ALMOST 2500 people turned out to watch Not To Know win the 2019 Manangatang Cup – the first horse to go back-to-back in 50 years.
In 2022 the Manangatang Racing Club will be more than satisfied just to be able to stage a meeting, regardless of who wins the $30,000 Nutrien Ag Solutions Manangtang Cup.
The pandemic put paid to the meetings in 2020 and 2021 and in 2022, the unprecedented rainfall, showing no signs of letting up, has seen meeting after meeting cancelled because of waterlogged tracks.
From Bendigo to Swan Hill and Echuca, meetings have been abandoned one after the other. Even the Gunbower Gold Cup, also hoping its one-and-only meeting of the year might get back on track in 2022, has been washed out.
But MRC chief executive Aaron Garvie is pretty confident his track will be good to go – and he has thousands of reasons to want to see it go ahead.
“Ticket sales and packages are very strong,” Garvie says.
“We have sold more packages as of September 30 than we did for all of 2019 – and we still have a week to go,” he says. “It was around 2500 people in 2019, we would love to go past that this year.
“We know our track is drier than most and at this stage we have nothing to cause us too much concern.”
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting some light rain later this week but the worst it is expecting at the moment is about 10mm – and with winds 15-32km/h also predicted the track should dry out faster than usual.
With seven races on the card, the club is also waiting to see if the run of cancellations at other tracks will boost acceptances for Manangatang, creating the option of an eighth event.
Garvie also says there will be much more than the racing to keep people entertained on the day.
Apart from a fashions on the field event for women, men and kids, he says the club will also be staging the NWR Communications Gift – a men’s and women’s 100m dash up the main straight before the first race of the day – and it will be open to all comers.
“We will also have entertainment for the children, there will be music throughout the day and things will really get going in the Big Shed after the last, with music until 11pm,” he added.
“All that is covered in your entry price, making the Nutrien Ag Solutions Manangatang Cup Day one of the musts on everyone’s calendar.
“It is an iconic country race meeting, and a great day out for you and your family.”
