Cobar Miners Race Club will jump into action again on Saturday when hosting the transferred Come By Chance picnic meeting.
Racing NSW deemed Come By Chance racecourse unsuitable for racing, which forced the change, but Cobar was more than willing to lend a helping hand.
“I’m first and foremost a horseman, and I like to see races go ahead, and that means I’m happy to put my hand up to make sure trainers, jockeys, and horses get an opportunity to compete,” Cobar Miners Race Club President Jarrod Marsden said.
It was rumoured as early as last week that Cobar might be an option to race in Come By Chance’s stead, but the final decision was only made today after Marsden could lock in the required people to make the meeting work.
“You have to tick all the boxes with a vet, ambulance, clerk of the course, and farrier, and we were waiting on a vet, and once we had it all locked, I gave them the go-ahead,” Marsden said.
Cobar last raced on August 19, meaning the course proper and surrounds are in good order ahead of Saturday’s six-race picnic meeting.
“I keep working on the track all year round, but we only raced a month ago, so it won’t be a problem,” Marsden said.
“I only worked on the track last week to freshen it up. It’s warming up, and we’ve dried out a bit, but the grounds are looking perfect.”
In a sign of respect to the Come By Chance Picnic Race Club committee and their sponsors, who will be hosting their own phantom race day on Saturday, Marsden isn’t out to take over the day and will give the gate away to a local charity and each race will be named after a Come By Chance sponsor.
“We’ll do a gold coin entry for a local charity, and I’ve already had phone calls from two bookmakers, and we’ll have a normal canteen and bar,” Marsden said.
“I’ve also reached out to the Come By Chance committee about giving their sponsors exposure, which they were really happy about.
“We’ve asked for their logos so we can put them in our racebook, and the way I see it, if they were good enough to sponsor Come By Chance, it’s the least we can do to thank them.”
Nominations for the meeting reopened today and closed at 3 p.m., and despite the location change, 49 gallopers have been entered to race on the day.
The $10,000 Come by Chance Picnic Cup (1370m) will headline the program, along with the $9,500 Come By Chance Picnic Sprint (1000m).
There is also the Class Three Trophy Handicap (1000m), Class B Handicaps (1200m and 1370m), and Maiden Plate (1000m).
Click here for the nominations.
Click here for more on the race day.
Click here for more on Come By Chance’s phantom race day.
