That is very common Greg. The Stawell Cup today is also Gp3 and worth $30k.
I know where you are coming from but I have seen a Gp3 race at Melton worth $20k - I think it was a trot
I have been convinced by other posters that we have bigger problems
We need to get more people to the trots and hopefully more owners/horses and I cannot see that happening when we have so many races for a total of $3500
We need to lift our profile and as much as I agree that down here we are dependent on country racing/folk - it is pretty hard to lift your profile if you do not have a metro track where most of the people live
ps The Chokin Stakes last night in money flush NSW was worth <$32k and it was also Gp3