North west Queensland sporting clubs are staring down the barrel of restoration and clean-up bills of up to $100,000 in the wake of February's flooding that tore infrastructure apart.
One of those racing time is the McKinlay Race Club, which has had to reinstate its back straight after the McKinlay River, which runs alongside the track, broke its banks and ran down the course.
Spokesman Tom Scholes said it had caused significant damage.
They've had two machines and five people at work on site for a week, plus a large working bee on the weekend as the June 22 race meeting date draws near.
"We've got the major stuff done; we've just got to drag the track as usual now," Mr Scholes said. "Luckily our buildings escaped major damage."
Not so lucky have been the facilities at the Quamby Rodeo grounds 60km north of Cloncurry, and the Saxby Round-Up infrastructure north of Julia Creek.
The latter has embarked on a mammoth repair effort after its toilet block was swept off its foundations, floodwater took all the trophies and supplies stored away, and damaged its coldroom beyond repair, dumping metres of silt in the process.
A spokesperson said it would nearly be better if they were starting from scratch rather than having to work round existing infrastructure.
"When we first saw the aerial photos of the flooding we thought, Saxby's gone," the person said. "We feel a big obligation to try and run the Round-Up, for the social health of the district."
The committee received a $5000 grant from Ergon Energy and is hoping to win a people's choice award of another $5000 through an online voting system, but know it will take a lot more than that to restore the complex.
"We are currently working around the clock to have our facilities up and running by our annual event on June 27-30," a club social media post said.
The event regularly attracts 500 visitors from around Australia plus the occasional global rodeo competitor.
The McDonald family has offered cattle from Iffley Station for this year's event despite being badly impacted by February's weather event.
The restoration work involves scrapers, loaders, graders and tip trucks, all needing fuel and having hire charges.
Tom Scholes said the McKinlay Race Club had applied to QRIDA for financial assistance and was waiting for a response.
"It was a really good process," he said. "The shire's sport and rec officer assisted us, knowing there was money available for not-for-profit groups right from the start."
The club's usual crowd is somewhere in the vicinity of 350-400 and Mr Scholes said they were looking forward to similar numbers this year.