The magic of the Cup

A bustling crowd of racegoers will be hoping for clear weather on Tuesday as Wangaratta Turf Club throws open its doors to celebrate the race that stops our nation. The Melbourne Cup Day Races at the turf club is a marquee event in the region, and punters, families and those looking for a good time will don their finest and make their way trackside, with gates open from 11am. Wangaratta Turf Club CEO Emma Merlo said tickets had been flying out the door in the lead-up to the event. “I think we’ve seen really great, strong community support,” she said. “We’re aiming for around 2000, I think the community’s really getting behind it – I’m really proud to see strong interest back in the club and the community supporting the direction we’re going in. “There’s some fun new branding out there with the ‘In Full Bloom’ theme going, everyone’s talking about it, tickets are selling really well. “We’ve got general admission, we’ve got 30-odd umbrellas booked, 300-odd people out on the home straight, ready to sit back and enjoy the sunshine. “We’ve got the Secret Garden Marquee, we’re looking at around the 250-mark for that which is really exciting, that will have an hour of cocktails to start, canapes all day and drinks all day as well - that’ll be a really perfect partygoers vibe there. “Inside the Oaks Room, we’re fully booked, 250 there for a nice sit-down luncheon, a bit more of a relaxed style to enjoy the races in the comfort of whatever weather happens. “We’ve got corporate groups around and the private members room, so everything’s shaping up really well to be a great, fun Spring day.” The club is also providing a free TAC shuttle bus to the track with pick-up locations across the rural city. While the grown ups will have plenty to keep them entertained and hydrated, there’s also plenty on for the younger racegoers. “We’ve got lots of kids’ stuff organised, we’ve got Little Daisy, a boutique in Wangaratta who’s coming to do three workshops for the kids so they can make bracelets and have lots of fun in a safe area, and we’ve also got Kelly Sports who'll have lots of outdoor activities for the very enthusiastic kids who need to run off some steam,” Merlo said. “We’ve also got a group coming in who will do some soft play for the younger ones.” While the off-track entertainment will be booming, there will be plenty of action to get behind on the track, with a current seven-race card set to delight. As well as the local action, the screens around the track will broadcast all the drama from Flemington, leading up to the running of the 165th Melbourne Cup from 3pm. With plenty of locally trained horses set to line up across the day on their home track, the Wangaratta racing community is sure to get behind their tipped runner and cheer them home down the straight. “We normally have six [races], so it is exciting to maybe get at least one more race on Melbourne Cup Day,” Merlo said. “We had some great results here on Monday just gone, we squeezed in another race day here a couple of days ago. “Ben [Brisbourne] and Andrew [Dale] did really well, it’s great to see the locals win at home because you see them every day, you see them working from 4am all the way through, so it’s really good and rewarding to see the big smiles on their faces.” The Melbourne Cup Day Races at Wangaratta Turf Club are on Tuesday, November 4, with gates open from 11am and the first local race from 12.15pm. Wangaratta race fields, together with the Melbourne Cup Sweep lift-out, will be in Wangaratta Chronicle's Monday edition.

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