This Saturday, racing fans and the wider community will converge trackside at the Wangaratta Turf Club to cheer, party and enjoy the premier race day on the calendar, the Winsec Savings and Loans Wangaratta Cup. While other race days may attract more attention, like the Melbourne Cup races or Christmas races, the Wangaratta Cup remains an important and high-quality meet for the turf club. It’s a chance to show off the depth of local racing stocks and treat the community to a great day out, with at least eight thrilling races on the docket for Saturday. Wangaratta Turf Club CEO Emma Merlo said the club was determined to elevate the Cup to the heights it deserves. “This is our Cup - people know Wangaratta to have the Melbourne Cup and the Christmas races, so our Wangaratta Cup has really been an afterthought, and it really shouldn’t be, it should be the hero of the features,” she said. “I think for us, this is the premium Cup, this is what we need to be proud of as an industry, you want to make sure you’ve got a really strong Cup, you want people to know you for your Cup, not the Melbourne Cup or Christmas races. “It’s the quality of the horse racing that actually gets people here and gets people pumped and travelling from a far distance.” Bookings had already exceeded expectations, and if the sun is shining on Saturday, the track will be heaving with eager racegoers. “Over 1000 have already booked in, that’s confirmed,” Merlo said. “Umbrellas are sold out, corporate suite’s sold out, Oaks Room is sold out, so we’ve just got Party on the Hill tickets left and general admission. “For us as a club, the community’s really gotten behind what we’ve done over the last year – our membership alone has grown by 70 per cent, that’s not heard of in 12 months.” There will be plenty of fun for everyone, from kids activities and soft play areas, to live music, top-notch hospitality and plenty of refreshments to enjoy. A new addition to the Cup festivities will be the Hobby Horse Relay after race three, which will pit teams from six local sports clubs against each other in a race down the straight riding a wooden hobby horse. Representatives from local football/netball clubs Wangaratta Magpies, Whorouly, Milawa, Tarrawingee, Moyhu, and soccer club Wangaratta City FC will all thunder down the straight for a top prize of $5000 for their club. “Everyone’s chatting about it, really excited about it, and it’s created a really cool buzz,” Merlo said. “It’s been sponsored by Sportsbet, they’ve given us the money for all of that, and it’ll be nice to see a little relay. “You’ve got four people representing each club, they’ll do a relay down the straight for everyone to cheer on and watch after race three. “First prize is $5000 for your club, but everyone leaves a winner with last place taking $500. “It’s pretty cool, we’ve probably got 180 people coming from all the clubs to support their team. “It’s something a bit different, and it’s a really good way to get clubs involved.” While the races, as well at the Cup itself, attracts top quality runners from across the state and country, Merlo said there would be plenty of local prospects from Ben Brisbourne, John Ledger, Craig Weeding, Dan McCarthy and more. “We would absolutely love for a local to win [the Cup], I don’t know the last time it happened, but it would be exciting and shows all the hard work our trainers actually do,” she said. Gates open for the Winsec Savings and Loans Wangaratta Cup races from 11am with the first race from 1pm.
