Eagle Farm return boosts winter carnival

The return to racing at Eagle Farm has helped the winter carnival record increases across the board in turnover and crowd figures.

The carnival had struggled in the previous five years with Eagle Farm out of action or concerns about its racing surface.

There were also problems with crowd sizes because most meetings were at the smaller capacity Doomben or at tracks which usually held provincial meetings.

However, Eagle Farm made a successful return late last year and was able to host two major days in the Brisbane section of the carnival.

Eagle Farm will be the venue for all three major days next year.

In a media release on Wednesday, Racing Queensland chief executive Brendan Parnell said almost $274 million in turnover was generated, a 3 per cent increase on last year.

Parnell said in the final two months of the carnival, a record-breaking $16.3 million in prize money was allocated, representing an 11 per cent increase on 2018.