THE Albury Gold Cup will exclude the public from the track following bans to help combat coronavirus.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Albury Racing Club chief executive Steve Hetherton said yesterday its award winning two-day carnival would proceed on Thursday and Friday minus the crowd.
Over 12,000 people were expected to attend Friday's Gold Cup meeting.
Last year's cup was abandoned after the track was deemed unsafe for racing when a freak storm hit but more than 5000 racegoers remained on course to enjoy the half-day holiday.
Hetherton said the financial fallout from having no crowd in attendance would have a bigger impact than last year's washout.
"We know financially that this is much more significant than last year," Hetherton said.
"It's going to prove a lot more difficult and challenging to overcome.
"We don't know what the immediate future holds for the racing industry and the economic impact the coronavirus is going to have.
"This is a perilous situation that the club finds itself in.
"Racing NSW has already indicated that it will assist the club in regards to prizemoney.
"It just proves how much Racing NSW understand that our club is in a precarious position after last year.
"We are very grateful that Peter V'landys, Scott Kennedy from Racing NSW are willing to assist."
IN OTHER NEWS
Victoria was the first state to implement crowd bans with last Friday night's Moonee Valley meeting and Saturday's All-Star Mile at Caulfield closed to the public.
As expected, Racing NSW has followed suit and announced on Monday that the public won't be able to attend Saturday's Golden Slipper meeting.
Hetherton said the positive is that the carnival prizemoney will still be distributed to industry participants unlike last year when the Gold Cup meeting was abandoned on race day.
"From the point of view of our local, trainers, owners, sponsors and members it's great to see the actual races go ahead," he said.
"Especially considering what happened last year and the impact on the brand.
"At least we will be able to showcase our track which is in perfect condition thanks to Luke Garland (track manager) and his team.
"To be able to run the Albury Gold Cup is a boost because considering what happened last year it would have been a massive blow for it to happen two years in a row."
"It doesn't diminish our disappointment for all the people that were planning to attend and enjoy the benefits of the region's biggest social event."
The Albury Gold Cup calcutta at the Commercial Club scheduled for Thursday has been cancelled.
Nominations for Friday's cup meeting were released yesterday.
The club received 29 entries for the $200,000 feature with the final fields to be declared on Wednesday.
The final field comprises 16 runners.
