The Grandstand will be full of racegoers this Saturday. The Cootamundra Picnic Races will be hosting their annual Picnic Races at the Cootamundra Racecourse this Saturday, 23 April, in what is sure to be a fun day out for the whole family.
Gates will open at 12pm, with the first of hopefully six races set to jump at 1pm, with the last race expected to finish at approximately 5:30pm.
Diane Williams, Cootamundra District Race Club President, said everyone involved is looking forward to the day, which is set to be a large event with the ANZAC long-weekend public holiday on Monday.
“By the looks, the weather’s going to be looking beautiful, hopefully we’ll get the forecast 22 degrees,” Williams said.
“Local bands will be playing live music, as well as full bar facilities. It’s going to be a well populated event with 18 tables already booked, as well as nine marquees.
“Because it runs into ANZAC Day, people have made it into a long-weekend. There’s lots of people coming home to Cootamundra for the weekend. Locals who haven’t been to the races in Coota for years are making the journey back home, so it will be a great catch-up time.”
The bar and food facilities on the day will take cash only, with no eftpos or ATM facilities on site. Legacy Cootamundra will have a stall on Saturday, selling poppies and collecting donations over the ANZAC Day weekend.
Williams said the Cootamundra District Race Club are looking forward to holding a COVID-safe event, whilst not being constricted to the same regulations as last year. “We raced last year but under very strict COVID Rules.
We don’t have COVID restrictions this year, but we are still asking people if they are unwell to please stay away,” She continued. “We would also like to thank our wonderful sponsors who we can’t race without.
“The town is looking forward to it, it’ll be great to bring the town together for some fun without COVID.”
The Cootamundra District Race Club will be announcing a special life membership into the club on Saturday, which will be announced after the cup. Pre-sale Picnic Race tickets have closed, but Williams insists there will be more than enough tickets available on the gate on race day.
Tickets will be $20 each, with children under 14-years-of-age admitted for free. Buses will leave from the Cootamundra Post Office at 12pm to head out to the racecourse for attendees.
Security will be at the event conducting bag searches, with no glass or alcohol permitted to be brought into the races.
Tim Warren