With the profile of horse racing at an all-time high, thanks to The Everest, the Newcastle Jockey Club (NJC) is happy to ride the wave of popularity, too.
Already, 2,500 tickets have been purchased, between general admission and packages, for next month’s The Hunter on Saturday 12 November – and that number will rise substantially over the coming weeks, according to CEO Duane Dowell.
“It’s our own $1 million race, so the vibe around the meeting at the moment is great,” he said.
“The Members Lounge, Pavilion Room, Trackside Marquee, Stables Marquee, Mark Murphy Lounge, The Ascot Lawn and Chevals Restaurant are all sold out.
“But, we’ll release some reserve tables in the betting ring later in the week.
“We were hoping for such a response.
“We’ve promoted The Hunter pretty hard on a number of platforms.
“So, it’s good there’s a bit of excitement about.
“In 2021, we were still restricted by COVID constraints.
“I think the crowd figure was approximately 3,000.
“However, that was as much as we could have.
“Now, there’s no drama.
“From early indications, we’ll probably hit the 5,000-plus mark.”
The Everest, the world’s richest race on turf, set records aplenty earlier in October, with more than 45,000 people cramming into Royal Randwick.
On that day, Giga Kick upset the short-priced favourite Nature Strip.
But, Sydney’s “party” atmosphere flowed back to the Broadmeadow circuit as well.
“Even though The Hunter is our biggest meeting on the local calendar, we’ve enjoyed some good days recently,” Dowell said.
“We had just under 3,000 for the time-honoured Jungle Juice Cup, which blew us away.
“That took place on Everest day, however it was unreal to see so many people trackside.
“We continually get surprised by the response from Newcastle patrons.
“The Jungle Juice Cup featured a mix of youth with punters interested in The Everest.
“However, we’re noticing younger crowds [here].
“I believe The Hunter will be similar.
“We’ll have the racing purists, of course, but also a large portion of that younger demographic who understands this is our biggest race day and they need to be involved.
“We’ve organised a heap of activations, from Fashions on the Field with plenty of photo opportunities to TAB activities, additional big screens, wine bars and pamper stations.
“Then, after the last race, there’s the afterparty with a DJ set from multi-platinum accredited musician Running Touch.
“It’s just another little tweak up from last year.”
As for the on-track action, Dowell anticipates a red-hot field for The Hunter.
“The dress rehearsal for it, and where the form will originate from, is likely to be The Nature Strip Stakes at Rosehill this weekend,” he told the Newcastle Weekly.
“A lot of those horses come out of The Everest or the Sydney Stakes.
“That was the formline for last year’s winner Lost and Running.
“He finished fourth in The Everest, second in The Nature Strip Stakes and then won The Hunter.
“So, that’s the sort of form that we’ll be looking intently at from that race on Saturday to see what might shape up for Newcastle.
“If Lost and Running runs a good race this weekend, who knows?
“He might come and defend his title.
“That would be pretty exciting for racegoers.”
The NJC will also host the O’Neills Tyres Maitland Legends and Community Day (27 November), Westpac Rescue Helicopter Race Day (3 December), Tozer Air Christmas Cup Race Day (17 December) and Boxing Day (26 December) meetings to wrap up 2022.
Shuttle buses
- Hamilton Railway Station to Newcastle Racecourse: 11.05am, 11.35am, 12.05pm, 12.35pm, 1.05pm 1.35pm
- Newcastle Jockey Club to Hamilton Station only: 5.15pm, 5.45pm, 6.15pm, 6.45pm, 7.15pm, 7.45pm
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- Young guns take aim at Newcastle City Triathlon champion
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