Narrandera Race Club hosted an unexpected meeting on Sunday after an Albury meet was cancelled due to wet weather.
The NRC received the call last week late Wednesday from Racing NSW to ask if they could host the meet instead.
NRC Race Manager Michael Bailey said the club kicked into gear right away to get it done.
“I don’t know if people really understand the organisation in the background to actually make it happen but our club have really good organisers … there’s not a lot of them but they really know their job and what they have to do and we’re a pretty good team,” Bailey said.
“This is really our time to shine, in the middle of winter, in the worst time of the year because our track is a sand track which has been really well looked after… its the best wet weather track in southern NSW by a mile.
“It was a big bonus leading up to the Narrandera cup, it puts a lot of pressure on to put a race on twice in a week but all of our volunteers put their shoulders to the wheels so to speak and we got it done.”
Although there was a small crowd over the weekend due to minimal time to advertise the event, the day was still successful with seven races on the day with ten horses in each and $195,000 prizemoney.
It is not the first occasion where the NRC has offered a helping hand to NSW Racing as last year alone they managed to pick up five extra races atop their regular meets.
Bailey said that although it is a lot of work, the NRC is always happy to be able to help keep the industry moving.
“Racing NSW are very appreciative of us to be able to pick up these meetings,” he said.
“It was really for the racing industry because a lot of people make their living from racing – trainers, jockeys, stable hands and owners pay good money to buy horses.
“Our role in racing is to provide somewhere for the industry to be able to keep going along in the hardest part of the year.
“We’re able to fill a two or three month hole in the window from June until September when the weather in this area is usually wet and our track is right for it.
“I’ve already said Narrandera is the best facility of its size for the population of what we’ve got anywhere in NSW and no one has ever challenged me that I’m wrong… it’s something Narrandera should be proud of,” he said.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 29 June 2023.
