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New South Wales Racehorse Owners’ Association is pleased to announce the 2022/23 finalists for their flagship event, Racing’s Night of Champions.

The awards for the best performed horses in 10 different categories will be presented at a black-tie evening in the Royal Randwick Ballroom on Thursday, 31 August 2023.

The shortlist of finalists which were arrived at using a points system, will now be judged by a panel of industry participants, including representatives from Racing NSW, the ATC and the racing media. A tally of their votes will determine the winners, which will be announced at Racing’s Night of Champions.

The awards, which typically have three finalists, have four in the Champion Miler category this year, due to the closeness of the points tally.

Shelby Sixtysix - last year's Sky Thoroughbred Central NSW Champion Country Horse. Image by Steve Hart Photographics

Champion Country Horse, a category which along with Champion Provincial Horse, is judged by Racing NSW, has the unprecedented number of five finalists this year.

Damien Hay, Chief Handicapper at Racing NSW, commented: “Once again this season, the standard of racing across the NSW Provincial and Country sectors has gone from strength to strength.

"This is showcased by the depth of the selected finalists and the high-quality races they have contested throughout Australia during the 2022/23 season.”

Racing NSW’s annual awards will also to be presented on the night.

The BOBS Horse of the Year, the Sydney Strapper of the Year, the Caryl Williamson NSW Racing Writers’ Personality of the Year, the TJ Smith Award, the George Moore Award, the Theo Green Award and the coveted Bart Cummings Medal will all find new recipients.

“We are very fortunate to have the support from all aspects of the racing world as sponsors of our awards,” said NSWROA President, Tony Mitevski.

“They are the TAB, Racing NSW, Sky Racing, the Australian Turf Club, Wild Oaks, City Tatts, Inglis, Woppitt Bloodstock, Highclere Racing & Sire Custodians and Carrazzo Consulting.

“We are also proud to be supporting the KARI Foundation with fundraising. Inglis auctioneer Angus Robertson will be conducting a live auction and we have some fantastic items up for grabs.”

The KARI Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting indigenous Australians to access the resources, support and opportunities to help reach their full potential.

The KARI Foundation is also placing young Aboriginal people in employment in the racing industry, an arena which has fostered indigenous jockeys such as Darby McCarthy (three Stradbrokes, the Epsom Hcp and AJC Derby) and Frank Reys (two Oakleigh Plates, the VRC Oaks, Australasian Cup, etc).

A three course menu prepared by the award winning ATC culinary team and fine wines from De Bortoli will be served. Once the formalities are over, rock / jazz dance band The Baker Boys will be in full swing.

The 2023 Racing’s Night of Champions Awards will be recorded and televised on Sky Thoroughbred Central on the Foxtel platform, and also internationally by their exclusive media partner Sky Racing, with highlights of the night also being shown across all Sky Racing channels.

Tickets to the event are available at $295 per person ($2,950 for a table of ten) are selling quickly. Members of the public are most welcome to attend.

For more information regarding the 2023 Racing’s Night of Champions, contact Jane Henning at the NSWROA office on 0421 353 871, by email owners@nswroa.com.au or visit the NSWROA website nswroa.com.au to book tickets.