The change was confirmed in the recent release of Victorian race dates for the 2018-19 season along with the Dederang Picnics moving away from its traditional early January timeslot to March 16 next year.

In handing up the Boxing Day meeting, Wodonga has been compensated with two more TAB meetings on January 29 and March 30 next year.

Wodonga has nine TAB meetings and only one Non-TAB meeting on Caulfield Cup day in 2018-19.

If the club stuck with Boxing Day it would have had only six TAB meetings.

“The decision was not an easy one to make,” Racing Wodonga general manager Tom O’Connor said.

“The overwhelming direction by the committee was the need for the club to race more often as a professional TAB track.

“This secures the club's training facility funding, positions the club well for future facility development and assists the local trainers and their owners with access to solid prizemoney.”

He said the move would also enable to club to focus more on growing the public holiday cup meeting held in late November.

Mr O’Connor expects the club’s five-year public holiday extension bid will go before Wodonga Council this month.

The public holiday meeting was introduced in 2014.

The absence of Boxing Day leaves Corowa on January 30 as the only race meeting in the Border District between Christmas and New Year with Towong Turf Club’s late December meeting also falling by the wayside in recent years.

The likelihood of Wodonga foregoing Boxing Day emerged late last year when a draft 2018-19 calendar had been circulated by Racing Victoria.

This year’s Dederang Picnics scheduled to be held on January 6 fell victim to forecast hot temperatures of more than 40 degrees and the club was unable to secure a replacement date in the 2017-18 calendar.

The Dederang Picnics have previously been staged in February and March with the new date to be a week later than another picnic meeting held at Hinnomunjie near Omeo.

Dederang Racing Club officials couldn’t be contacted for comment about the switch.