All roads lead to Hay Jockey Club on Saturday, with a huge crowd set to be entertained by a bumper six-race non-TAB program, which will be headlined by the $20,000 Tapper Agri Services Hay Cup (1400m).
Adding to the racing will be the off-track entertainment, spearheaded by the fashions on the field competition, offering contestants over $12,500 in prizes.
“It’s going to be a really good day,” said Hay Jockey Club race day secretary Michael Bailey.
“The club has sold out of their marquees and put in quite a number of tables with umbrellas, and they are all booked out.
“There has been a lot of interest in the fashions on the field, and everyone is gearing up for a big weekend, with most accommodation booked out.”
With shy of $100,000 on offer to owners, trainers, and jockeys, the fields will be strong, with the club receiving 86 nominations for their meeting.
The Hay Cup will be the strongest in years, with 18 gallopers nominated, including Country Cup regulars Choice Harvest, Bellman, Controversial Miss, and Deploy and Destroy.
“The club does a fantastic job, and the sponsors always support the club and their one-a-year race day,” Bailey said.
“It means Hay can offer that kind of prizemoney, which flows onto the quality of horse and meeting.
“It’s really important for a regional club that they can do that, as it is a tricky business being a non-TAB club, and their income relies on the crowd, sponsorship, catering, and it is a lot of work, and having good fields means bigger crowds, and a better day for the club.
“They are good quality horses contesting the meeting this year, notably the Hay Cup, and that $20,000 has proven to be a good incentive for them to come.
“It’s a good quality race to win, too, and there is that prestige as the race has been around for 150 years.”
While Bailey is a racing man, first and foremost, he is all about entertaining all demographics and is pleased to see the fashions on the field proving to be a popular talking point.
At the same time, he stressed what the meeting means to the community.
“It’s a big day for the town, and it will bring a lot of smiles to faces,” Bailey said.
“They’ve been through drought, floods, and last year, we only had two roads open, and we still got around 1000 people there.
“It was a good result for the club and community, but with everything looking good this year, we’ll look to build on that.”
Complementing a good day’s racing is the fashions competition, which has become one of the highlights at any Hay Jockey Club meeting.
Organiser Loryn Morphett was proud to be hosting a competition boasting over $12,500 worth of prizes, and she thanked local businesses for making her life very easy.
“The community are just so generous, and we’re very lucky to have such a supportive community that is very helpful and want to put back into such an amazing race day,” Morphett said.
“A lot of these community businesses attend the races and know what it is all about, so supporting fashions is an easy win for them, and for us, because they put in and they truly support and believe in what we are doing.”
It’s always a hotly-contested competition, and Morphett expects much the same on Saturday as local and visiting fashionistas enter the Lady of the Plain, Best Millinery, Best Dressed Lady, Best Dressed Gent, and Best Dressed Couple categories.
“We’ve always had quite a strong response,” Morphett said.
“I suppose that this year, with it being the second year following COVID and a year after the floods, we’ll be getting back into the groove, and there will be a good turnout.
“In terms of judging, we’ll definitely be looking at those who dress appropriately to the weather, and judges will be looking for outfits with floral blooms, bright colours, and statement pieces and those who dress to impress.
“We love seeing entrants who present themselves well and are there to have fun, smiling, and just enjoying the day.”
Judging Hay’s big fashions on the field competition will be the experienced panel of Liz Gregory, Georgia Booth, and Jaimi Gorman.
Liz, from Booligal and now living in Boorowa, is a two-time winner for Best Dressed Lady.
Georgia studied design in fashion and textiles and currently teaches textiles and design at High School.
Georgia is also local to Hay but currently resides in Deniliquin. She also runs a small clothing and textiles business – The Plains Studio, freelancing within the local Hay area.
Jaimi is another previous winner across the Lady of the Day and Best Dressed Couple categories and placed in the Millinery competition.
Jaimi is from Griffith, NSW and attends Hay Races each year.
For more on Hay’s fashions on the fields and their race day, readers can click here.
