Boxing Day Races to transform into summer beach party

It’s almost time for one of the most popular events on the Warwick racing calendar.

Brett Baker's maiden Accumulated won it's first race at the Warwick Boxing Day Races.

HORSE RACING: Allman Park is set to get a beach makeover when horses take to the track for the annual Boxing Day races.

Warwick Turf Club president Phil Grant said track preparations were going as planned in the lead up to the race.

“By the look of it, the weather is going to be fantastic for the races next Thursday,” Grant said.

“In fact, we’ll be looking to put a couple of inches of rain or recycled water on it to make sure it is ready to go.”

With nominations set to open tomorrow, Grant is expecting a strong contention of local trainers to enter the race.

“Whether we get local horses really all depends on if they have their horses set right for this race meeting,” he said.

“Although I would expect that we’ll see probably 10 to 12 local horses on the track.

“This will be one of only two TAB meetings on Boxing Day in Queensland, and we’re expecting that there will be a lot of people to nominate to try and get some extra prize money.”

With record breaking heat impacting the Southern Downs, measures have been taken to ensure horse and jockey safety on the day.

“The horses are our main priority and we’re not going to let them race in extreme heat,” he said.

“We have a couple of chilling bins around that we put ice in that we can hose the horses down throughout the day.

“There is also extra water and ice around the facilities for the horses to remain cooler.”

If conditions peak, alternate race plans are in place according to Grant.

“So long as it doesn’t get into the 40s, we should still be able to run the races as scheduled,” he said.

“The races can be brought forward earlier in the morning or we can push them to later in the afternoon if it is to hot.”

While safety measures are being taken on the track, the summer fun is being embraced off the track.

“We’ve got a beach party theme going this year, which will hopefully attract a diverse crowd on the day,” he said.

“It’ll be the first time that we’ve had a theme for our Boxing Day races, but we have had themed race days in the past.

“It’s always a popular race day with the younger crowd, we get a lot of people who go away for university or work that come back for the holidays.”

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