For those of you who have never spent the day at a picnic races in country Australia, if you make your first foray the Bong Bong Picnic Races at Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands, the odds are you’ll be hooked.

Everyone is happy to be there, members, guests, hosts of the dozens of marquees of all sizes, the jockeys, stewards, punters, bookies, the fashionable, the flamboyant and even the working media, happy through all the seasons that the crowd experiences in the one day at the Bong Bong Picnic Races.

Scenes from the day. Admittedly, not nearly as perfect as those shots of the races would be from the established Bong Bong PRC photographers, Bradley Photographers of Moss Vale, but they give you a view from some of the best angles, of the finish line, race connections, of Fashions on the Field, the club house, the mounting yard and from the iconic Bong Bong Racecourse Hill.

The history of Bong Bong with Alan Chittick

Hear the story of Bong Bong and picnic races in Australia from the inimitable late Alan Chittick, racing historian, veterinarian, horse breeder and Life Member of the Bong Bong Picnic Race Club:

Bong Bong in 2023 with Simon Parks

Fiona Fox from Australian Rural & Regional News tries to find out just what makes these races so special from Simon Parks, the Chairman of the Bong Bong Picnic Race Club.

Bong Bong 2023 Race winners

Race One – Prime Moss Vale Maiden Plate 1000 metres – won by Feng (2)
Race Two – Gubbins Pulbrook Mitre 10 Class Two Handicap 1000 metres – won by Media Chick (7)
Race Three – Sew & Sew Wines Open Handicap 1200 metres – won by Eliseo (3)
Race Four – Equicom Syndications Class One and Maiden Plate 1500 metres – won by Basso Caruso (1)
Race Five – KJ Scaffolding Bong Bong Cup Three Year Old and Upwards Handicap 1560 metres – won by California August (5)
Race Six – The Mason Family Class B Handicap 1200 metres – won by Fiancetto (1)

Australian Rural & Regional News was delighted to be a guest of the Bong Bong PRC at the 2023 event.