FOR Albury Racing Club president John Miller, it is one of the busiest weeks on his schedule.
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With seven races yesterday and another seven to run on Thursday for Oaks Day, Mr Miller said plenty of work went into hosting the roughly 2000-strong crowd at Albury.
“It was a different sort of crowd to what we’re expecting on Thursday for Ladies’ Day,” he said.
“We’ve looked at what’s been going on around town and tried to offer something a little bit different to try and bring people to the races.
“We had 150 people in our young member’s tent, which we’re very happy with.
“We would have had around 2000 people through overall which is a pretty good result.”
Conditions were optimal for a strong day of racing, with the mercury at 24 degrees for much of the day.
The weekend’s wild weather dumped roughly 22 millimetres of rain on the Border, but the Albury track held up quite well.
Though it received a heavy 10 rating, Mr Miller said a few soggy patches didn’t reflect the overall quality of the track.
“They have to rate it because of a few damp spots, but overall it held up really well, all things considered,” he said.
“Hopefully the rain will hold off over the next couple of days.
“If it does, the track will continue to dry out and be in great nick for the races on Thursday.”
One who would be hoping for a good track is veteran bookmaker Harry Flood.
First licensed in 1987, Mr Flood said plenty had changed within the industry since he first started.
“I couldn’t tell you how many bets I’ve taken on the Melbourne Cup,” he said.
“With Albury running alongside Corowa it’s certainly a lot different nowadays.
“It’s certainly affected Corowa somewhat.
“With Wodonga not having a Cup day public holiday, I don’t think the crowds at either meets will increase too much looking ahead.”
Tuesday’s fashions on the field was a well-attended precursor to the Ladies Day competition on Thursday, with Albury’s Kristie Allen winning first place..
