VISITORS came by air, they came by sea and they came by road all to join in the fun of the Cooktown Races held in November.
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The day was boosted by perfect weather conditions not only for the horse racing but also for the ladies, gents and the children who all went out of their way for the Fashions of the Field.
It was the 136th annual Meeting of the Cooktown Amateur Turf Club with the feature races being the Bracelet and the RSL Memorial Club Cup. This year the RSL Memorial Club Cup was extended to 1700m which resulted in a huge success. The program had a six race program with over $52,000 in prize money plus added trophies and bonuses.
First time President, Darryl Paradise said that the success of the day was a credit to the race committee, all the sponsors, the great response to the race fields, and all the workers who spent a lot of hours working at the track to get it to the high standard for the one and only race meeting for the year.
“What a ripper of a day for horse racing and the people of Cooktown,” Mr Paradise said.
“Everyone you spoke to were all talking about the races for many weeks before,” he said.
“We had a massive crowd of 1550 plus come through the gate for the day. The people were entertained by the race action, the fashions of the field, snake show, a zumba expo, and then after the horse racing we had the Dash for Cash Foot races.”
After the races were complete the large crowd were able to party on with food and drinks available and were able to dance the night away to local band Rough ‘N Ready.
“The Fashions were so great you would think you were at the Melbourne Cup not the Cooktown Cup,” Mr Paradise said.
“The entrants who went into Fashions of the Field had spent a lot of time and money on their outfits. Making this Fashions the biggest and best for a long time.
It was a great start for Trainer Greg Wehlow who won the Cooktown RSL Memorial Club Cup in his first trip to a country meeting.
Trainer of the Day was taken out by Fred Wieland with Shane Pawsey winning the Jockey of the Day.
Darryl Paradise and his Committee said they would like to say a big “Thank You” to all who have supported this great day and hope to see you all next year.
