A REVAMPED Casterton Racecourse is ready to welcome back a massive crowd when the Casterton Cup returns this Sunday, 15 May.

A fully irrigated track and new mounting yard are just some of the upgrades that have been made to the racecourse’s facilities over the last two years, with more still to come.

A new retaining wall on the hill and a shed for housing the club’s machinery have also recently been installed.

Casterton Racing Club manager, John Donnelly said the club was keen to welcome racegoers to see the new facilities in place.

“In the last two years, we’d have spent $250,000 on improvements,” he said.

“Our track’s now fully irrigated, we can reach every part of the track with irrigation, we’ve got a full irrigation system on the course proper and the steeple track.”

The improved track will host what the club expects to be its biggest edition of the Casterton Cup yet, with eight races on the card and more than $335,000 in stakes.

Of that, a record $100,000 is up for grabs in the Two Rivers Steeplechase, up from $75,000 last year.

While Mr Donnelly said the steeplechase had been a fixture at the racecourse for around 100 years, 2019 was its first edition under its new moniker.

“Once we got stake money built up, we thought, ‘we’ve got to come up with a recognisable name’,” he said.

“Now it’s starting to get recognised - I was seeing on TV, RACING.com talking about the Two Rivers Steeplechase.

“Casterton should be proud of what they’ve got because there’s no doubting the best place to watch a jumping race is Casterton.”

The name for the Two Rivers Steeplechase was inspired by the famed Ric McIntosh call of “where the Wannon meets the Glenelg”, referencing the intersection of Western Victoria’s two largest river systems, which lies less than a kilometre from the track.

The live hedge steeples make the track the only one of its kind in Australia and the event attracts racegoers and horses from across Victoria and South Australia.

The racecourse has been maintained in preparation for race day by a team consisting largely of volunteers, who Mr Donnelly commended for their time.

“No matter whether it’s football, racing, they’ve got a fairly good band of volunteers here in Casterton,” he said.

“It’s a good feeling when it all comes together next Sunday.”

Mr Donnelly said the Casterton Cup was also made possible by a range of sponsors.

“Foodworks have been a great sponsor for this Cup meeting over the years,” he said.

“We have other local sponsorships such as McClure’s Earthworks from Harrow and Shojun Concrete from Geelong.

“All in all, we can gather a good $30,000 worth of sponsorship for the cup meeting which helps everything that this club makes go back into the club.”

The Two Rivers Steeplechase will again be sponsored by local company, Phil Pullen & Co, with Bonney Energy also to sponsor the race.

Mr Donnelly also said that racing channel RACING.com was making the Casterton Cup its main event on Sunday in an exciting first for the event.

“They’ll be hosting here on Sunday and the major event for the day will be here at Casterton,” he said.

“We’ve never had that before and they’re very hard to get, but we’re looking forward to that.”

With just over 600 tickets sold at the time of going to print and an expected crowd of around 2000 after Covid-19 protocols limited last year’s Casterton Cup to 1000 patrons, Mr Donnelly said there was plenty of time to grab tickets and be a part of the action.

“They’re still available online, they’ll be available at the gate,” he said.

He also expressed confidence that the town and surrounds would come out for what he called the biggest sporting weekend for Casterton.

“We get lots of enquiries, we get regulars who come back each year, book marquees, there’s a group of girls who’ve been coming here for the last ten years from Melbourne so Casterton’s doing something right,” he said.

Fashions on the Field will again be a major highlight on cup day, with categories including 5 to 12-year-old boys and girls, 18+ men’s and ladies and a separate category for local women.

Fashions co-ordinator, Sue Pullen said she was thankful for the support provided by locals to help run the program.

“We have sponsorships from all around the town, business houses helping out with prizes, which is much appreciated,” she said.

“A big thank you to the extra helpers I have this year.”

Following the end of this year’s Casterton Cup, Mr Donnelly said upgrades to the racecourse’s facilities would continue.

“This club has got a good five-year plan of what they intend to do,” he said.

“We intend to enclose the betting ring in the next two years – it will cost us a lot of money but it needs to be done to attract people in the wintertime.

“People have gotten in the habit of sitting at home by the fire.

“You’ve got to get them out and about again and you won’t get them out and about with conditions that were acceptable thirty years ago – they’re not acceptable now.”

Secure your ticket for the Casterton Cup race day by visiting Country Racing Victoria; gates open 11am.