Pakenham-Berwick
Connecting people and communities Wednesday, 25 January, 2017
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The night of nights The rich Gippsland Carnival, launched on the beach at Seaspray late last year, comes to Warragul on Saturday night for the big cup meeting.
By Bridget Scott The Warragul Greyhound Racing Club (WGRC) will host its night of nights this week, with a magnificent line-up of greyhounds set to compete for The Endeavour Locksmiths Group 2 Warragul Cup (460m). A high-class field of sprinters from right across the country will compete for the $47,000 first prize on Saturday 28 January, and aim to chase down a share of more than $800,000 in prize money being distributed throughout the Gippsland Carnival. The Gippsland Carnival is a new initiative incorporating the Sale, Warragul, Cranbourne and Traralgon greyhound clubs, linking together their four cups, with a Gippsland Champion Sprinter and Gippsland Champion Stayer
crowned at the end of the carnival. The stayers will show their strength over Warragul’s 680m course on cup night as they vie for points to earn the title of the carnival’s top stayer. Warragul-born Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy was announced as the ambassador for the carnival and attended the launch in the Gippsland coastal town of Seaspray. “The carnival brings the region together for the first time with all the races linked and shines a light on Gippsland,“ Murphy said. “Coming from Warragul, I’ve been to the track many times and would encourage anyone in the area on 28 January to get along to the cup meeting because it will be a fantastic night of greyhound rac-
ing with plenty of entertainment off the track.” Warragul’s feature night will be held as a twilight meeting followed by Cranbourne taking centre stage 11 February and Traralgon wrapping up the carnival with a grand finale on 25 March. If the entertainment on the track isn’t enough to keep you occupied, there will be plenty more happening which will cater for all members of the family. An alcohol-free area will feature Greyhound Adoption Program volunteers with their dogs to meet and pat, a special kids zone with Turbo the mascot, live entertainment, local food trucks and Greyhound Racing Victoria’s own spin on the Fashions on the Field. With an underlying theme of
’flying colours’, Colours on Course will give everyone a chance to win a prize for best dressed, with judges looking for the most stylish representation of the colours and patterns of all eight greyhounds. Families can also go in the draw to win a trip to Disneyland, by getting their ‘passport’ stamped at two of the four cups. Full details on all packages at gippslandcarnival.com. au. Greyhound racing generates about $40 million for the Gippsland economy, and employs hundreds of local people from the area. Across Victoria, greyhound racing makes a substantial contribution of more than $300 million to the economy, employing more than 3000 people and generating $1.8 billion in wagering.
Warragul-born captain of the Western Bulldogs Bob Murphy AFL team is an ambassador for the Gippsland Carnival and encourages people to get to the track on Saturday night.
COMING TO WARRAGUL THIS
SATURDAY 28 JANUARY LOGAN PARK, WARRAGUL | GATES OPEN 5PM | FREE ENTRY
Family packages $30 | Club Challenge Package $150 (15 people) | VIP packages $95per person
12337685-KC4-17