I am a former member of the Werribee Racing Club and also served on the committee for a few years. I was on the committee when the new grandstand was opened and when racing was stopped at the course because the track was not up to standard. The club went perilously close to going out of existence. There was talk of a housing development going up on the site and the rich history of the Werribee Racing Club hung in the balance. Fortunately that did not happen.
The International Quarantine Centre saved the club and part of the deal was a multi-million dollar upgrade of the track so racing could continue in the months between housing the international horses for the spring carnival.
Last week, the time-honoured Werribee Cup was dealt another massive blow, the meeting scheduled for tomorrow, 13 November, was shifted to Ballarat and the Werribee meeting postponed until 15 December. That is simply not good enough. In this day and age the problems with the track would have been obvious some time ago not a week before the event. The Werribee Cup has become some sort of nomadic joke in the racing industry. It has been run at Geelong, run twice in the same year, not run at all and run on almost every day of the week.
The Werribee Cup used to have credibility; for God’s sake, the great Makybe Diva won this Cup in 2002. The people running racing don’t seem to understand what a big event this used to be in the City of Wyndham, and I say used to be, because it is now officially stuffed.
I know the Wednesday before Melbourne Cup was a bigger day for many locals than cup day itself. There was no point trying to get any business done that day this side of the Westgate. After the race the town was buzzing with every pub and restaurant packed. Sadly that is not the case now, and I doubt ever will be again.
After the money that has been spent on the track, why is it still not fit to hold a meeting?
The people of Wyndham deserve some answers as does the racing fraternity.
I would love to hear your thoughts but for me the Werribee Cup is now a shadow of its former self as a race and as an event and as such, is of little interest to me.
If you have any news or events please let me know on the email kevin@howdypartnersmedia.com.au and you can follow me on twitter @KevinHillier and check out the website howdypartnersmedia.com.au
