There’s “little excuse” for anyone in Dubbo who doesn’t attend this weekend’s Derby Day meeting.
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That’s the feeling of Dubbo Turf Club chief executive Vince Gordon just days out from the bumper annual event.
With nominations being extended for one race until Tuesday morning, the final number to roll in was a whopping 167.
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Gordon and the club was delighted with that number, the chief executive confident the quality on the track will now match the excitement off the turf at the meeting dubbed ‘Dubbo’s biggest party’.
“There’s little excuse for anyone who doesn’t want to go out,” Gordon said ahead of Saturday.
“It’s shaping up to be a really nice day. I would be wearing a hat though because looking at the weather it looks like the rain will leave us alone.
“It’s happy days.”
Gordon has sensed the buzz around town leading up to this weekend’s meeting.
Regularly the most well-attended meeting of the year, a massive crowd of well-dressed racegoers is expected to fill the lawns, terraces, and many marquees at the Turf Club on Saturday.
Almost 4,000 people attended last year and Gordon anticipates a bigger one this time out.
“People are excited and the cricket blokes have a day off (general bye) so they’ll be able to get out there rather than stand in the sun and that’s a bonus for us,” Gordon said, adding that desire to attend race meetings is something the club has worked to create.
“It’s what we aim to do and what we’ve been striving to do since we started here four years ago.
“The efforts of the original board started the ball rolling and now the new board has continued to run with it.
“And with the support of owners, trainers and the racing fraternity this city has got something to be proud of.”
In terms of the racing, there is the chance an eighth event could be added to the card on Saturday.
Two events received 30 nominations each while there was 29 for another.
Two benchmark 66 events, the first over 1000m and the second over 1400m, also attracted strong numbers and shape as the standout events of the day.
The shorter of the two drew in the likes of Kylie Kennedy’s Shadow Force, the Gavin Groth-trained Epic Decision and Penfold from the stables of Allan Kehoe. The 1400m looks even more impressive given the likes of Sea Lady, now trained by Brett Thompson, and Clint Lundholm’s Any Blinkin’ Day are among the numbers.
“They’re very pleasing results,” Gordon said of the nominations.
“There’s well performed horses in there. It’s going to be a good day on the track and I’m very excited for the potential turnover.”
The final fields will be released on Thursday.
Gates are set to open from 12.30pm on Saturday at this stage.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
