It’s May and that means one thing …. The ‘Bool is back!
The three day Warrnambool carnival is a bucket-list item for all racing fans, and headlines the midweek racing around the country. The carnival kicks off on Tuesday with the Brierly Steeplechase the featured event on the first day of the carnival with 10 races on the card.
The 2020 Warrnambool carnival was run and won with no crowds present, and in a boost for the local area, the 2021 carnival is set to be run in front of pre-covid crowd numbers.
Warrnambool Racing Club CEO Tom O’Connor expects a crowd of around 6000 to attend on Tuesday and again on Wednesday.
“Then on Thursday, being our local holiday, we are a sellout of 12,000,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor said that the combined crowd in 2019 wasn’t too much more than the estimated figure for this year’s carnival at The ‘Bool.
The club has announced that there are less than 300 public tickets left for the Tuesday and Wednesday meetings.
The main event over the three-day carnival is Thursday’s Grand Annual Steeplechase over 5500m, with the local Warrnambool Cup over 2350m supporting the Grand Annual.
Ric McIntosh is set to call all three days and is as synonymous with the carnival as the jumps racing is. All the betting now is how many times Ric will say his iconic “How Bloody Good Is The ‘Bool?”.