The action will be fast and furious in the bookie’s ring at the Laura Races on Saturday as punters try to find a winner. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Laura only gets to host one race meeting every year, but it will be standing room only trackside on Saturday as thousands of punters frock up for one of Cape York’s must-do social events.
The fields for the five-race program will take shape when nominations close at 11am today (24 June), but Forgiato, the winner of the 2024 Laura Cup, will not be aiming for a three-peat on Saturday after the 8-year-old gelding was retired from racing.
The $15,000 Laura Cup (1450 metres) is the feature race on the program, with the Laura Bracelet sprint over 1000m also tipped to attract some quality runners.
Laura Amateur Turf Club secretary Jenni Sorensen said there had already been strong interest from trainers and riders ahead of the 28 June meeting.
“We’ve seen a lot of interest from the trainers and from jockeys,” she told Cape York Weekly.
“We obviously won’t know how many noms we’ve got until Tuesday morning, but we’re expecting some good fields.
Ms Sorensen said the annual fashions on the field competition would also be a major drawcard for fashionistas aiming to leave their mark on the event.
“Fashions on the field is just huge,” she said.
“Everybody dresses up to the nines – it’s amazing.”
Ms Sorensen added she believed the annual race meeting was “the social event of the Cape”, a title club president Phil Holloway said was fitting.
“It’s an iconic event that’s been going now for 128 years, and people from all over the Cape enjoy coming there,” he said.
“We have to limit the number of people because of the facilities we’ve got, but we don’t have any problem in filling the whole place.”
Gates open at 10am on Saturday, with the barriers scheduled to fly open in the first race at 1pm.
