CHB races on track at Hastings
Nine-race programme has been scheduled
Members and supporters of the Waipukurau Jockey Club are off to the races this weekend, joining racegoers from all over Hawke’s Bay at Waipukurau Jockey Club Christmas @ the Races, at the Hawke’s Bay Racecourse, in Hastings.
The annual December race meeting moved to Hastings after Covid, putting the race meeting in front of bigger crowds, with more facilities but the same chance for a December day out with fast fields and a festive atmosphere.
The gates open at 11.30am on Sunday, November 19, with the first race at 12.40pm, so grab the family and set up trackside or you can watch the racing in the Desert Gold Lounge.
A nine-race programme has been scheduled, with the feature event the $25,000 Waipukurau Cup (1600m).
Waipukurau’s race days were moved to the Hawke’s Bay Racecourse in Hastings after racing’s national body made a decision in 2020 not to renew the racing licences for 10 of the country’s smaller racecourses.
The Waipukurau Jockey Club, formed in 1872, still owns and operates the racecourse which is a busy venue for training and jumpouts, as well as hosting the CHB Men’s Shed, a monthly market day, and provides a recently refurbished function room for event hire.
The racecourse has also been an
invaluable hub for flood relief and animal feed for Central Hawke’s Bay since Cyclone Gabrielle, and was recently used by the NZDF as part of an Army officer cadets training course.
Waipukurau Jockey Club president Kirsty Lawrence says while the race days may have moved 40 minutes north, following your favourite race meeting is no different to following your favourite rugby team to an away game.
“Our race meeting is an away game now. There’s nothing unusual about travelling to support your sport - it’s an exciting day out, we love to see our supporters there and the trainers, horses and jockeys give it their all, as always.”
Hospitality tickets are available until Wednesday, and cover the bus trip from the Leopard Hotel Waipukurau to the Hawke’s Bay Racecourse, a racebook and pen, buffet lunch provided by BBQ Gourmet Plus, and a beverage package (beer, wine, cider and non-alcoholic beverages).
Kirsty says nearly 300 people have booked in for the hospitality package including some companies booking it as their Christmas function, “CHB has really got behind us.”
Hospitality tickets can be booked online at hawkesbayracing.co.nz. General admission tickets purchased from the site also include the bus trip to Hastings, returning after the final race. Buses will leave from the Leopard Hotel Waipukurau at 10.45am on Sunday.
The Waipukurau Jockey Club AGM is on November 30 at 7pm, at the racecourse, and Kirsty encourages anyone who is interested in becoming involved with the club to attend.