Raced at weight-for-age over a distance of 1300m, The Archer is new to the Australian horse racing calendar, having been held for the first time in 2022.
With $775,000 in prize money up for grabs, The Archer is the biggest race outside of Metropolitan Queensland and is a massive boost to country racing.
Here is everything you need to know about The Archer.
The Archer date
The Archer is part of the Queensland Winter Carnival and the 2025 edition looks set to be held on Sunday 27th April.
Previously, The Archer had clashed with the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes meeting on the Gold Coast.
This made it impossible for the top jockeys in the state to race, so it was moved to the Sunday, to give it stand-alone status.
The Archer time
The exact start time for the 2025 The Archer has yet to be announced, however the 2024 edition was Race 7 on a bumper eight-race card.
The Archer venue
The Archer is raced at Rockhampton Racecourse, which provides a massive boost to Central Queensland and country racing.
The Archer how to watch
The Archer will be shown free-to-air on Channel 7 and via the 7plus app.
The Archer history
The Archer is very new to the Australian racing calendar and was raced for the first time in 2022.
The race is named after Mt Archer in North Rockhampton and the aim will be for it to become a Group 1 race in the future.
The Archer has a similar format to The Everest in Sydney, whereby each owner has a slot in the race.
They then have to decide whether to fill that slot with one of their own horses, or negotiate with another owner for their horse to run instead.
If the latter happens, they must negotiate a deal over how the prize money will be split.
The Archer past winners
The first edition of The Archer was raced in May 2022 and was won by a horse by the name of Emerald Kingdom.
Alpine Edge won the race in 2023 for trainer Toby Edmonds and jockey Ben E Thompson, with Emerald Kingdom finishing second.
Then in the most recent edition in 2024, Namazu claimed the top prize ahead of Lavish Empire in second and Mishani Sniper in third.
The Archer prize money
The Archer is the richest race outside of Metropolitan Queensland with $775,000 up for grabs.
The winner of the race takes home $400,000, second $140,000 and third $100,000.
The Archer odds
The odds for the 2025 edition of The Archer are yet to be released.
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