Racing: Status boost fillip for club

Racegoers enjoy Otago Anniversary Day at Wingatui last year. Matt Smith.
Racegoers enjoy Otago Anniversary Day at Wingatui last year. Matt Smith.
A boost in stakes is a big fillip for the Beaumont Racing Club as the club looks to cement its race date on Otago Anniversary Day on March 23 after 125 years of racing.

For the first time in about 15 years, the club will run its annual meeting on the same day as the previous year, when the dual-code meeting is held at Wingatui in 13 days.

Beaumont president Phil Williams said the upgrade in status to a tier two feature meeting should be a big help for this year's fields.

The club and Gallop South had approached New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, asking for an upgrade in the meeting due to its placement on a public holiday.

The authority agreed which means the Beaumont Cup (1600m) will be worth $25,000.

Williams understands it is the highest stake the cup has been run for in its 125 years.

Seven races have been programmed for the Beaumont side of the programme, while six races will be run under the auspices of the Forbury Park Trotting Club.

''We can split races [on the galloping card] if we get enough nominations,'' he said.

One appeal for racegoers is the short gap between races.

The two meetings run turn-about and, while there will be 36 minutes between the races in each code, the gap between a harness race and a thoroughbred race will be 18 minutes.

Williams said a punters competition will also be held and off-track turnover could get a bump with the presence of Trackside's Dave McDonald in a presenting role for the TV channel.

''There was so much feedback from last year about how great it was to see both codes on the same day,'' he said.

''The track was perfect last year - and even some of the harness drivers said it was the best grass track they had driven on.''

The crowd figures slightly exceeded expectations last year, judging by the demand for racebooks.

''We ran out of racebooks last year - we printed 1000 last year, so we're printing 1500 this year.''

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