Groups invited to celebrate Melbourne Cup Day with camel racing in Newcastle

Camels, not horses, will race in Newcastle on Melbourne Cup Day this year, with businesses, clubs and other groups invited to the racecourse at the Newcastle Jockey Club on Tuesday, November 4, to enjoy a novel and fun day at the races, with the $5 entry price benefitting the Ronald McDonald House charity.

The irreverent event from 11am-6pm will feature a series of short races by the unpredictable dromedaries, which can gallop at up to 40km/h but can decide at any moment to stop or change direction, guaranteeing a day of laughs.

Melbourne Cup races featuring more conventional horses in the Victorian capital will be broadcast on screens at the Newcastle Jockey Club, with the event also offering live music, market stalls, Melbourne Cup and camel sweeps, tote facilities and prizes for the best dressed female and male racegoers.

Packages for groups are available in the Member’s Lounge including a welcome drink, bistro lunch voucher and entry to the post Cup after-party from 2.30pm.

A package in the Newcastle Jockey Club’s flagship venue, the Chevals Restaurant, offering panoramic views across the racecourse, is available including a three-course lunch, welcome drink and the post Cup after party with live band.

“The Melbourne Cup Day camel races in Newcastle are a great example of the fun and engaging events the city can host,” said Ms Georgia Lazzari, Business Events and Conventions Developer for the Newcastle Convention Bureau. The bureau helps promote the greater Hunter region as a business events destination along with the Hunter Valley Wine & Tourism Association and Destination Port Stephens as part of the $270,000 Altogether Perfect campaign.

Newcastle was named last month by the International Festivals & Events Association as one of only six ‘World Festival and Event’ cities in the world in recognition of the city’s success in uniting local communities to host major events.

Noted as a centre for culture, commerce, sport and its famous beaches, Newcastle is Australia’s seventh largest and second oldest city and is an easy, two hour drive north of Sydney, with regular Sydney Trains services also available to Newcastle for those who choose not to drive.

Launched this year, the $270,000 ‘Altogether Perfect’ campaign is the name for the collaborative marketing efforts undertaken by regional partners in the Hunter Region to attract and secure business events tourism. Backed by Newcastle Convention Bureau, Hunter Valley Wine & Tourism Association and Destination Port Stephens and supported by dynamic industry operators, the joint marketing group attends trade fairs and sales missions and host visits to the region by key conference organisers and media to build the appeal of the Hunter region as a premier business tourism destination. The campaign received funding through the Regional Visitor Economy Fund (RVEF) which is managed and administered by the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia