Scone abandons standalone Saturday meeting
Risk of last-minute Covid restrictions too great for club to commit to second day of Cup carnival
Scone would have been irresponsible if it pressed ahead with its standalone Saturday meeting in May with the risk of Covid-19 crowd restrictions hanging a cloud over its head, the race club’s chair says.
Racing NSW on Tuesday confirmed that the May 15 Dark Jewel Classic meeting, the second of the two-day Scone Cup carnival, would be run at Rosehill this year after the Australian Turf Club agreed to take on the card which features six stakes races.
Alastair Pulford, the Scone Race Club chair, yesterday strongly indicated it was the organisation’s intention to reclaim the coveted standalone metropolitan slot in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The club floated the move with Racing NSW in early February.
“Even with the lessening, but ever present threat of Covid, it would have been financially irresponsible for us to try and hold the meeting without the big functions and the crowds and the full support of sponsors.” Pulford told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“We couldn’t expect the sponsors to come on board without the big function and the big day that it normally is.
“We approached Racing NSW with that conundrum and they readily agreed with us and said the smartest play was to have the meeting in Sydney this year.”
The May carnival, a significant tourism driver for the Hunter region, was also traditionally used as a lead-in to the HTBA Scone Yearling Sale held at White Park on the Sunday but Inglis this year will hold the rebranded sale at its Riverside Stables complex in Sydney, in what will almost certainly be a permanent fixture.
The financial impost incurred to put up temporary infrastructure to cater for a large crowd was a major factor behind the Scone committee’s decision to abandon its Saturday meeting this year.
“We have a massive big tent and it is a huge amount of infrastructure that is hired for the day and it costs an enormous amount of money,” Pulford continued.
“It is not permanent infrastructure, so for us to do that would have been completely financially irresponsible and the committee decided it wasn’t prepared to put the club at that risk.”
NSW provincial courses Hawkesbury and Gosford also stage standalone Saturday meetings in April and May but, like Scone, they were moved to Sydney’s metropolitan race tracks last year due to no crowds being allowed on course.
Scone first held a standalone Saturday meeting in 2011.
“The Scone Cup meeting will go ahead (on May 14) and, while it hasn’t been approved yet, we’re hoping that the Inglis 3YO Guineas and the Dark Jewel will be run on the Friday but the Darley Scone Cup remains the main race,” he said.
“It will still be a significant program with very good prize-money but Racing NSW and the ATC came on board and the club is very grateful for their support and their assistance.
“It was the rational, smart thing to do with the small threat of Covid, but a threat nonetheless.”
Despite the loss of the Saturday meeting, Pulford revealed interest in Scone Cup day was already up on previous years.
“The bookings for the Cup are sensational. They are through the roof at this stage, people want to get out there,” he said.
“It is well above previous years and that is probably a reflection of the fact they haven’t had anywhere to go for a little while and they certainly missed out last year.
“The bookings for the major functions are pretty much sold out now, which we’re delighted with, and let’s hope nothing untowards happens the week before the event. That’s a worst-case scenario.”
Questioned about the club’s books, Pulford said: “The club is and always has been in a very strong financial position thanks to the careful management of our CEO (Heath Courtney), who has been there for quite a while now, but we’re not prone to taking unnecessary risks.”
Pulford also reiterated the club’s plan to return to a two-day carnival next year.
“It is a very important couple of days for the region and showcasing the thoroughbred in the region. It’s the culmination of the Scone Horse Festival, which is a big drawcard for the town and the region in general,” he said.
“We hope to have the major partners on board this year and Darley has committed again to being the naming rights sponsor of the Scone Cup.
“We are yet to firm up the support of everyone else (for this year) but they seem to be making the right noises.”