Country racing in Corowa thrives in the face of adversity
IN a region that has seen powerful sporting clubs failing to keep afloat, treasurer and secretary of the Corowa Racing Club, Sheridan Kay, believes a willingness to adapt has seen his club go from strength-to-strength.
In an era in which the Corowa-Rutherglen Football Club, which was previously one of the strongest clubs in the powerful Ovens and Murray Football League, is struggling to maintain its status in the region, the Corowa Race Club is drawing hundreds of patrons through the gates on a Tuesday meeting.
Kay believes a thriving Corowa Race Club can be a beacon of hope for sport in the area where others are failing.
“The success of our club, it’s good for the area and it’s good for Corowa-Rutherglen,” Kay told HorseBetting.com.au.
“We do get a lot of people coming up from Melbourne around the summer months, which brings a lot of people to the region, so our success doesn’t work directly in line to help the other clubs, but it definitely helps the region.
It was a wet and miserable day on track at Corowa, but that did not stop a strong contingent of punters pouring through the gates for the Tuesday meeting.
Kay believes the turnout is indicative of the strength of where the race club is currently at.
“Especially on a day like this, it does give us a lot of confidence that the club is heading in the right direction.”
A Good Knight overcomes the wide barrier to win r2 at #Corowa brilliantly. What a win! @HorseBettingAU pic.twitter.com/CNi8RbSwnI
— Todd Davey (@ToddJDavey) July 4, 2017
Winter is typically a period where clubs are forced to cancel their meetings due to the state of the track, but the Corowa Race Club has become a go-to destination for Racing NSW when they need a last-minute relocation.
“We had a lot of transfer meetings last year,” the treasurer explained.
“We’ve got a really good sand track, so it’s been noted by the stewards of Racing NSW that Corowa has one of the best tracks in the SDRA, which has allowed us to attract more transfer meetings, and in turn drawn more people to track.
“When we do get these transfer meetings it’s usually at the drop of a hat, so when that happens we usually only have a day to get our race day sorted and put together.”
The move to take on the transfer meetings is a prudent one for the club, which should be in line for a number of permanent fixtures in the future.
Kay said the willingness to accept the change of venue at short notice has given Racing NSW confidence that the club is in a strong position.
“Because we’ve put on these meetings at such short notice that have been successful it proves we are just as good at doing a meet that is six months in advance.”
Tuesday’s meeting at Corowa drew hundreds of people through the rural NSW gates despite the fact it is on a workday in inclement conditions, compounded by the fact there are no truly notable races on the card.
The race club elected not to charge an entry fee for the midweek meet, and Kay believes it would be a smart move for other country clubs to follow Corowa’s lead.
“I do,” Kay said when asked if free entry would boost the race day numbers on track around the nation.
“When we have a TAB meeting we open the gates up because we just want to get people in, and we open up our members bar as well, so the public can experience the members area and get a feel for what the club is about.
“I don’t think we’d get the numbers through today if it wasn’t free entry.”