Former Melbourne Cup winning horse Rogan Josh is joined by Jeremy Crawford from Werribee Race Club and Dr Andrew Clarke. 75787 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By Liam Twomey
WHETHER it’s for the horses, the fashion or to beat the bookies, one thing is for sure, the Werribee Cup has got something for everyone.
This year will be no exception as organisers begin to put the finishing touches on what they hope will be one of the best Werribee Cups in the event’s history.
The $140,000 race is run over 2600 metres and attracts some of the best staying horses from across Australia.
The past champion honour board reads like a who’s who of the racing industry with names including three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva and champion jockey Glen Boss.
This year marks the first time the Cup will be run on a Sunday and Werribee Racing Club CEO Jeremy Crawford said the event would cater to all fans of horse racing.
“What the club has intended to do is make it as punter and patron friendly as possible. We will be having a whole lot of kids’ activities, things like jumping castles, pony rides, animals farms, mini-golf and fun activities like that,” Crawford said.
“We will be putting out a lot of umbrellas, tables and chairs on the lawn so people will be comfortable and we can utilise all the space there.
“The support has been really good so far. We have got about 30 marquees booked in as of today, which is well up on last year.”
Punters will be greeted by a nine-race card with the Cup the last event on the program. The first race will be at 1pm with gates opening at 11am.
“The one thing people can do is turn up on the day and have a great time. Kids will still be let in for free and we will have a couple of other exciting things for people to look forward to,” Crawford said.
Fashion will also take centre stage on the day with the Werribee Plaza Fashions on the Field set to showcase all the glitz and glamour of race goers.
“What we are trying to do is get as many people involved in the day as possible,” Crawford said.
“We reduced the prices for the packages this year to encourage everyone to come along and that seems to have worked for booking marquees and so forth.
“We will provide a lot of facilities on track so it should be a very easy and enjoyable day out.”
