Bathurst Paceway will play host to quarter-finals of Harness Racing NSW Million Dollar Pace

The track is one of four venues selected to play host to a $15,000 quarter-final next year before the $1,000,000 finale at Menangle on May 31.

The series, open to four-year-old and older horses with a national rating 70 or under, is designed to bring racing to all corners of the state before the big metro decider.

Bathurst Paceway will also play host to a $10,000 heat (May 13) before the quarter-final (May 20).

Bathurst Harness Racing Club CEO Danny Dwyer was thrilled to see the track play such a prominent part in the series.

"It's a great initiative to bring another million dollar race into harness racing. Bathurst playing host to the quarter-finals is great for the club," he said.

"It shows the strength of harness racing here in the Western Districts that we can be among those finals. That's the value of the horse population we have in the area."

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Trainers from Bathurst and around the region haven't taken long to decide which horses they will keep aside in order to target the seven-figure final.

The opportunity for trainers to race for prizemoney normally out of their reach has made many country trainers excited.

"It's a race set aside not for the top level horses but for those maybe just below the metropolitan class," Dwyer said.

"I know of a couple of horses who, when this race was announced, were quickly turned out with that race in mind. It shows that already owners and trainers have this race on their mind in May next year.

"Who would have ever thought this sort of thing could ever have been an opportunity for lower grade horses?"

HRNSW Chief Executive John Dumesny said the series is certain to improve the overall health of the industry in the state.

"The series will be completed at 14 tracks which is basically half of NSW but these tracks are in each of the regions as well as Broken Hill," .

"Furthermore, as NSW already has the $1 million Miracle Mile for the upper echelon horses this new series is directed at the mainstay group of the racing population.

"NSW now has two $1 million events but never before has this level of prizemoney been offered for these type of horses."

The entire series takes place over the course of May 2020, with preliminary heats at Broken Hill on May 3 getting the action underway.

Other Western Districts heats will be held at Parkes (May 6) and Dubbo (May 10).

Consolation events worth $50,000 and $20,000 will also be held in Menangle.