NRL minor premiers Melbourne Storm are among eight slot holders announced for this year’s edition of the The Phoenix, to be held at The Meadows on December 21.

While the Storm are well and truly in NRL finals mode after finishing the home and away season on top of the ladder, the opportunity to also be involved in the world’s richest greyhound race was determined a chance too good to pass up.

While a Phoenix trophy would look alongside a 2024 Provan-Summons Trophy, it would also sit nicely alongside two Melbourne Cups and an All-Star Mile trophy.

That’s what Australian Bloodstock is hoping anyway, after the leading thoroughbred racing syndicator also secured a slot in The Phoenix.

Having owned Melbourne Cup winners Protectionist (2014) and Gold Trip (2022), the Australian Bloodstock team know exactly what success tastes like, and their foray into pop-up races has proved successful in the thoroughbred racing world, with the 2021 triumph of Mugatoo in Victoria’s All Star Mile.

A partnership with The Phoenix offers Australian Bloodstock the opportunity to promote their business across codes.

The Ladbrokes Racing Club are back for another edition of the Phoenix after claiming top prize last year with their representative Schillaci.

GRV’s major partner Sportsbet is also preparing for its fourth tilt in the Phoenix, having won the first two editions of the race with champion Wow She’s Fast, who retired following a fourth-placed run in last year’s event.

Racing Queensland is having its fourth crack, having gone close to winning the race in 2021 with runner-up Spotted Elk, previously using their own race – The Queensland Flame – as a win-and-you’re-in ticket into The Phoenix.

Total Container Solutions are back for another crack at The Phoenix after having their first taste last year with third-placed Hector Fawley. They’ve also won The Sandgroper as a syndicate with Crumble Monelli in 2023.

For the first time, Jason Thompson’s Awesome Lodge has its own slot in The Phoenix. The champion trainer has had four runners in the race over the first three runnings, including last year’s runner up Postman Pat. According to Sportsbet’s Phoenix futures market, the Thompson-trained greyhounds Explicit, Excavation and Flying Zulu are among the top four leading contenders more than three months out from the race.

And wrapping up the eight slot holders, Aaron Bain Racing & Summit Bloodstock have secured a seat at the table for the first time. The multi-code racing and bloodstock company has been involved in other slot races previously, including harness racing’s The Eureka, The Nullabor and The Race (NZ), as well as greyhound racing’s The Sandgroper.

The Phoenix is the world’s richest greyhound race, worth a total of $1.65 million in prizemoney, with the winning connections taking home a cool $1 million. Each slot was worth $100,000 to purchase, with slot holders now having three months to find a greyhound to represent them in the 525-metre race.

SLOT HOLDERS: Sportsbet, Ladbrokes Racing Club, Melbourne Storm, Awesome Lodge, Australian Bloodstock, Racing Queensland, Total Container Solutions, Aaron Bain Racing.