additions. The biggest winner in July was undoubtedly the AU$10 million Golden Eagle (G1), which went straight from non-black type to group 1 status, meanwhile, the recently upgraded Apollo had been held as a group 2 since 1979. Past notable winners of the Apollo include Emancipation (1984), Triscay (1991), Naturalism (1993), Sunline (2000-01), Lonhro (2003), Contributer (2015) and, of course, three-time heroine Winx (AUS) (2016/2017/2019), while most recently it has seen the likes of Anamoe (AUS), Fangirl (AUS), and Autumn Glow (AUS) land the 1,400-meter (about 7-furlong) weight-for-age contest. Other big winners this time around include Western Australia's very own slot race, The Quokka, which has become a group 2 from non-black type. In the four years since the race's inaugural running, The Quokka has been won by subsequent group 1 winners Overpass (twice) and Jigsaw, while the other victor was Jokers Grin in 2025. Magic Millions buyers will have been delighted to see that a quartet of restricted races have been elevated to black-type status. Those four are The Buffering, which has been put in as a group 3, and the new listed trio of the Pierata Plate, Sunlight 3YO Plate, and National Classic. That quartet of races are restricted to Magic Millions-purchased horses only, meaning their sales are very likely to prove even busier in the coming weeks and months ahead. Both the Blue Diamond Prelude (colts and geldings) and Fred Best Classic have seen themselves upgraded to group 2 status, with the former now on the same level as the fillies' Prelude. Other races to be upgraded include the following, which are all now group 3s, the Desirable Stakes, Talindert Stakes, Darby Munro Stakes, Moomba Plate, Fernhill Handicap, Gold Coast Bracelet, and Juanmo Stakes. Races to be granted brand new black-type status in 2026-27 as listed events are the Marjorie Charleson Classic, The Joey, and Rock Magic Stakes. The five downgrades are all races over middle distances or further, being the 3,200-meter (about 2-mile) Adelaide Cup, 2,600-meter (about 1 5/8-mile) Chairman's Handicap, W.A.T.C. Derby at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles), and Brisbane Cup at 3,200 meters, which all fall from group 2 to group 3 status, while the Launceston Cup (2,400 meters) has been dropped from a group 3 to a listed. The move on these staying contests comes just days after the Victorian Racing Club announced that the 2,500-meter (about 1 9/16-mile) Victoria Derby (G1) prize money pot would be upgraded to AU$3 million for the 2026-27 season, an increase of AU$1 million from the 2025-26 running. The APC had been considering whether it should retain its group 1 status. A decision on its status for 2027-28 will not be made until after this year's race, but with time-honored staying races such as the Adelaide Cup and WATC Derby receiving downgrades, the cloud remains over its group 1 eligibility. In defense of the Derby, Victoria Derby day was Australia's highest-attended race meeting in 2025, while wagering on the Derby itself ranks fourth among Victorian races behind only the Melbourne Cup (G1), Caulfield Cup (G1), and Cox Plate (G1). Furthermore, both the Sydney Cup (G1) and Queensland Derby (G1) were considered by the APC for downgrade, but will remain at their current status in 2026-27, something that won't fill supporters of both races with confidence going into next season. A statement from the ARF on the new changes reads: "The Asian Racing Federation (ARF) wishes to advise of recent decisions regarding the black type status of races run in Australia between January and July 2026, effective for the 2026/27 racing season. "At its meeting on 3 September 2026, the Asian Pattern Committee (APC) considered Racing Australia's (RA) application, and made provisional decisions, in respect of the black type status of 35 races for the 2026/27 racing season. "RA was then informed of the APC's provisional decisions and was invited to make comments on them before they were finalised and submitted to the ARF Executive Council for approval. On 17 September 2026, RA informed the APC that it had accepted all provisional decisions made by the APC. "Following RA's confirmation of acceptance, the APC finalised and submitted its recommendations to the ARF Executive Council, which have now been considered and approved by the ARF Executive Council."