Melbourne’s famous Spring Carnival is set for an unprecedented overhaul and a break of tradition with the Caulfield Cup possibly moving to November 28.
This means the 2400m Group 1 Caulfield Cup, one of the biggest races of the season and a key lead-up to the Melbourne Cup, could be moved from its usual mid-October date.
The seismic shift in spring carnival scheduling has been brought about by the coronavirus pandemic and the Melbourne Racing Club’s desire to avoid clashes with the AFL finals series.
Deniliquin Racing Club’s annual race meeting has coincided with the Caulfield Cup for the past 10 years and has proven to be a popular event each year.
The committee now faces a tough decision on whether it tries to move its race meeting to follow suit, to move the date or hold its meeting on the third Saturday of October.
Secretary Joan Douglas said the only thing she could confirm is the committee would aim to hold a meeting later this year with the easing of Coronavirus restrictions.
‘‘We’re looking at it this week to discuss what we do,’’ she said.
‘‘We need to reward the owners, trainers and jockeys from our local area, so we will look to hold a race meeting with or without a crowd at some point later this year, depending on the direction from Racing New South Wales.’’
The Deniliquin Racing Club committee will meet this Sunday to officially talk about what might be possible, but the final decision will be made by RNSW.
The meeting will start at 11 am.
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