Prudent planning helps boost Benalla’s Gold Cup
A MOVE three years ago to align the Benalla Gold Cup alongside the Friday before the AFL Grand Final has paid handsome dividends for the race club.
Going into the second year of a Victorian public holiday, the rural city’s decision to shift the race day looks to be a well-executed one after record crowds of race goers filtered through the gates.
The Benalla Race Club’s vice-president Chris Norman said the numbers on course at the beginning of the day were well in excess of expectations.
“Firstly we’ve had much better weather than last year which really helps,” Norman said.
“We’ve got great crowds marquees booked out and the people continue to pour in. It is looming as being one of the biggest ever which is sensational for the club.:
A planned moved three years in the making, the vice-president said the move to snatch up the coveted race date as early as possible meant that the club had its chance to enhance the patronage at the event.
“We actually targeted this,” Norman explained.
“When the holiday was announced three years ago so we actually made an application to make this day ours.
“Our cup was previously the previous Sunday, and we moved it onto this day. It was a deliberate exercise to boost our numbers and get a profile.”
The popularity of the event, while helped by a public holiday, is dependent on the quality of the fields, and given a number of metropolitan horses are taking part in the Benalla Gold Cup, the racing standards have not been neglected.
Norman believes the quality of racing in Benalla is as good as you will see outside a city setting.
“This track is a very good track for a country one, it’s a very open track with a long straight.”
The six-figure prize money is another big reason behind the quality fields, but Norman believes the trainers tend to favour Benalla due to its track and proximity to Melbourne.
“Historically we’ve drawn a number of big-name trainers here, obviously we’ve got David Hayes very close given his stud is located just nearby.
“We normally get Darren Weir on course and Peter Moody was a big supporter of the event when he was in the industry so the meet has never failed to bring in those bigger names.
“But the cup is a $100,000 cup. It’s always going to draw the big-names down here because it’s such good money.”