The camels are arriving, the weather forecast is clear and a great day of family entertainment is planned for Forbes’ 17th annual Good Friday Camel Races.
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Twenty five camels are expected to compete in the seven-race program at the Forbes race course, with the first race at 11am.
Organiser Lee Marsh said the majority of the cameleers arrived on Wednesday and that everything was ready to go.
Camels have travelled to the track from Rockhampton, Victoria and Newcastle.
Among them are returning champions Wookatook, Outlaw Bobaluie, Hookemup and Chief – all in contention for this year’s coveted Camel Cup. Ms Marsh said the races would take the format of four heats and three major trophy races.
The Consolation Race is the first trophy race of the day and is sponsored by the Vandenberg Hotel and The Forbes Services Memorial Club.
The Stewart Brown Plate is the second trophy race and sponsored by McDonalds, with the trophy donated by Anesbury’s Racing.
The final trophy race of the day is the Camel Cup and is sponsored by Forbes Shire Council.
After the final race, the Davie family will present the Best Jockey award in memory of Jaye Davie.
There are plenty of attractions around the track for the whole family, with the ever-popular kids foot races, pushbike-powered shearing and market stalls on offer.
This year the Learning Ladder will be running a kids corner, where you can have your face painted and hair coloured.
Other attractions include a display of antique tractors and crayfish races.
Helicopter and camel rides will also be available – weather permitting – for the more adventurous.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology the Easter long weekend is set to be a warm and sunny one.
Friday and Saturday have a predicted top of 33 degrees and clear sunny weather, while Saturday is forecast to be mostly sunny with a top of 32 degrees.
The gates open at 10am with entry $10 for adults, $5 for aged pensioner and kids under 16 are free. CanAssist volunteers are on the gate once again.
Red Bend Junior Rugby League will be cooking up a storm in the canteen while the Lachlan Dragons will be running the drinks and merchandise stand.
Strictly no BYO, there is a bar in operation.
The Camel Races are scheduled to wrap up around 5pm.
A reminder that daylight saving finishes this weekend: the summer time change officially ends at 3am Sunday, April 3 so you can turn your clocks back an hour on Saturday night.
