Next year’s Schweppes Sydney Cup during The Championships – the 150th running of the historic Group 1 over 3200m - will be worth $1 million to the winner under a joint prizemoney increase from the Australian Turf Club and Racing NSW.
The ATC and Racing NSW will each contribute an extra $300,000 to the Schweppes Sydney Cup at Royal Randwick on 11 April 2015 – bringing the race’s total stake to $1.6 million. Sydney racing officials are already working to retain some of the current international horses in Australia for the Spring, as well as enticing overseas runners aimed at the Hong Kong Internationals in December to travel on to Australia for the summer ahead the Championships.
The prizemoney increase is also a vote of confidence in the building pool of local stayers, giving Sydney trainers further incentive to target longer distance races. 
The Schweppes Sydney Cup next year will be run two weeks after the $1.5 million Group 1 BMW at Rosehill Gardens – Australia’s only Group 1 2400m WFA race - giving the stayers an ideal lead up to the two miles at Royal Randwick. 
There is also a two week gap between The BMW and the $4 million Group 1 Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes for the horses dropping back in distance for Sydney’s richest race. Under other prizemoney increases, horses who run sixth, seventh or eighth in the three richest races of The Championships – the $4 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the $3 million The Star Doncaster Mile and the $2.5 million Darley TJ Smith Stakes - will receive $75,000 in prizemoney.
Australian Turf Club Executive General Manager of Racing Matt Rudolph said the prizemoney increases would be further incentive for international horses to run at The Championships and the wider Sydney Autumn Carnival.