THE Cairns Amateurs racing carnival reached its conclusion on Saturday after four days of fun, festivities and fast and furious drama on the track.
Thousands of eager race day revellers came through the gates of the Cannon Park Racecourse on Cup Day to soak in the action on the track and all the glitz and glamour off it.
It was a great day for racing with a gentle breeze keeping all those in attendance cool, calm and collected. Police on-site said the crowd had been very well behaved with no major incidents to speak off.
The eight race program for Saturday featured some great fields and tight finishes but none were as dramatic as the finish to the Carlton Mid Amateur Cup Open Handicap which saw the Stephen Potiris trained Junee Boy beat out Ladretto from the Kerry Baumann stable by the narrowest of margins.
The Ladretto camp protested the initial placings but after much deliberation the result was upheld, much to the relief of Potiris, jockey Wanderson D’Avila and the winning connections.
For photos from the day click on the photo below.
Club president Michael Delaney said judging from feedback he’d received the day had been a great success.
“The track is looking superb and that is a credit to the great work undertaken by Jon Piccone and his committee at the Cairns Jockey Club and the investment by Racing Queensland,” Mr Delaney said.
“It was very encouraging to see that all our major long term sponsors continued their support of the Amateurs during these tough times,” he said.
“The Amateurs contributed over $13 million to the Cairns economy over the course of the 2013 festival which was more than any other local event.
“I hope the carnival was a pleasure for all those that attended and I look forward to seeing you all back again in 2015.