Narrandera Race Club‘s reputation as one of the best wet-weather tracks in NSW will be on the line on Sunday.
The Southern Districts club put their hand up to race after Albury Race Club was ‘deemed unsuitable for racing’ by Racing NSW stewards following 35mms of rainfall over the last seven days and a further forecast for inclement weather.
Narrandera commenced their new racing season on Saturday, hosting a successful six-race program.
Their track staff subsequently worked hard to prepare the racecourse for Sunday after Racing NSW’s stewards notified them that a transfer from Albury to Narrandera was likely.
“We were put on standby after the meeting on Saturday and with all the bad weather predicted this week,” Narrandera Race Club Racing Manager Michael Bailey said.
“Tony (Patterson) and Shane (Bloomfield) repaired the track Saturday night and Sunday, and it’s all been meshed.
“It was a good three after Saturday, and we’ve since had some rain, and now it’s a soft five.”
Southern Districts steward Liam Martin contacted Narrandera on Wednesday, and Bailey said his committee jumped at the chance to host another race meeting.
“When Liam rang and said Albury would be unsuitable for racing and asked if Narrandera would be ready, we accepted the meeting with open arms,” Bailey said.
“It’s good to be able to help the industry and participants.”
Some rain is forecast for Narrandera on Thursday (3-9mm) and Friday (0-3mm), but Bailey wasn’t too worried.
“We welcome some rain; it saves us watering,” Bailey said.
“We haven’t had anywhere near as much as Albury, and we can handle a fair bit more.”
It’s an exciting time for Narrandera Race Club, with their first meeting of the year proving a good platform for the remainder of the season, which includes their Leeton Toyota Narrandera Cup Big Dance qualifier on Sunday, July 16.
“It was terrific; the fields were good, the betting was good, and the crowd was up on what it used to be before Covid,” Bailey said.
“It’s still not where it used to be once upon a time, but it’s on its way back, and it was an excellent forerunner for the Big Dance Day.”
Regarding Sunday’s new meeting, Bailey believes a few Narrandera Cup hopefuls will be on show, giving punters some insight into next month’s $50,000 feature.
“The 1600m Open Handicap on Sunday will basically be a prelude to the Narrandera Cup, and even though the winner isn’t guaranteed anything because we didn’t have enough time to organise that, it’s still a good opportunity for trainers to come to Narrandera and put their horses over the mile on what should be a good track.”
As a result of Sunday’s change from Albury to Narrandera, the following distance amendments apply:
| Race Type | Distance | Prizemoney | NEW Distance | |
| COUNTRY BOOSTED BM 58 HCP | 1175m | $30,000 | 1200m | |
| MAIDEN HCP | 900m | $27,000 | 1000m | |
| COUNTRY BOOSTED MAIDEN PLATE | 1175m | $30,000 | 1200m | |
| MAIDEN HCP | 1500m | $27,000 | 1600m |
NOTE: Nominations have been reopened and will now close at 8am on Thursday.
Any fresh nominations that are nominated during this period will be treated as an extended nomination and will be placed towards the bottom of the ballot order.
Horses are also able to be withdrawn during this time.
Acceptances will now be taken at 10am on Thursday.
