HORSE RACING
By LIAM DURKIN
DON’T forget the little guys.
The Traralgon Cup will be held this Sunday (November 30).
The Latrobe Valley Racing Club’s marquee meeting is set to welcome racegoers from across the region.
General excitement is expected to permeate, while at the club, the finishing touches are being put on to make sure racegoers have the greatest experience possible.
Latrobe Valley differs from Moe, Sale, Bairnsdale and Stony Creek racing clubs, as the club is run entirely by volunteers.
There is no hospitality manager at Latrobe Valley Racing Club – a call for bookings came straight to chairperson Frank Bezzina when the Express visited the club last week, just after he’d finished mowing part of the track.
Bezzina leads a passionate crew, who are committed to seeing racing thrive in Traralgon.
Attendees this Sunday will get to experience the best of country racing, including elevated viewing along the straight.
The Latrobe Valley club has arguably one of the best viewing spots in country racing, with a virtual birds eye view literally one metre above the finishing post.
Trainers will be vying for a share of the $80,000 prize pool on offer in this year’s cup.
At time of going to press, fields had not yet been finalised for the main event. The club hopes Traralgon jockey Thomas Stockdale will be available to say a few words at the members luncheon (his race schedule pending).
However, that racing itself will be held at Traralgon will be cause enough for celebration.
The luckless Latrobe Valley Racing Club has experienced countless misfortune in recent years, capped off by last year’s abandonment.
Patrons however still came to partake in festivities, and with horses now set to exit the mounting yard and onto the track, it is hoped the club will get the meeting it deserves.
Those entering Glenview Park will be struck by an impressive mural on the side of the grandstand overlooking the main garden.
Watch for the impressive paint job as well completed on the grandstand and fencing – done of course through volunteers hours.
While the club only hosts two race meetings per year, its facilities are used for the betterment of many local community groups.
That same sentiment is set for the Traralgon Greyhound Racing Club, whose facilities sit inside the horse racing track.
Development works are currently underway, and it is hoped greyhound racing will resume in Traralgon in the new year.
The horse racing track meanwhile has been met with ringing endorsements in recent years, including from 2023 Traralgon Cup-winning jockey Alana Kelly.
In keeping with the sense of community, Latrobe Valley Racing Club receives support from Moe Racing Club, with curator Brad Nott looking after track maintenance.
Community will be at the heart of the Traralgon Cup.
Latrobe Valley Racing Club has a number of activations for the whole family, demonstrating there is a lot more to a day at the races than just horses and gambling.
There will be the usual goings-on in the half hour intervals between races, with music played in marquees, mingling on the lawn, perhaps on the comfort of an unfurled picnic rug, to go with the general hustle and bustle and click-clack of horse shoes trotting around the mounting yard.
Latrobe Valley Racing Club committee member Danielle Daniels is again overseeing the marquees, and if last year is anything to go by, there will be no better spot to be.
Fashions on the field is also set to feature. Once again, the fashion stakes can be expected to be as hotly contested as the races themselves.
Community connections will also be strong at this year’s Traralgon Cup, with people from local sporting clubs, groups, workplaces and even Latrobe City Council all mingled in the one venue.
As a volunteer organisation, Latrobe Valley Racing Club depends on the support from patrons coming through the gates to ensure race meetings continue in Traralgon.
Even I’m missing cricket in order to attend this year’s Traralgon Cup. That’s the equivalent of Ned Flanders missing church.
The signs then could not be any clearer: this is an event not to be missed.
