4500 in big return to racing at Wangaratta

It was the first event held at the venue in 11 months and the crowds were buzzing on their return.

Chief executive officer Paul Hoysted said the numbers were up about 500 people on last year’s event before the redevelopment and it seemed the Wangaratta public had missed going to the races.

“That’s why I think we got such a good crowd today,” he said.

“It makes it a really good return to racing.”

Tests on the track were completed on Wednesday last week and Mr Hoysted said it held up very well during the races.

It was certainly appreciated by Wangaratta’s trainers who enjoyed success on the day.

The 1170-metre main race of the day was won by Craig Dickinson trained horse Kalira and ridden by Wangaratta jockey Brooke Sweeney.

Nine months ago there were fears Sweeney might not make it back for another Melbourne Cup day race at all when she took a nasty fall in a Wodonga race and was knocked unconscious.

Mr Hoysted said those results were exactly what he was hoping for because the developments were about giving back to the racing community.

“We’re doing it for the local trainers so we want to see them be as successful as possible,” he said.

With the grandstand out of action during continued redevelopment, shade from the hot sun was provided in the form of an extra marquee in front of the stand.

When the horses were done for the day, much of the crowd stuck around to dance to rock band Taxiride, who broke out their old hits from the late-1990s.

Earlier there had been teething problems with the new speaker system that did not work as planned during fashions on the field.

“It’s still like we’re in a construction zone in some parts,” Mr Hoysted said.

He said even with the late start to the season, 13 meetings would still be held at Wangaratta including the annual Christmas races expected to attract another big crowd of about 3000 people.