AT 9am this morning 12 pigeons with names like Glenn McGrath, Tony Greig and Richie Benaud will be released from Narromine's Dundas Park. Within 18 minutes they will be back in Trangie and hopefully in their respective lofts.
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It will be the fifth year of the Narromine pigeon race and in those few years almost $100,000 has been raised for the McGrath Foundation.
Trangie publican Shane Dolton is full of praise for the worthy cause, which has raised more than $3 million nationally in the same time period.
Yesterday 60 or so golfers sacrificed cool comfort for a game of golf at Narromine, all the time keeping hydrated, but not necessarily in the manner approved by the Western Local Health District.
Then at 6pm a calcutta was held to auction off the 12 racing pigeons, and according to Mr Dolton this was where all the blood, sweat and tears on the golf course was excised.
The winner of last year's race was a bird by the name of Tony Greig, the commentator who died of a heart attack last Saturday.
"We've been asked to make sure Tony Greig is wearing a black leg band this year," Mr Dolton said.
However, he said no bird had won the race two years in a row, a hint the bidders would do well to pay attention to.
The release at Dundas Park will be filmed and then edited in Sydney for inclusion in The Cricket Show, which runs between the morning and afternoon session of today's test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Also today from noon will be a pink bowls day at the Trangie Bowling Club.
"The ladies do a great job there," Mr Dolton said.