Health authorities green light Derby Day crowds, 5000 people trackside

Crowds will be back trackside at Derby Day, the first major event in Melbourne’s vaccinated economy, but who can go and where do you get a ticket?

Flemington’s famous front lawn will be awash with colour post-lockdown excitement on Derby Day with crowds approved on all four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Derby Day will be included as a trial event with up to 5500 racegoers to descend on Flemington on Saturday, October 30.

Tickets go on sale for Derby Day from 3pm Monday through Ticketek.

Cup Day sales start from 10am Tuesday, with Oaks and Stakes day allocations becoming available from 10am Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Any remaining across all four days will become available from 3pm Friday.

Victoria Racing Club chief executive Steve Rosich welcomed the opportunity for the Melbourne Cup Carnival to form part of the state’s reopening.

“We’re really fortunate to be able to host crowds on all four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, albeit in restricted numbers and be part of the state’s reopening,” Rosich said.

“There’s been general excitement in the community about the state’s reopening and the Melbourne Cup Carnival is now intrinsically part of that and there’s certainly plenty of interest in the four days and trying to secure access to what is a limited availability of tickets.”

With a reduced crowd capacity of up to 5,500 on Derby Day the allocation will be adjusted, with VRC members receiving greater than 70 per cent (over 3,800) of the available tickets.

Remaining tickets will be shared between owners of competing horses, VRC corporate partners and sponsors, and the 500 general admission reserved seats.

“It’s been fundamental to us to reward members who have been financially and emotionally supporting the club and they have secured that right via their membership and deserve that and we have had to balance it out with clearly other stakeholders, including the general public, given the limited numbers available,” Rosich said.

“All patrons on course secure a reserved seat, including the general admission allocation (and their) reserved seat includes access to the front lawn.”

More than 5000 punters will be trackside for the first event of the Melbourne Cup Carnival after health authorities backed a bid to open up Derby Day to crowds.

The event next Saturday will be the first major event to take part in the “vaccinated economy” trial, which also includes the Play On Victoria gig at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl that night.

Victorians’ race to get vaccinated has opened the door to the trial, with the state expected to hit its target for the next stage of reopening about the same time – 80 per cent of people over the age of 16 being fully vaccinated.

More than 5000 people will be allowed trackside at Derby Day but most will be VRC members. Picture: Jay Town

Flemington will use the opportunity to iron out any kinks in vaccine passport checks ahead of Melbourne Cup Day on November 2, with crowds at Oaks Day and Stakes Day also all but assured as part of the national plan at 80 per cent for double dosed Australians.

Chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton approved the trial on the basis there would be allocated seating, seated service of food and drink, and mandatory mask wearing — while not eating and drinking.

The course will also be split into separate zones with dedicated course entrances, to enable contact tracers to better manage cases if they were to emerge down the track.

Minister Industry Support and Recovery, and Racing, Martin Pakula, said the trial was critical to ensure that larger scale events could safely manage crowds.

The majority of tickets will likely once again be reserved for Victoria Racing Club members. Picture: Vince Caligiuri.

“We’re testing the systems and support that will be needed for events as we open up further, and it’s great that we’re able to now bring Derby Day into these larger-scale trials,” he said.

The Play On Victoria gig at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, for about 4000 people, will feature Baker Boy, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Amyl and The Sniffers, Vika & Linda, and Grace Cummings and her band.

Strict entrance measures will be in place for the music event and the races.

At Flemington, racegoers will have to prove vaccination status through their Covid-19 digital certificate, which could be displayed through the Service Victoria app, Medicare app, or smartphone wallet.

For those without a smart phone, a printed version of their certificate or immunisation history statement will be required.