January 13th, 2010
Alan Parry - President
Firstly, all the very best of good wishes for 2010 and thanks for your support over the past year.
Racing
Our summer racing has been exceptionally well supported by the industry over the past couple of months. This is probably a result of a milder summer and the late start to the wet season, however, there is also a noticeable influx of new horses in this same period. Normally we struggle at this time of the year to maintain fields and nominations to stage a full 8 race program on TAB days but we have been regularly getting over 100 nominations for meetings. Our racing has been very competitive, with TAB turnover consistently near $1M on a good day, either a Thursday or a Friday. Sunshine Coast recently conducted a Wednesday meeting , which should have been a prime showcase meeting for Queensland Racing, but it was on their new cushion track and they only held $550,000 on the TAB.
So you can see that our Cluden Racing is held in high regard by the wagering public.
Also, we have had the revival of 2YO racing at Cluden flowing on from the QTIS 600 Program and with the running of the $150,000 QTIS 600 2YO Race on the 8th March 2010. This means we will have 2YO’s re-appearing shortly in their quest to win this exceptional prize money race. We have hardly ever seen 2YO racing in February, so this will be an added attraction to our racing in the coming weeks.
Just on that QTIS 600 Program, the Club will again be supporting this initiative of QR by way of a Tour to the Magic Millions QTIS 600 Sales in March on the Gold Coast. This was tremendously popular and well supported and very successful for all who attended last year.
Corner Block
I can inform Members that this transaction is moving along at a faster pace than it has over the past two years. The purchaser is still there and has renewed their option so that they can proceed to a due diligence period to enable them to obtain an indication from the authorities involved that they will have a more than reasonable chance of being able to proceed with their proposed development.
Carnival
We are still awaiting confirmation of race dates for 2010/11 and the Committee is hopeful of obtaining a date closer to Jupiters Townsville Cup Day for the Ladies Day. There is some concern that Ladies Race Day is too close to V8 Supercars weekend and also too far away from Cup Day. The Saturday before would be the best outcome, so we await to see what QR deliver up to us on this.
The Club will this year take back control of the Corporate Marquee area and the Fashions on the Field. There will also be a re-appearance of the popular Party Zone in a more appropriate location. We will be working hard to reduce the cost of attending functions during Carnival. We intend to exclude the drinks package out of the ticket cost and attendees can purchase their own drinks. As I have mentioned in my reports to members, the cost to stage our Carnival has become horrendous following ever increasing demands made on the Club by the controlling authorities. We are presently talking to a service club with a view to running a Calcutta and a “Carbine Club” type luncheon on the Friday before Cup Day. If this eventuates, we are hoping that it can become a permanent part of our Carnival activities.
Our 100 Club Membership
Several members of the 100 Club have already held very successful race day functions. As I said previously, our racing has been exceptional and these race day functions have provided 100 Club members ideal opportunity to entertain and network with their clients and friends. Once again, when we have our race dates confirmed, we will be approaching 100 Club members for renewal for the 2010/11 racing year.
With every good wish,