We kick off the day with one of those races difficult, difficult staying races featuring a ton of chances and a wide-open market. The benefit of that, though, is that if we can find the winner, we'll give ourselves a decent bank for the day. Heavy track winners in this race: 3 Coup Acclaim, 6 Saintly Sun, 8 French Gift, 9 Piazza San Pietro and 10 Emeritus Amazingly, there are no scratchings in this first race! Trainer Chris Waller has two runners in this 2400m benchmark 80 - and both 1 Studio (Nash Rawiller) and 3 Coup Acclaim (Corey Brown) look to have strong claims. Studio led all the way in accounting for Coup Acclaim in a 1900m benchmark 80 at Canterbury on April 10, but both horses have paid at the weights for their consistency. Studio will be forced to lump 61kg today (up 2kg for his last win), while Coup Acclaim rises to 58.5kg (from 58kg). The fresh horse on the scene is the Mick Kent-trained 2 Vittoria (Jackie Berriman), who's won three in a row in Victoria since resuming from a spell in February. Berriman claims 3kg, meaning Vittoria gets in relatively well (57kg) compared to her rivals from the Waller stable. Chances to the Darley's Viscount gelding, 4 Tunes (Kerrin McEvoy), who won over 2400m at Kembla Grange last start. That was a race in which he held off a fast-finishing 5 Above All (Peter Robl) for Warwick Farm trainer David Vandyke, who's unfortunately had to scratch Lamasery from the Doncaster today. Don't leave 6 Saintly Sun (Mitchell Bell) out of your calculations - trainer Joe Pride gave the son of Danehill star a chance at Group 2 level in the Chairman's Quality last week, and that grade proved beyond him (he finished an 11-length 10th of 12 behind Tremec, who's now one of the favourites for the Sydney Cup). Saintly Sun is much better suited back in restricted grade and could be the blow-out horse. 7 Red Shift (Glyn Schofield) has the services of one of the best riders in Sydney, and he's another who's back in grade following a seventh in the Group 2 Adelaide Cup and ninth in the Group 3 Easter Cup at Caulfield. He'll get a long way back, but could surprise if there's enough pace early. TIPS: Race 1, Newgate Farm Handicap (BM80, 2400m) Chris Roots - 5 Above All, 1 Studio, 2 Vittoria, 4 Tunes Max Presnell - 3 Coup Acclaim, 2 Vittoria, 5 Above All, 1 Studio Tony Zuccarini - 2 Vittoria, 6 Saintly Sun, 1 Studio, 3 Coup Acclaim Michael Fagan - 1 Studio, 3 Coup Acclaim, 4 Tunes, 5 Above All Geoff Wilson - 1 Studio, 2 Vittoria, 3 Coup Acclaim, 8 French Gift Gary Harley - 1 Studio, 3 Coup Acclaim, 2 Vittoria, 4 Tunes Adam Pengilly - 4 Tunes, 1 Studio, 2 Vittoria, 3 Coup Acclaim 11:29am: One of the interesting runners in today's BMW Doncaster Handicap is the Pat Carey-trained Melbourne raider Ethiopia, a lightly-raced four-year-old son of Helenus who'll today be having just his ninth start. And while he may lack the race experience of some of his rivals, there's no doubting Ethiopia's quality. The 2012 ATC Derby winner was fourth in last year's Cox Plate, finishing just behind today's Doncaster favourite Pierro, before sustaining an injury and being eased of the Melbourne Cup. Carey was full of confidence when he spoke to The Age's Michael Lynch (read the full story here) about his horse's chances earlier this week. However, it's fair to say his confidence was dented somewhat when the rain began to fall today. We're very happy with how he's got to this point for this race, but obviously we're in the lap of the gods a bit. It's a bit unknown where we really stand on this type of ground. We'll just have to see," Carey told Sky Sports Radio this morning. We put blinkers on him in the Cox Plate, but we've taken them off. They've done their job now and he's very genuine, honest horse, there's no doubt about that. We just don't want to overcook him. Trainer Pat Carey leads Ethiopia from Balnarring Beach in the lead-up to last year's Melbourne Cup. 11:20am: The Sydney Morning Herald's racing writer Max Presnell (pictured) today describes Sydney's