Manikato Stakes Manikato Stakes The Manikato Stakes is a Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 1200 metres. It is held at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia in late October. Total prize money for the race is A$1,000,000 The race is named after the great race horse Manikato, who won this race twice as well as winning 5 consecutive wins in the William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley from 1979 to 1983. In 2009 the event was part of the Breeders' Cup
Moonee Valley Racecourse Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. In 2009 the Moonee Valley Racing Club announced their redevelopment plans for the racecourse, with the relocation of the existing grandstands to make way for commercial and residential development. The works were estimated to cost $150 million, with $50 million in profit returning to the club. By 2011 the plans had expanded to cover four 20 storey high residential towers, to provide 2000 apartments and townhouses. Costing $1.4 billion, the racing club would receive $300 million. Some local residents and politicians were opposed to the plan. Moonee Valley Racecourse Moonee Valley Racecourse is a horse-racing track in