ARARAT Turf Club hosted its most successful midweek meeting on Monday, with hundreds turning out to take in the racing action.
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The club recorded 150 owners in attendance, much to the delight of the marketing, admin, function and events coordinator, Pepita Atchison.
“It’s the most we’ve ever had,” Mrs Atchison said.
Monday’s fine weather, the state of the track, free entry – it was dubbed “complimentary day” for racegoers - the club’s recently built function centre and the number of maiden races (four) could have contributed to the boom in numbers.
Mark Dyer, who took over from Adrian Crawford as Ararat Turf Club president in October, was pleased with the outcome.
“It caught us all by surprise, the crowd number – because we would have been expecting probably 100-150 people but there’s probably two or three times better than that,” Mr Dyer said.
“It would be one of the best crowds we’ve ever had for a midweek meeting. The new facility makes a difference and the weather.”
Jump outs were also held at Ararat on Tuesday and the club was expecting it to be well-supported, with 80 to 100 horses set to be trialled.
There has been a changing of the guard at Ararat Turf Club, with long-time committeeman Charlie Martin retiring. He was honoured on Monday, with race five named the Charlie Martin 0-58 Handicap (for the record, it was won by Jamie Edwards-trained Kawabata). Mr Dyer is currently president, while Bruce McDougall is vice president of the club.
Ararat Turf Club is now gearing up for its second biggest event of the racing season, the T M Murray Slattery Willaura Cup. It will be held on Sunday, April 24.
