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 for October 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The changes to these upcoming meetings comes following the release of the Victorian Government’s road map which provided clarity on the necessary vaccination milestones for the return of spectators. They are summarised as follows:
- The Manangatang Cup meeting on Saturday, 9 October has been abandoned;
- The Wodonga meeting on Saturday, 16 October has been abandoned;
- The St Arnaud Cup meeting scheduled on Saturday, 23 October will move to Sunday, 24 October;
- The Mortlake Cup meeting on Saturday, 30 October will move to Sunday, 31 October; and
- The two Picnic meetings programmed in October at Alexandra (23 October) and Healesville (30 October) have been abandoned.
All other meetings throughout October will proceed as programmed with racing continuing spectator-free until a further update is provided.
A decision on the non-TAB meetings in November will be made at a later date when there’s further clarity on the possibility of spectators attending.
RVs Racing Operations team will continue to review the program and monitor any ballot pressure to see if there are additional changes required for horses impacted by these abandonments. Races will also be divided where needed.
RV and CRV wish to confirm that the cancelled meetings will not be rescheduled to another time within the 2021-22 season.
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 four meetings from the country racing calendar throughout October.
“These race meetings are very much community events built on attendance and tourism and with limited or no crowds permitted we believe this is most practical decision to assist Clubs, stakeholders and racing fans with their planning.
“I would like to thank the Clubs affected for their cooperation and understanding regarding this decision which we appreciate would be extremely disappointing for the Clubs, especially those affected for a second consecutive year.”