GALLERY: All the fashion and fun at the Alice Springs Cup 2022

More than 1500 punters passed through the Pioneer Park gates on Sunday for the pinnacle of Alice Springs’ racing calendar. SEE THE PHOTOS.

MORE than 1500 punters passed through the Pioneer Park gates on Sunday for the pinnacle of Alice Springs’ racing calendar.

Fascinators and Akubras were among the fashion mix as Centralians and interstate racing enthusiasts made the most of the May Day long weekend.

Raelene Ohlson, the Alice Springs Turf Club chief executive marketing and hospitality, said the family-friendly event was always special for locals and visitors alike.

“The people in the Red Centre are absolutely beautiful,” she said, speaking trackside on Sunday.

“It’s all about connections and friendships. We party hard and we work hard, so this is a really good opportunity to catch up with friends, old and new.” Entrants of the Fashions on the Field competition turned heads with its celebration of the age-old tradition of trackside style.

This nine-event card at Pioneer Park included six pop-up bars and live performances taking the party into night.

“We’ve got two bands, and we’re driving a prime mover onto the track. People will be partying into the early hours,” said Ms Ohlson.

Three-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Glen Boss was among the notable faces attending the long-weekend event.

Ms Ohlson said she expected more people to be trackside than last year’s event thanks to the Turf Club’s renewed focus on attracting interstate guests and giving punters the experience they desired.

“We’ve really tried to cater to everyone’s needs,” she said.

“We’ve got more pop-up bars, we’ve promoted the fact that you can bring your own food, so people can have that family picnic in a nice, relaxed environment.”

Red Centre tourism boost coming

THE Red Centre is looking ahead to a bumper weekend with the running of the Ladbrokes Alice Springs Cup Day and Central Australia’s economy is expected to reap the rewards.

From Parrtjima to the Finke Race this year, the Centre’s tourism industry has already shown signs of a strong recovery in 2022 post-pandemic.

Hospitality NT chief executive Alex Bruce said the Alice Springs Cup would help to drive the industry’s recovery further.

“There will be a lot of support for the track on Sunday,” Mr Bruce said.

“Australians still aren’t choosing to travel as much internationally this year so we will see more interstate travellers decide to put the Alice Springs Cup on their bucket list and get it ticked off.

“Partjima kicked it off and now it’s head down, bum up in our industry for the next couple of months.”

The $110,000 Ladbrokes Cup Carnival is the Alice Springs Turf Club’s signature event and is the largest race for prize money in Central Australia.

Mr Bruce said the tourist season could lead a strong recovery in Alice but there were still issues that needed to be addressed.

“It’s going to be a strong tourist season in the Red Centre,” he said.

“We think there is a very strong recovery ahead for the Territory but the two issues that need to be tackled are workforce shortage and crime.”

A spokeswoman for Desert Palms Alice Springs said the Alice Springs Cup had attracted a lot business this tourist season.

“We are fully booked the whole week already for it,” she said.

Alice Lodge Backpackers manager Alicja Bedford said the resort had been in high demand in 2022.

“We’ve been at 85 per cent to 100 per cent occupancy since the beginning of Parrtjima, through school holidays and Easter break, and the same occupancy rates carry through until Finke Race,” Ms Bedford said.

In 2022, the Finke Desert Race will also coincide with a mobile video game that will be published on Google play and the App Store.The video game is predicted to raise awareness nationally of Central Australia and events in the region.