While there’s little doubt the Gold Cup provides a significant economic boost to our region with about 8000 people attending the event, there are many in the community who feel it penalises businesses in the city who have to either shut down or pay higher rates to operate on the day.

That’s a valid argument and a key reason why Monday night’s vote by Wodonga councillors was a photo finish, ending 4-3 in favour of extending the holiday.

It’s fair enough that business owners don’t like public holidays but that shouldn’t come at the expense of wonderful event that has grown rapidly in the past few years.

It’s worth noting that the Melbourne Cup day holiday, which this one replaced, has only been around since 2008 and the “race that stops a nation” isn’t something that brings thousands of people to our beautiful part of the world.

The real public holiday disgrace in our region is the one on AFL grand final eve.

Introduced in 2015 by Daniel Andrews, the day off before the AFL grand final is one that offers absolutely no benefits to anyone outside of Melbourne’s CBD. Show us a Collingwood supporter from Wodonga who thought “yippee, the Hawks are in the grand final, I better head down to the parade in Melbourne” and we’ll show you a liar.

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimates that the AFL grand final public holiday costs the state more than $1 billion, of which North East towns contribute their fair share.

Wodonga’s councillors might have little say in whether the AFL grand final public holiday stays or goes but opposition leader Matthew Guy said three years ago the Coalition would “find it very difficult to keep”, meaning voters can have their say in November’s state election.

The Border Mail believes Wodonga councillors made the right decision in backing the Gold Cup holiday extension.

Cr Tim Quilty put it best when he said to remove the public holiday from the Wodonga Gold Cup now would be to “chop it off at the legs” as it’s “clearly growing in popularity”.

In the words of poet John Lydgate: “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.