The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Race Day rescheduled at Gold Coast Turf Club
Thousands of punters, feel-good vibes and perfect weather. Thursday’s rescheduled Magic Millions Race Day has been a smash success. Read about all the action from down at the track.
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WELL over 6000 punters flooded the gates at the Gold Coast Turf Club on Thursday in a major win for the Magic Millions after Saturday’s original race day was washed out.
And while things were off to a slow and steady start by the time the first of the million-dollar-plus races started the Gold Coast Turf Club was at fever pitch.
For Gold Coast Turf Club CEO Steve Lines, he couldn’t have asked for a better result.
On Wednesday he told the Bulletin 6000 people would be a strong turnout, but he would be happy with over 4000 people.
“I’m absolutely rapt,” Mr Lines said.
“There has been lots of good feedback so far and people are just thrilled to be here. It’s so great to see.
“We could be seeing numbers of close to 7000 by the end of the day.”
Mr Lines said people were “punting hard” and betting results would likely be strong.
Racegoers got to see Skirt The Law win the the Magic Millions 2YO Classic – the first Queensland horse since Houtzen to win the $2m feature race.
Racing Queensland CEO Brendan Parnell said the rescheduled race day was held on a “picture-perfect Gold Coast day”.
“This is the first time in the southern hemisphere eight one-million-dollar plus races have been held and the track is in perfect condition for it,” Mr Parnell said.
“Not only do we have all the action happening on the ground, but you’ve got this race day being beamed to pubs and clubs all around Australia and globally.”
Sydney resident Doug Oldfield, 82, was glued to the television screens in the members area, Akubra hat on head and form guide gripped firm in his hands.
The keen punter said “is the Pope a Catholic?” when asked if he would be having a bet.
It is his first time at the Magic Millions and said “it’s a wonderful atmosphere”.
Gold Coast resident Donna Nielsen said her and husband Geoff could not attend the original meet on Saturday and were “thrilled” to be there on Thursday.
When asked if she had pulled a sickie at work, Ms Nielsen laughed and said “no, it’s a real day off for me”.
Mr Nielsen said the Gold Coast “has an extra special ingredient” for its race days and the Magic Millions is one of his favourite events.
7News Gold Coast co-anchor and Gold Coast Bulletin columnist Amanda Abate said the rescheduled race day vibe was “more relaxed”.
“I’m seeing plenty of women with flat shoes which you can definitely get away with for a midweek race day”.
Ms Abate says she fortunately had a “second outfit prepared” and went shopping through the week to match five-month-old baby daughter Pia.
“The vibe is a lot more relaxed and it’s a great excuse to get dressed up again and have a glass of champagne,” Ms Abate said.
Nicole Wotherspoon, who moved to the Gold Coast from Toowoomba four months ago, said it was her first time at the Magic Millions.
“I think it’s amazing that they (organisers) were able to pull a second event together with such short notice and it looks incredible down here. It’s amazing and it’s going to be a great day out,” she said.
Rescheduled Magic Millions’ silver lining
January 18: GOLD Coast Turf Club’s Justine Oppermann says for every cloud there is a silver lining.
And she couldn’t be more apt when talking about Thursday’s rescheduled Magic Millions Day. The initial race day was canned on Saturday after a rain bomb saturated the course.
Ms Oppermann (pictured), the turf club’s executive of sales and business development manager, is celebrating “Magic 2.0” and says “it’s so good we get to do it twice”.
“We’re really proud of the team and it really proves just how strong everyone is in pulling it all together,” Ms Oppermann said.
“We are really looking forward to putting on another great show for the Gold Coast.”
On Wednesday it was all systems go at the turf club with hospitality staff, groundskeepers and event officials in preparation mode.
Head chef Ben Sidebotham said kitchen staff would normally have 12 weeks to put an event like the Magic Millions together – but had just three days to make it happen.
“Because the races on Saturday weren’t cancelled till about 2pm, everyone still ate, which means we are doing everything from scratch,” Mr Sidebotham said.
“It’s been an absolute madhouse trying to bring this together.”
And what does a “madhouse” look like in terms of food preparation?
1000 dozen oysters, 500kg of prawns and 600kg of meat.
“Fortunately I have good relationships with the suppliers because it was no easy feat getting it all ready to be delivered,” he said.
