An empty grandstand. No one socialising on the lawn oblivious to what is happening on the track or standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the betting ring searching for a winner.

Bars, generally 10 deep with people wanting a drink, empty marquees, and no procession of jubilant owners in and out of the committee room toasting a success at the city's biggest raceday.

Coronavirus has struck just as a washout did last year, but unlike 12 months ago the races went ahead yesterday.

And for those with no shortage of skin in the game the back-to-back hits are hard to take.

Daryl McLean, a Southern Districts Racing Association steward from Wagga, who has been working at the Gold Cup meeting for 45 years, is flat.

"The jockeys come back to scale, wave to the crowd, but there is no one here," he said.

"It has taken all the colour away from the day.

"I feel sorry for the club to cop what they did last year and now this.

"It's sad to see happen, but unfortunately by the sounds of things it's going to be the same for a while."

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Pat Freyer, a jack of all trades, who has been to more Gold Cup meetings than anyone, is also sad.

"We've had fires, flooding and now this," she said.

"We've only got jockeys, trainers and a few others here today and it's a real shame because it is a beautiful day."

The cup winning trainer Ron Stubbs and his successful jockey Matt Cahill are the happiest people on the course after Spunlago has saluted at big odds.

But they know there is bigger story at play.

"It is a very disappointing from the club's point of view," Stubbs said.

"It's a gala day so let's hope they can bounce back next year.

"The atmosphere of a big crowd brings with it a bit of nervous tension, but today you just sat with the horse and we were quite content."

Club president Mark Cronin is trying to keep upbeat, but admits a rumour, which spread like wildfire on social media, about the Golden Slipper meeting tomorrow being called off and putting a premature end to the Gold Cup is hard to stomach.

"I'm 64 next month and I nearly had my 85th birthday," he joked later.

"It's beyond me how people can be so disrespectful to the rest of the community."

He will let the dust settle on another testing time for the club before going into recovery mode.

"It is just a perfect day, but unfortunately there are more horses than people here," he said..

"It is sad and difficult to deal with, particularly our CEO, hard-working staff, who put months of preparation into this."

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