Narrandera’s racing scene has hit the big time with next year’s Narrandera Cup officially locked in as a showcase meeting.

The Narrandera Argus can reveal the SKY racing-televised Narrandera Cup meeting on July 17 will have its prizemoney for the seven races bumped up to $225,000.

The cup 1600-metre prize has been upgraded to $40,000, up from $34,000 previously.

The benchmark 1000-metre race prize is $35,000 with five more races filling the day worth $30,000 each.

The upgrades in prizemoney is set to attract bigger and better competitors to Narrandera after last year’s Cup was cancelled during the winter COVID-19 lockdown.

NRC Racing Manager Michael Bailey was ecstatic upon hearing the news and says he can’t remember a race this big held west of Wagga Wagga.

“Narrandera races will go to the world,” Mr Bailey said.

“Sky channel will subcontract that (feed) out to other countries.

“We are looking to make it a really big special day and are looking for entertainment marquees and big screens, it’s the highlight meeting.

“We’re very thankful to Racing NSW for recognising the work we’ve done to bring the facility up to the standard to average over 10 horses a race over the last few years through what has been a tough period. Now we are looking to put on a really good show and make it a really exciting event.

“We have come up to all these standards required and facilities, track, amenities, the whole package has to be something they can sell on Sky channel and across the world.

“Prizemoney will go back into racing owners and trainers and jockeys at the right time of year as July is the virtual off-season for racing in Narrandera because of the track.

“The normal TAB meeting prize is $24,000 a race, when you get up to 30 and 40 and 50 thousand you attract bigger trainers that come across the field.

“We are so very thankful to Racing NSW and (NSW Country Racing Executive Officer) Brian Charman for getting this ahead.”

The Narrandera racecourse crew have earned the reward in a trying time that goes back long before the pandemic.

Around 40 years ago, the future of the racecourse was under a cloud of uncertainty.

Mr Bailey remembered it well and was ecstatic that Narrandera would be represented with such an important event.

“It’s been a 24-year project where there has been successive presidents and committees that worked hard,” he said.

“It’s been a long hard road and the club was virtually at the stage in the late 1980s when it looked like it was going to close, but a lot of people have done a lot of work to get to this point now it’s a feather in their cap.

“In 1999 we got race course development funding and found $150,000 ourselves and the rest was put in by Racing NSW.

“(It built) a function centre, upgraded stalls, so it has been a gradual process for presidents and committees who have all done their bit and improved the facility along the way and a lot of it was out of funding we generated ourselves and through raffles.

“Some was other development funding and we will be fixing our facility to the point where it is pretty impressive, it’s fully watered with automatic watering systems.

“This is about earning it and its about the way the track is presented. About four years ago we were the Racing NSW Country TAB club of the year.”

Narrandera racecourse will also host TAB meets on June 18 and August 13 next year.

The race club recently conducted their Annual General Meeting with new President Phil Miller taking the reins.

Lee Sweeney was confirmed as Executive Secretary and Fiona Charles as Treasurer.