The chef said he was used to “curveballs” and was remaining calm under pressure for the meet, which has already locked in “very strong booking numbers” for its seafood buffet.
Gold Coast Turf Club CEO Steve Lines said the preparation for the event had been a “monumental team effort”.
“Version two (of the race day) should be really wonderful and beautiful weather is forecast ” Mr Lines said.
Mr Lines said he was expecting crowds of “4000 people minimum”.
“6000 is a great day so we are hoping for somewhere in between.
“While Saturday was absolutely pumping we still think it’s going to be a brilliant turnout.
“To put it in perspective – Thursday will now offer a world-first. Every single race will be a million-dollars-plus.
Mr Lines said the track was in an “ideal condition” for the race day.
“We had a little bit more rain on Wednesday but it’s looking positive.”
Sally Mallyon, wife of jockey Andrew Mallyon (pictured), said the rescheduled race day would “still offer the Magic Millions atmosphere everyone knows and loves”.
“It will be great to see everyone back down at the turf club who were out here on Saturday.”
The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Race Day will be held on Thursday at the Gold Coast Turf Club.
Gates are open at 11am. The first race starts at 1:20pm.
General admission is free and Saturday’s ticket holders will be able to re-enter for free.
A free house beer or wine will be given to Saturday’s ticket holders, as well as a $10 betting voucher.
Turf Club boss on Magic Millions 2.0 hope: ‘Can’t control weather gods’
January 16: GOLD Coast Turf Club boss Steve Lines is waiting with bated breath ahead of Thursday’s rescheduled Magic Millions Race Day, saying he “won’t be the happiest bloke” if the weather doesn’t play ball.
The meet was called off after just two races on Saturday after an unexpected deluge of rain made the track unfit to continue.
Mr Lines said stewards, stakeholders and event officials would need to review the situation if more wet weather set in before or on Thursday.
At deadline on Monday, showers were predicted throughout the evening with possible showers on Tuesday. Wednesday’s forecast is mostly sunny while Thursday – the day of the meet – is also forecast as sunny.
“As per Saturday’s meet, we always undertake a detailed process and review before deeming the track unfit for racing,” Mr Lines said.
“It’s not just a few people in a room. We work with everyone on the track including getting feedback from jockeys and stewards to make the right decision.”
Mr Lines said “no one can control the weather gods” and if Thursday’s meet was cancelled for a second time “I reckon I won’t be the happiest bloke”.
“All we can do now is hope for the best. But if the forecast is right, it will be a perfect day of racing.”
When asked if there were concerns about a bottleneck situation at the entry gates for original ticketholders who want to re-attend on Thursday, Mr Lines said the ticketing was all online and there will be no issue.
On Sunday, Mr Lines shut down claims the wet turf was caused by a “rogue sprinkler” and says a bucketing of 20.5mm of rain was the cause.
“We were expecting just 1mm of rain but obviously what had happened was completely unforeseen,” Mr Lines told the Bulletin.
Gold Coast Turf Club chairman Brett Cook addressed the speculation over the wet track by posting on social media.
“To all the keyboard warriors listening to false reports. The major issue for jockeys (on Saturday) was visibility,” he wrote.
Mr Cook then referenced a photo in the post, showing low visibility from the weather: “These photos of race 1 tell the story. It started to rain again like this before race 3 so game over...you can’t stop the narks but have your facts right. Yes the track was rain affected but they couldn’t see.”
Since remodelled as The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions People’s Day, Thursday’s meet will be free for general admission and ticketholders from Saturday’s washout will get a free beer and a $10 betting voucher.
Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said to have a meet with every single race worth $1 million or more would be a first for Australia, and especially in a mid-week slot.
“It’s definitely a first for this country,” Mr Bowditch said.
On whether the reschedule would see weekend crowd numbers, Mr Bowditch said the Gold Coast was still in holiday mode.
“It’s holiday vibes, the Gold Coast is still on holidays, families are still about. There was a lot of interest in Saturday’s meeting – and many of those people have a genuine interest in the meeting to stick around for it. They are extending their trips or making a plan to come back for it.”
Mr Bowditch welcomed the free general admission and incentives for Saturday’s ticket holders, saying Thursday’s meet “has a great feel about it”.
“There’s some of the best horse flesh in the world running around – that brings people. The best jockeys, the best trainers are participating, it will be a world-class race day.”
