Grandstand opening season’s highlight

Press, 31 August 1989, Page 41

Grandstand opening season’s highlight

Greymouth correspondent The construction and opening of the new grandstand was the highlight of the Greymouth Jockey Club’s 1988-89 season, the club’s president, Jack O’Donnell told members at the recent annual meeting. The $830,000 complex was one which the club can be proud of and would prove a catalyst in attracting increasing numbers of patrons to Omoto, said Mr O’Donnell. The club recorded a profit of $9161 for the season, slightly less than that of the previous year.

Mr O’Donnell said that in the 1988-89 season oncourse turnover increased $118,012, to $458,426, and off-course turnover by a

healthy $1,734,096, to $3,898,457. “This represented an all-time high for the club and a much increased Totalisator Agency Board distribution can be expected later this year,” Mr O’Donnell said. Mr O’Donnell made special mention of the passing during the season of Mr N. E. (“Dutch”) Gillman, a popular and enthusiastic member of the committee for 28 years. Two new committee members were elected to the committee, Les Richards and Brian Smith, replacing Jim Hill and the late Mr Gillman. The secretary, Rex Fitzgerald, advised that stakes for the 1989-90 season would remain at similar

levels to last season. Feature races include the $9OOO D.B. Draught Greymouth Cup Prelude and the $lO,OOO D.B. Draught Greymouth Cup, both 2000 m races programmed for the November meeting. The open sprint, usually raced on the first day of the November meeting, has been replaced by a class two to four wins 1400 m, carrying a stake of $7OOO.

An open class sprint for $BOOO is programmed for the second day of the meeting.

The feature race at the January meeting will be the Scenicland Businesses Handicap over 2000 m. This event will again have a stake of $12,000.