Country races are very different to big city events, says Barwon MP Roy Butler, and they are far more central to the social, cultural and economic life of regional towns.

There’s been a string of last-minute and disputed cancellations for smaller race meetings in recent years, with big impact on volunteer organisers and their communities.

After a controversial decision by stewards to pull the plug on Louth last month, Mr Butler has launched a petition that is gaining widespread support.

It calls on the NSW Government to intervene with Racing NSW to allow country race clubs to appeal race cancellations.

“Some bush racing clubs - and often the entire town - plan all year for the event and cancellations at the eleventh hour by racing stewards often mean that a lot of time, planning, food and money is wasted,” Mr Butler said.

“Last month, at a pre-dawn meeting, the Louth Races were called off.

“Despite a forecast of sunshine, the racing steward refused to reassess the track later that morning.

“By the time the races were scheduled to start, the track had dried out, but the decision had already been made.

“The community ended up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct costs and lost revenue from the thousands of visitors who come for the races.

“There was a string of cancelled country races in 2023. But the local race committees were given little or no opportunity to make tracks safe in the leadup to the events.”

The track did not pass inspection at Louth in early August, with no delays allowed. [IMAGE: facebook]

Quambone’s Marthaguy Picnic Race Meeting was one of those to fall foul of the steward’s call in 2023, a decision that was made three days out but organisers at the time were not given approval to perform remedial works that they were convinced would have allayed any concerns.

Race Club President Simon Turnbull says he thinks having the right to appeal is “just common sense and should already be in place.”

He says that while their experience with stewards has improved, he believes the judgement on track safety should take more account of local knowledge.

“Our main priority is the jockeys and the horses,” he said.

“But often our members know the soil, the weather patterns, and we’re conscious that those making the decisions sometimes don’t have the experience.

“If we think there’s reason to appeal, why can’t we ask for a delay?”

Volunteer committees like the one at Quambone work hard all year to stage their single race day. [IMAGE SUPPLIED]

Mr Turnbull says that currently the clubs can be compensated up to $4000 on presentation of receipts, but that it does not make up for the huge effort leading up to these events or the loss of income and reputation.

“It takes years to build your following and get your numbers up.

“If people think the races can be cancelled at the drop of a hat they might think twice before they get in their car.”

Mr Butler is urging country residents to sign the petition, which can be found on his website.

“The primary consideration is the safety of the jockeys and the horses, but the stewards need to be called to account for the decisions they make regarding the condition of the track, given the impact it can have on a community.

“We call on the NSW government to intervene to allow communities to appeal Racing NSW decisions and seek compensation when races are cancelled unnecessarily.”