On Monday afternoon Racing NSW made a momentous announcement revealing Wollongong and Newcastle would each get $1million races as part of stand alone Saturdays this spring.

The races called The Gong and The Hunter will be an extension of the hugely successful the Everest Carnival in Sydney. In announcing the races on Monday, Racing NSW Chairman Mr Russell Balding AO said the events would be a huge boon for local racing in both Wollongong and Newcastle.

"These new race days will provide the chance for Newcastle and Wollongong to shine as the feature NSW meetings immediately following The Everest Carnival," he said.

"Racing is a vital part of our social fabric and it is fitting that Newcastle and Wollongong as our next largest cities after Sydney will now have race days that they can be proud of."

And he's right. Racing is a huge part of the fabric of this community and Kembla Grange is a much loved institution in this region. The prizemoney on offer for local and visiting trainers during this one meeting is quite extraordinary.

"We'll have a full-blown Saturday race meeting, it will be a standalone meeting with probably nine races. With eight races at $125,000 and the million-dollar race, that's a $2 million race day at Kembla Grange," Illawarra Turf Club Chief Executive Peter De Vries said.

Racing authorities are hoping the event will attract a crowd of 20,000 to kembla Grange and there is no doubt the Illawarra will get behind its new marquee race day. That is odds-on.

Racing NSW Chief Executive Peter V'landys , a proud Wollongong boy, said Kembla Grange was "a magnificent racecourse".

""It's to promote racing in the third biggest city of NSW and get that prominence and get the community celebrating at the same time."

Celebrating is something we do very well in the Illawarra.