Despite rain and cold thousands of local punters watched some of the best horses in the country race around the Richmond Park track over two days.
The annual Winter Cup at Richmond Park often plays second fiddle to the hugely popular summer meet at the same track but this year Nelson Harness Racing Club committee member Bill Monk says the weekend attracted some of the best.
“We were really pleased with the horses, they performed really well and we had the best drivers here, Anthony Butt, Mark Jones, Dexter Dunne, Ricky May, they were all here.”
He says the turnout from locals was pleasing “considering the weather” and they are already taking marquee bookings for the summer meeting in January.
The club also smashed its on-course budget, collecting $76,000 from punters through the TAB on Friday and $72,000 on Sunday. They had predicted $50,000 for each day.
Off course, around $1.3 million was bet on horses in Nelson over the two days.
On the track the weekend belonged to Givethejobtobarnsy, winning the prelude cup on Friday and the Nelson Pine Industries Nelson Winter Cup on Sunday. The Christchurch horse was driven by John Versteeg.
The best of the local horses was De Real Diva, owned by Brian Hill and driven by Mark Jones, which won the More FM Pace
Bill says the feedback from the trainers and drivers has already been hugely positive. “They tell us the hospitality in Nelson is by far the best in the country and we try to make the trip up here worth their while. In fact the guy that won the cup made a tongue-in-cheek comment that our stakes were better than what Addington were offering so it was a no-brainer to come to Nelson.”
Bill says the future is bright for the club with its newly upgraded track set to be the fastest in the country by the summer.
To book a marquee for the summer meet email enquiries@cbmarketing.co.nz.
