Racing Victoria (RV) has provided the following update regarding Victorian thoroughbred racing in light of changes to Victoria’s COVID restrictions that took effect at 11.59pm (AEDT) last night – Thursday 24 June 2021.
With effect from today, Friday, 25 June 2021, the State Government has advised that race meetings that were previously approved as Tier 1 or Tier 2 events under Victoria’s Public Events Framework will be permitted a maximum of 5,000 attendees with:
- A seated capacity of 50%
- Density quotient of 1 person per 4 square metres for non-seated areas
- 300 people per indoor space
Accordingly, the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) has advised that tomorrow’s Caulfield race meeting will be open to spectators under the conditions above with free admission and mandatory registration via QR code upon entry.
Given the short lead-time there will be no seated dining at Caulfield, however bars and food outlets will be open with TAB facilities available.
The MRC advises that owners will have access to the public concourse and Level 1 (public). Connections will not be accessible for owners tomorrow and entry to the Mounting Yard is not permitted.
Those race meetings previously registered as Tier 3 events will be permitted a maximum of 1,000 attendees with no more than 300 indoors. This applies to all other race meetings programmed in Victoria over the next seven days.
Decisions on whether a race meeting will be open to spectators and if the maximum allocation is achievable, will be made by each individual race Club determining the viability of welcoming spectators, having considered such things as costs, infrastructure, logistics and lead times.
Spectators (including owners, members and the general public) who wish to attend an upcoming race meeting should visit the individual Club websites to determine opportunities for attendance and what requirements, including any pre-registration, are in place for their event.
Subject to epidemiology and the advice of Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, from 11.59pm (AET) on 1 July 2021, Victoria is scheduled to return to the Public Events Framework as it was before the current outbreak.
Should this occur, additional spectators may be permitted to attend the Victoria Racing Club’s (VRC) Flemington Finals Day race meeting on Saturday, 3 July 2021.
RV Chief Executive, Giles Thompson said, “We warmly welcome the increase in spectator limits to 5,000 for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 race meetings, which are predominantly our metropolitan meetings throughout winter.
“I want to thank the team at the MRC for moving swiftly overnight to afford owners, members and their guests the opportunity to attend tomorrow’s Caulfield meeting, our first in Melbourne for a month with spectators.
“A cap of 1,000 spectators with a maximum of 300 people inside will apply for our remaining race meetings. It remains the decision of each Club on whether spectators will be permitted at an individual race meeting, however we expect that each will be making owners and members a priority.
“I would encourage all those wishing to attend an upcoming race meeting across Victoria to visit the individual Club website for further information regarding capacity, ticketing and any requirements around pre-registration.
“Moving forward, we will be continuing our discussions with Government around opportunities to increase the number of spectators permitted at our race meetings when it is appropriate to do so.”