The William Reid Stakes is a Group One sprint race held under lights at Moonee Valley Racecourse during the Autumn Carnival. It is the only Group One held at the Valley in autumn, as well as the last Group One contested in Melbourne during the Autumn Carnival, before the racing landscape shifts to Sydney.
The race was inaugurated back in 1925 and named after William Reid, who was a committee member of the Moonee Valley Racing Club. But while it is named after William Reid, the race really belongs to Manikato.
The hall-of-famer made the race his own, winning five consecutive editions from 1979 to 1983. This was a phenomenal effort, that will likely never be matched. Even Australia's greatest ever sprinter Black Caviar only managed to win this race on two separate occasions.
There's always something special about a Group One held under lights, with the William Reid stakes being up there as one of the most exciting races to watch in Australia. The horses burst out of the gates and dash around the tight-turning Moonee Valley track, before thundering into the short home straight.
The William Reid Stakes is also a race where there is typically next to nothing in the finish. This makes the race even more exciting, with the last hundred metres passing in the blink of an eye, as the leading horses try to hold on from the swoopers out wide.
Interestingly, favourites haven't had a good record in the William Reid Stakes of late. Indeed, the only favourite to win in the past ten years has been Black Caviar, who triumphed at $1.09 in 2011 and then again at $1.03 in 2013.
Back the Bets of Winning Punters!