leading trainer, Gai Waterhouse, as a 'blend of the Queen, Madonna and Audrey Hepburn'. However, she wasn't able to reach her usual lofty heights at Randwick last week. "During a memorable period for women, Waterhouse last week was responsible for a rare wipe-out on the Australian Derby program at Randwick, usually her happy hunting ground," he writes. However, she can get back on a high horse in the Doncaster Mile, featuring her brilliant three-year-old colt Pierro. Can Pierro win today carrying 57kg on a heavy track? It's a big ask for a three-year-old, but if anyone can pull off the feat, it's Gai. Read Max's full story here. Pierro is taken for a walk by strapper Travis Whittaker and trainer Gai Waterhouse after morning trackwork at Flemington in October last year. Trainer Robert Heathcote. Photo: Tertius Pickard 10:55am: Two more late scratchings with the downgrade of the track from Heavy 8 to Heavy 9 ... and one of them is an important one. Toorak Handicap winner Solzhenitsyn from the Rob Heathcote stable in Brisbane has been scratched from the main race of the day, the Group 1 BMW Doncaster Handicap. Also coming out with the downgrade was her stablemate, She's A Danica, in the second race of the day, the Listed Keith Mackay Quality for the two-year-old fillies. That brings the scratching total to 27 at Royal Randwick today. Check the entry at the bottom of the live coverage for the full list. 10:50am: With a total of 25 scratchings and a wet track ahead for all the runners on Doncaster Day today, I hope you've had the chance to look over the form with an eye to the wet trackers today. If you haven't, don't stress ... we've compiled a list of all the horses today who have won on a heavy track previously in their career. And remember, if you want to get the opinion of one of our racing writers on any horse today, leave a comment on this live coverage (at the bottom of the story, or click on the leave a comment link at the top right of the page). The gun wet trackers of the day are undoubtedly Red Tracer in the Doncaster (race 7) - the mare has had five starts on heavy for five victories - and the Chris Waller-trained Alma's Boy (race 9), who's had 12 starts on the heavy for five wins, one second and two third placings. Race 1 - 3 Coup Acclaim, 6 Saintly Sun, 8 French Gift, 9 Piazza San Pietro, 10 Emeritus Race 2 - 1 Everage Race 3 - Nil Race 4 - Nil Race 5 - 4 Snitsky, 5 Eucumbene, 6 Australian Star, 7 Earnest Ernest, 18 Eminent Domain Race 6 - 3 Fibrillation, 12 Gazza Guru Race 7 - 1 Dear Demi Race 8 - 2 Pierro, 11 Appearance, 12 Red Tracer, 13 Streama, 15 Monton, 16 Alma's Fury Race 9 - 5 Cantonese, 6 Merlin Mustang, 8 Keith's Legacy, 9 Aerobatics, 11 Peal of Bells, 12 Brightest, 13 Euryale, 14 Destiny's Kiss, 16 Altered Boy, 18 Secessio, 19 Honourable Aussie Doncaster Handicap hope Red Tracer (ridden here by Nash Rawiller) is the gun wet tracker on the Randwick program today, with five wins from five starts on the heavy. 10:31am: Good morning racing fans and welcome to live coverage of Doncaster Day at Royal Randwick. Unfortunately, the weather gods haven't been kind to us today ... we've had more than 10mm of rain in Sydney today, and at 10am today the track was rated a Heavy 9. A total of 25 scratchings, including two late scratchings that came with the downgrade of the track from Heavy 8 to Heavy 9. Track: Heavy 9. Weather: Showery. Race 1: Nil Race 2: 5 More Than Mum, 8 She's A Danica (late) Race 3: 9 Aircraft Race 4: 6 Boban, 8 Rock Magic (late) Race 5: 1 Stratana, 2 Bound To Blush, 9 Skateboard, 11 Vilakazi Street, 12, Senta De Noche, 13 Territory, 16 War Charm, 17 Deceiver, 19 Prince of Thunder Race 6: 6 Single, 7 Court Connection, 8 Lunayir, 10 Strike The Stars Race 7: 6 Cameo Race 8: 4 Veyron, 9 Solzhenitsyn (late), 10 Lamasery Race 9: 1 Star Of Octagonal, 3 Macknuckle, 4 Instinction (late), 10 Ever The Same, 20 Australian Star An attendant wears a rain poncho during a rare break in the rain at Royal Randwick racecourse's Theatre of the Horse.