General News
8 November, 2023
Off to the races
THE first Mortlake Cup in front of crowds since 2019 was run and won over the weekend. Mortlake Racing Club manager Karen Van Kempen said she was pleased to see crowds returning in force. “We had just on 1700 people through the gates, and we’ve...
THE first Mortlake Cup in front of crowds since 2019 was run and won over the weekend.
Mortlake Racing Club manager Karen Van Kempen said she was pleased to see crowds returning in force.
“We had just on 1700 people through the gates, and we’ve very happy with that number given the current financial climate,” she said.
“What we’re exceptionally pleased with was the behaviour of the crowd and how smoothly things ran on the day, with people enjoying plenty of room to move around.
“We got very positive feedback from our package holders about being so close to the racing action; they were all really happy with where their marquees were placed on the rails.”
This year’s Mortlake Cup provided the first opportunity for racegoers to get up close with the renovations and improvements the club has made over the past few years, valued at more than $250,000.
“The upgrades received an enormous amount of positive feedback, particularly regarding the newly-concreted betting shed,” Ms Van Kempen said.
“Likewise, was the large wall of televisions, which gave people great vision.
“The electrical upgrades allowed us to not have any generators, and the power coped with everything – it makes it much easier, everyone just plugged in and away they went.
“The trainers were really happy with the updates to the stalls, so all-in-all we were really happy.”
Ms Van Kempen said the club was thrilled with how the event unfolded, but would not rest on its laurels in seeking feedback to further improve the experience in the years ahead.
“Early feedback has been really positive with no negative feedback at this time, however we send a survey to everyone who purchased a ticket or a package online,” she said.
“We will take those results from everyone who responds, collate that and try to use that as a plan for how we think we can improve on what was already a really good event.”
The club also had the opportunity to surprise Mortlake’s Mick Murphy, who received a life membership for his 50 years of service presented by Country Racing Victoria chair Chas Armytage along with Mortlake Racing Club present Bruce Redpath.
“That was a surprise for Mick, and very well deserved,” Ms Van Kempen said.