Flemington will break tradition this year, swapping its long-held New Year’s Day race meeting for a twilight fixture on December 31.

The Victoria Racing Club will run the Listed Bagot Handicap (2800m) and Listed Kensington Stakes (1400m) as part of a program finishing at 7:30pm, allowing racegoers to stay for Melbourne’s New Year’s Eve fireworks.

VRC CEO Kylie Rogers called the change an “innovative addition,” offering members and families “the perfect vehicle to celebrate the New Year at spectacular Flemington.”

Mornington will now host the New Year’s Day meeting.

Racing Victoria’s broader 2025-26 calendar includes 530 race meetings—106 metropolitan, 368 country, 17 non-TAB, and 33 picnic events.

There will be 18 fewer meetings between December and May to boost field sizes and turnover, and night racing will end earlier, with Thursday fixtures finishing in April.

Other notable changes include the Pakenham Cup moving to December 13, and the C F Orr Stakes shifting to November 15.