By Tony McMahon
Traditionally, the running of Australia’s best-known race the Melbourne Cup brings about an annual pilgrimage of once-a-year racegoers to their hometown racecourse.
That’s exactly what will be taking place this Tuesday, November 2 at Gladstone’s Ferguson Park racecourse where the entrance gates will be opened as early as 9.30am.
“We are expecting a larger than normal Melbourne Cup Day crowd at Ferguson Park for the races,” President David Weinert said.
“This has been clearly demonstrated by our early bookings for tickets and marquee sites.
“I was talking to Brett Cook the chairman of the Gold Coast Turf Club when he attended our recent meeting on Cox Plate Day, and he said the Gold Coast Turf Club had noticed a similar pattern for their corresponding Melbourne Cup race meeting.”
He reasoned this had come about as a number of functions that occurred at off-course venues for the Cup in various towns such as Gladstone had been either cancelled or been restricted to lesser number this year because of COVID-19 protocols.
It is not surprising that racegoers will be flowing through the Ferguson Park gates at 9.30am as with daylight savings in vogue in Victoria, the first of the mammoth race card at Flemington commences at 10.45am local time.
A sizeable bookmaker’s ring will be fielding on all the metropolitan race meetings as well as the five-race local program which jumps away at 12.20pm.
While numerically the local race program is small in numbers, it makes up for it in interest.
There has been a spate of race meetings run and programmed in Queensland over the last week and during the upcoming period so it is not surprising that small race fields are the order of the day.
It is interesting to note the centres that race in Queensland to coincide with and celebrate the Melbourne Cup which was first run in 1861 and won by Archer for the winner’s stake of 710 pounds.
No fewer than 12 jurisdictions will race in Queensland on Melbourne Cup Day, thanks to Eagle Farm (Brisbane); Gold Coast; Sunshine Coast; Mackay; Toowoomba; Townsville; Bundaberg; Charleville; Gladstone; Kumbia; Longreach and Mount Isa.
In New South Wales, eight race clubs have been allocated Melbourne Cup dates.
However, in Victoria there will be only one clash meeting to the home of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington - that being Echuca.
Toowoomba jockey Nathan Evans has answered an SOS from leading Rockhampton trainer Clinton Taylor to take two rides for the stable at Gladstone.
Omen punters will see the irony of Toowoomba, as from there Melbourne Cup favourite Incentivise races for first prizemoney of $4.4 million.
Rocky-born Evans did likewise for the stable at Callaghan Park on Caulfield Cup Day where he won on Bluindi.
Evans’ Gladstone rides for Taylor are Big Jake (Race one) and BetterChill’Eme (race two) – both Cox Plate Day winners at Ferguson Park.
Brilliant speedster Big Jake ran record time on that occasion for the 850 metres over which he races again for this assignment.
Given the ease of his win, Big Jake should salute again.
The Gladstone Turf Club’s next race date is scheduled for Saturday, December 18 when it features the Christmas Race Day.