Natasha Fyles will miss Chief Minister’s cup at Fannie Bay

The Chief Minister will not be attending the Chief Minister’s Cup for the third year in a row.

FOR the third year in a row the Chief Minister will not be attending the Chief Minister’s Cup at the Darwin Turf Club.

Natasha Fyles will not attend this Saturday’s race meet at Fannie Bay because she is on leave for the school holidays.

Ms Fyles and new Racing Minister Chansey Paech have both confirmed they intend to attend the Darwin Cup on August 1.

“Unfortunately I will not be attending the Chief Minister’s cup this week as I will be taking some time off with my family to coincide with the school holidays,” Ms Fyles.

“I support the racing industry, and look forward to attending other Carnival days this season.”

Former chief minister Michael Gunner did not attend the Chief Minister’s Cup in 2020 and 2021 in protest of the Darwin Turf Club’s involvement in the $12m grandstand saga.

It comes a day after the Labor government unveiled a contentious funding allocation, which steered major funding away from the Darwin Turf Club towards regional tracks.

In the new agreement, the NT government laid out a plan to push $6m in funding away from the Darwin Turf Club.

Alice Springs ($3m), Tennant Creek ($1m), Katherine ($1m) and Adelaide River ($1m) will share in the cash injection.

Plans to recoup the $12m government grant used to build the grandstand at the Fannie Bay racecourse were waived as part of the agreement.

Originally published as Natasha Fyles will miss Chief Minister’s cup at Fannie Bay