Magic Millions 2.0 is on – what you need to know
January 15: GENERAL admission entry will be free for a rescheduled Magic Millions Race Day this Thursday – and ticketholders to the washed out Saturday will get a free beer and bet.
The multimillion-dollar race day was cancelled on Saturday after an unforgiving 20.5mm of rain rolled in over the Gold Coast Turf Club.
But in a major win for Gold Coast punters, the turf club is offering everyone who still has their ticket from attending Saturday’s meeting, which was cancelled after two races, a free beer and a $10 betting voucher.
Magic Millions co-owner Gerry Harvey said the meeting being reschedule was a “blessing in disguise”.
“If we had continued on the day it wouldn’t have been nearly as good as it will be this Thursday,” Mr Harvey said.
“From a punters and racing point of view, it will be a better race day with better conditions.
“We are delighted. Ultimately it’s more ideal for the punters, the jockeys and the horses”.
Only the first two races of the day were run before Racing Queensland officials deemed the track unfit for further action due to the deluge.
Gold Coast Turf Club CEO Steve Lines has refuted claims the wet track was caused by a rogue sprinkler after track curator Nevesh Ramdhani suspected one was partly behind Saturday’s debacle. In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Mr Ramdhani referred to a major wet spot on one of the turns, which saw stewards put up a Soft (7) for the majority of the track and a Heavy (9) for that section on the turn.
4000+ FACES: Qld’s ultimate race day galleries
But after race one, it was quickly downgraded to a Heavy (10) for the entire track.
Mr Ramdhani, who said he was not 100 per cent sure what caused the wet spot on the turn to appear, maintained he was let down by the forecast, which predicted no more than 1mm of rain on Saturday.
After copping criticism over the firmness of the track seven days earlier, Gold Coast curators put 44mm of irrigation on the track over the week.
Mr Lines said the wet weather had caused a “whole of track problem” and “a fine misty rain sits on the grass surface which can cause the horses to slip”.
He said the sprinkler theory was “pure speculation” and that the track on Saturday morning was a Soft (6) or (7) and was “primed and ready” for the race day.
“We were expecting just 1mm of rain but obviously what had happened was completely unforeseen,” Mr Lines said.
The decision to cancel the event threw one of the richest race days on the Australian calendar into chaos, however, organisers and the Turf Club scrambled to come up with a solution.
It was confirmed that the rest of the races would be moved to Thursday and on Sunday Turf Mr Lines said general admission would be open to the public and original ticket holders would be able to re-attend for free.
Tickets for general admission were previously $50 and half price for early birds.
Mr Lines said national bookmakers were likely to take a hit from the cancellation of the event on Saturday, which was tipped to generate a record $90 million in betting turnover.
Last year the meeting broke Magic Millions Race Day records with more than $80 million in betting turnover.
“I’m hoping we can surpass the $80 million from last year. It will be a challenge,” Mr Lines said.
“If the day went ahead as per normal on Saturday it would have been the biggest in its history, with 25,000 people in attendance.”
Mr Lines says event organisers were now shifting their focus to preparing for Thursday’s event, and that packages, timings and a new race schedule would hopefully be updated by Monday evening.”
Eight races of the event’s $11.75 million race day are slated for Thursday’s reschedule; including the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic and the $2 million Magic Millions 3YO Guineas.
Calls from organisers to make Thursday a public holiday for the event were quickly shut down by both the State and Council.
Racing and Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace, when asked by the Bulletin if she would consider declaring Thursday a public holiday to assist with a rescheduled Magic Millions turnout, said: “I’m the Industrial Relations Minister so I have the power - and this is a great event and great race day. But I will not be declaring Thursday a public holiday. Those public holidays are statutorily noticed 12 months in advance.”
Acting Mayor Donna Gates urged any Gold Coaster who could to attend Thursday’s rescheduled race day but said the council would not back calls by organisers for a public holiday.
“Our council simply couldn’t support this Thursday being declared a public holiday, in lieu of the Magic Millions wash out on the weekend,” she said.
“Public holidays have huge impacts on service delivery and small business.
“The best way to support the Millions is to get trackside Thursday if your work schedule allows and, if not, spend a few dollars at a local small business.”
When washed out Magic Millions race day will be held
January 14: After a disruptive day of rain at the racetrack, the Magic Millions Race Day has been officially called off by event organisers.
