COVID-19 Update - Country Racing Calendar

Racing Victoria (RV), in consultation with Country Racing Victoria (CRV) and the country clubs involved, wish to advise of a series of changes to the country racing calendar in October and November 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The changes to upcoming meetings announced today are as follows:

• All picnic meetings from Saturday, 24 October (the scheduled commencement of the 2020-21 picnic racing season) up to and including Saturday, 7 November have been cancelled which will affect meetings at Alexandra, Healesville, Mansfield and Balnarring;
• With confirmation that the AFL Grand Final public holiday will be on Friday, 23 October, the Benalla Cup, which has conducted on this public holiday in recent years, will move to this date. As a result, the Echuca meeting originally scheduled for 23 October moves to Monday, 26 October;
• The St Arnaud Cup meeting scheduled for Saturday, 24 October will move to Sunday, 25 October where it will now be afforded coverage on Racing.com and SKY Racing;
• The Mortlake Cup meeting on Saturday, 31 October will move to Sunday, 1 November to maximise coverage on Racing.com and SKY Racing, leaving Flemington and Traralgon as the remaining two Victorian meetings on Derby Day;
  
• The Wycheproof Cup meeting on Saturday, 31 October has been cancelled; and
  
• All non-TAB meetings on Melbourne Cup Day (Tuesday, 3 November), that being Cranbourne, Bairnsdale, Wangaratta and Mildura, have been cancelled leaving Flemington and the TAB meeting at Echuca as the two Victorian race meetings to be conducted on Cup Day.

This announcement follows last month’s decision to cancel the Gunbower Cup meeting on 3 October, the Manangatang Cup meeting on 10 October and the Wodonga meeting on 17 October due to the impacts of the pandemic.

Following a review of the program in light of the cancelled community racedays, a race meeting has been added to the calendar at Swan Hill on Sunday, 11 October which will include lower class races to assist those horses directly impacted.

RV’s Racing Operations team will continue to review the program through late October and early November to see if there are additional changes required for horses impacted by the cancellation of the community racedays during that period.

RV Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter, said: “Following consultation with Country Racing Victoria and various Victorian race clubs, we have made the difficult decision to remove a further nine meetings from the country racing calendar throughout October and early November.

“The decision to cancel these race meetings has been reached following extensive consultation and has been based on a number of factors including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I would like to thank the Clubs affected for their cooperation and understanding regarding this decision which we appreciate would be extremely disappointing for not only the Clubs but their extended communities.

“I would also like to make particular mention of the iconic Gunbower, Manangatang and Wycheproof Cup meetings which have been cancelled and note that we’ll be working closely with CRV   and the Clubs to ensure that these meetings return in style in the Spring of 2021 and are well supported by their local communities.

“In order to cater for horses impacted by the loss of the meetings during this period we have added a TAB race meeting at Swan Hill on Sunday, 11 October. Beyond that, we will also divide races where there is demand, continue to monitor any ballot pressure and look to add another meeting if required.”

CRV Chief Executive, Scott Whiteman, said: “The various Clubs impacted by these cancellations have been involved in reaching this decision and I would like to thank them for their support and cooperation throughout this process.

“While it is a difficult decision to make, it’s the right outcome for those regional communities, and we all look forward to seeing these iconic country meetings return in 2021”.

In making today’s announcement, RV and CRV have confirmed that the cancelled meetings will not be rescheduled to another date within the 2020-21 racing season.

They have also advised that decisions on whether individual non-TAB and picnic race meetings scheduled from Saturday, 14 November onwards proceed will be made closer to the date of each when more information is available regarding the ability of any crowds to attend and the COVID-19 case numbers at the time. 

The updated programs for the Swan Hill and Benalla meetings are as follows: