Birdsville races delayed a day due to wet weather in Queensland outback

Punters flocking to the iconic Birdsville outback races are likely to be left frustrated after wet weather has forced organisers to take drastic action and reschedule part of the event.

The Birdsville Races won’t be going ahead on Friday due to wet weather that’s impacted the dirt tracks, rendering them unusable on the first day of the annual race.

With tops of just 4mm falling on Thursday, the iconic race, which was initially locked in for September 2 and 3, is now being pushed back a day, with Saturday’s events still scheduled to go ahead as planned.

The Birdsville Race Club and Racing Queensland are in discussions about whether Friday’s races will be moved to Sunday or an extended session will be held on Saturday.

Saturday’s pre-planned events will still go ahead including the Birdsville Cup.

Gary Brook, Vice President of the Birdsville Race Club, said spirits were still high in Birdsville following the unseasonal inclement weather that’s paused the races.

“Unfortunately, the weather has come into play over the past day and we’re disappointed to have to delay the start of the races, but we’re eagerly looking forward to the sun coming out tomorrow and a successful Saturday program,” he said.

“Spirits remain high in Birdsville as thousands of punters flock into town. The pub is bustling and there’s loads of fun and frivolity as we look forward to a great few days or racing and entertainment. The good news is we have sunny skies ahead of us, so after a day of forecasted sunshine tomorrow, we’ll be back on track and running on Saturday.”

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted a chance of showers today of up to 2mm most likely throughout the morning, which should leave enough time to dry out the tracks in preparation for a Saturday start.

The rest of the weekend is set to be dry and sunny, as per usual for the outback town.

According to BOM, yesterday was the first time the town has seen rain in almost a month when 8mm fell on August 5.