Flood relief race meeting for Bundaberg

Bundaberg will hold a special country race meeting to raise money for locals impacted by recent flooding, Racing Minister Steve Dickson announced today. 

Mr Dickson said a six race dual-code Queensland Sustain Country series meeting would be held on Saturday, April 6 at the Bundaberg Race Club and include a $20,000 Flood Relief Sustain Series Cup.

The Bundaberg Greyhound Racing Club will host a five race greyhound program on the same day.

“The Newman Government is doing everything possible to get the devastated Bundaberg region back to business and this race day is another way for Queenslanders to show their support,” Mr Dickson said.

“Racing Queensland Limited (RQL) and Tattsbet will donate all wagering revenue from the feature race to the Bundaberg flood recovery.

“After recently touring Bundaberg’s damaged sporting and recreation facilities I know it’s going to be a tough road to complete recovery, but I’ve already seen the determination and resilience of Queenslanders  on display, with clean-up efforts  now well underway.”

Mr Dickson said while both events would remain classified as non-TAB meetings, RQL has negotiated with Sky Racing to broadcast the $20,000 Flood Relief Sustain Series Cup feature race on Sky Racing 1.

“The meeting will also be supported with a special City to Bush event spearheaded by the Brisbane Racing Club (BRC), which will attend with its corporate partners and hold several fundraising initiatives,” he said.

RQL chairman Kevin Dixon said the flood relief meeting could not have been scheduled without the support of the Queensland industry.

“A lot of parties have come together to organise this race meeting but I would especially like to thank the Monto Race Club and president Mark Hutton for agreeing to move back their scheduled meeting one week to April 13,” Mr Dixon said.

“I would also like to thank the Gold Coast Turf Club and chief executive officer Grant Sheather for agreeing to switch to Sky Racing 2 for their broadcast of race four on April 6.

“A dual code Bundaberg race meeting combined with the City to the Bush initiative will make for a great day’s racing, and I encourage everyone to come along and support the Bundaberg clubs and community who were harshly affected by recent flooding.”

Bundaberg Racing Club president Mark McLean said the Club was overwhelmed by support when it was struck with difficult times only a couple of short years ago. 

“We see this as an opportunity to return the favour to the local community that has suffered terribly recently,” Mr McLean said.

“We are looking forward to working with the Bundaberg Greyhound Racing Club to deliver some great racing, and raise plenty of money for those that need it most.”

[ENDS] 21 February 2013

Media Contact: Anna Hilton 0408 191 192