Ticketmaster Australia just locked in another decade with the Victoria Racing Club. The new agreement runs until 2035 and beats every other ticketing deal the VRC has ever signed.
Starting in 2022, Ticketmaster became the go-to ticket seller for Flemington Racecourse. Now they'll keep handling everything from regular race days to the massive Melbourne Cup Carnival. Every hospitality package and general admission ticket goes through their system.
Racing has gotten bigger in recent years, and so has Australian sports betting. Millions of people watch the Melbourne Cup from around the world. Thousands more show up in person, many placing bets on their favorite horses. The whole carnival brings in serious crowds and serious money.
Kylie Rogers runs the VRC these days. She says the Ticketmaster setup has worked well since they started three years back. People can buy tickets from pretty much anywhere now, which wasn't always the case before. The extra ten years gives them time to add more events that aren't about horse racing.
Gavin Taylor heads up Ticketmaster's Australian operations. He's happy to keep working with Rogers and her crew. Taylor mentioned this deal breaks records for how long a ticketing partnership has lasted with the racing club. His company wants to make getting into events smoother and faster for everyone.
Ticketmaster plans to market VRC events to people locally and overseas. They've got connections in dozens of countries, which helps bring international visitors to Melbourne each November. The Melbourne Cup pulls in tourists who might never have heard of Australian racing otherwise.
The Melbourne Cup has been running since 1861, and Australians nicknamed it "the race that stops the nation" since everyone drops what they're doing to watch. Winners walk away with $4.4 million out of the $8.4 million prize pool. That's real money even by today's standards.
Both groups want to do more than just horse racing at Flemington. The VRC already teamed up with Sports Travel and Hospitality Group on a new booking platform. Visitors can get race tickets, hotels, and restaurant reservations all in one place. It beats having to coordinate everything separately.
Ticketmaster moves 550 million tickets every year across 35-plus countries. They work with sports teams, concert venues, and entertainment companies worldwide. They sell tickets for sports teams, concerts, and entertainment groups all over the world, including Australia's Tennis Open and the Melbourne Formula One race.
The Victoria Racing Club runs Flemington Racecourse and has about 30,000 members, with the Melbourne Cup happening there every year since 1861. About 30,000 people hold memberships with the club. They put on more than 24 race meetings annually, though the November carnival gets most of the attention.
Their ticket system includes digital passes, entry scanners, and marketing tools that help reach different types of fans. The VRC wants to modernize how people experience race day while keeping the traditions that make the Melbourne Cup special.
The 2025 Melbourne Cup Carnival happens November 1-8. This extended partnership gives both companies the stability to plan ahead and try new ideas. The VRC can now think about adding concerts, festivals, and other entertainment to their calendar over the next ten years.