When Dave Branch and the Cambridge Raceway board said they wanted more racing at the track, they didn’t expect it to be on Tuesday nights.
Hospice Waikato Cambridge retail manager Justine Webb-Elliott, front, waits for the business card draw which she won at the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce After 5 function at Cambridge Raceway’s Taylor Street Club. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
It went against tradition – later in the week has always been Cambridge’s spot in the calendar – so when the new season’s schedule came out, they initially approached it with some “trepidation and mixed feelings.”
Branch is hardly the guy to lay down – it was his initiative to introduce Slot racing at the track and hold New Zealand’s richest trot race ever so soon after the pandemic.
A month in from the start of Tuesday racing, Branch and his team have seen momentum building with turnover increasing week by week.
But the big problem is while off track people are betting on the races, on the track it is in front of sparse crowds.
Cambridge raceway manager Dave Branch.
“It would be fair to say that having the race meetings on Tuesdays would not have been our first choice and presented us with a significant challenge for our catering and events business, which we have been working hard to grow,” he told The News.
So, the club joined forces with Harness Racing New Zealand who initially popped Cambridge into the Tuesday calendar and is now helping out by raising awareness.
Supporters might say it is the very least they should do.
Branch would rather concentrate on the positives – he has $5000 in cash prizes to give away between now and the end of October for anyone who is at the track on a Tuesday.
Plus for those who have always fancied sitting in pole position with the starter during a meeting, seats in the mobile barrier can now be purchased.
Best seat in the house: Tuesday night racing at Cambridge features an opportunity to sit with the starter in the mobile barrier. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
“We’ve got a positive mindset about this,” said Branch who recently hosted Cambridge Chamber of Commerce members for a Business After Five at the Taylor Street Club.
“We’re always open to feedback, so if you’ve got any ideas for how we could continue to grow and improve our Tuesday meetings, please let us know,” he said.
Friday racing returns in November and looming is one big positive about racing on a Tuesday – Christmas Eve is on a Tuesday.
Best seat in the house: Tuesday night racing at Cambridge features an opportunity to sit with the starter in the mobile barrier. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