Racing Queensland confirmed at around 1:40pm the event was cancelled as showers continued to roll in over the Gold Coast turf club, making the track unfit for further races.
The washed out Gold Coast Magic Millions has been rescheduled for this coming Thursday, the Bulletin has been told.
Eight of the 10 races for the $11.75 million race day, one of the highlights of the Australian summer, were unable to be run on Saturday after it was called off due to a sodden track.
A source has revealed Thursday has been locked in to run the eight races - including the two $2 million features races - at the Gold Coast Turf Club.
Disappointed racing fans followed each other out of the front gates before the due commencement of the fourth race.
Others fortunate to grab sets under cover stuck around to finish their drinks and watch other races around the country on big screens.
This comes after multiple delays throughout the day as the track was assessed and deemed “heavy”.
Punters who purchased general admission tickets for Saturdays race day will likely be able to attend Thursday’s re-run, free of charge.
Gold Coast Turf Club CEO Steve Lines confirmed that the turf club was “working out the details” on Saturday afternoon and looking at making entry free for those who were washed out over the weekend.
“The plan is that anyone who has a ticket for today will be able to enter for free on Thursday,” he said.
Colleagues Justin Diffey and Nick Watson arrived at the racetrack just after the schedule had been abandoned, but the pair had tickets and weren’t going to waste a perfectly good day off work.
“We rocked up after and came anyway,” Mr Watson said.
Mr Diffey said he “felt weird” entering the venue as crowds of people exited.
“We have some mates here so we’ve come to have a drink anyway,” he said.
“We got the day off work so may as well.”
The pair, all dressed up, weren’t going to let a bit of rain spoil their day and enjoyed a drink together while watching other broadcasts in Australia.
“It’s bullsh*t”, punter Rachel Ward said of the cancellation as she finished the last sips of her drink with friends.
“Its very disappointing,” friend Lauren Simmington said.
“I am really sad because I missed out last time because of Covid.
“We (Ms Simmington and other friend Cameron Sleap) travelled all the way up from Newcastle in New South Wales for the occasion.
“It’s my first Magic Millions, I was so excited,” Mr Sleap said.
The group said they would be leaving the racecourse soon and heading to the pub.
Girlfriends Natika Birmingham, Erin Cooper, Tayla Crowther and Amy Gear have came to the event for the past five years and love the “annual girls race day”.
“It’s been very wet today,” Ms Cooper said.
“It’s always a fun day but the weather today just sucks.
“We’re usually the last ones leaving,” Ms Gear said as the group had their last drinks before leaving the turf club.
The group said they would have loved to see some more marquees and grounding at the venue, and a more waterproof environment.
“The atmosphere is a little bit different this year but that’s because everyone is trying to get under the shelter,” Ms Birmingham said.
“We do love a Magic Millions race day and we always come back and we will be back next year.”
EARLIER AT 12.30PM: The Magic Millions Race Day has been disrupted after being “indefinitely” paused due to heavy rain drenching the Gold Coast Turf Club track.
The Queensland Racing and Integrity Commission said on Saturday around 12:30pm that the punters would have to wait to watch the remaining 9 races, after only one group had gotten out of the gates so far that morning.
Cheers erupted just before 1pm as guests in the members stand were informed Race 2, The Magic Millions 900m The Debut would go ahead as showers eased.
“The track had been reassessed as heavy,” club staff said over the speaker.
The racing surface is due to be irrigated during the week.
EARLIER AT 10AM: Saturdays Magic Millions race day was a particularly special occasion for this couple.
Husband and wife Stephanie and Troy Martin travelled south from Mount Cotton to celebrate the anniversary of meeting each other 15 years ago.
“We actually met at the Magic Millions in 2008 15 years ago,” Mrs Martin said describing the moment the pair fell in love at the historic event.
“I was working on the Magic Millions fashions on the field.
“I got the best prize on the day which was my husband.
“I gave her my card,” Mr Martin said as the pair laughed reminiscing.
Now parents to two children who were left at home “with nanny and poppy”, the couple enjoyed the first race day together in eight years.
Mrs Martin wowed punters with her soleil and moon themed two-piece outfit, starry-night themed headpiece and royal blue Steve Madden Heels.
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Originally published as The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Race Day rescheduled at Gold Coast Turf Club
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