It's never good losing a meeting to rain, although for the Moree Race Club, it is almost a blessing in disguise that their cup meeting was washed out back on September 5.
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Originally, the Moree Cup race day was closed to the public due to the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning the club would have been relying on TAB turnover to make a profit.
Now, the club will host their $40,000 Orica Moree Cup feature race on their October 29 Castlereagh Barwon Hoteliers race day, and as bonus, a decent crowd is expected to be back on course for the eight-race Showcase program.
Additionally, being on the Friday before Derby Day and the Melbourne Cup, the club is expecting to see good TAB turnover.
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"That meeting has always been a really good TAB turnover meeting for us, because it leads into Moonee Valley that night and our last race is quite late," said Moree Race Club President, Robbie Mather.
"It's a Showcase meeting and now we have our Cup on the same day, so we are going to see some really decent horses in action."
The Moree surface is in very good condition according to Mather, who was confident the course proper would play fairly, making for a good punting program.
"They all get their chance here, it's a really good track for front runners and back markers," Mather said.
"Plus, our track looks really good at the moment. We top dressed it a bit and it's going really well."
The Moree Race Club are working extra hard to make sure a crowd turns out for the meeting too, having planned entertainment that is in line with Racing NSW protocol.
"We are expecting a few people because everything has been closed up and there hasn't been anything to do," Mather said.
"We have even put on a band after the last and we think a few people will want to get to the races to have a good time."
Before the club's Showcase Moree Cup and Castlereagh Barwon Hoteliers meeting, a fair bit of work needs to be done, and Mather explained his committee were taking every step possible to make sure Racing NSW were content with a potentially big crowd being on course.
"There are rules and as long as people are double-vaccinated and abide by those rules, it will be fine," Mather said.
"Our curator (John Brown) is fencing off sections now and we are getting drone footage done of the set-up and sending it to the Racing NSW stewards to make sure they are happy with everything we have done.
"We just want to be on the same page and make sure the meeting goes off without any problems."
It shapes to be a busy time for the Moree Race Club, who will use their upcoming October 29 meeting as a chance to iron out any small issues prior to their always popular Christmas Race Day on December 18.
"We have got a great open area here to use and we will use this meeting as a preview for the Christmas meeting and the 5000 people we expect," Mather said.
"We have already had six inquiries to sponsor races at the Christmas meeting, so we are expecting another big day."
