A troublesome zephyr at Saturday’s Christmas at the Races event played havoc with mutinous hemlines and hats - leaving women struggling to maintain their modesty throughout the day.
Southland Racing Club president Sean Bellew said despite the crowd being buffeted by the wind, he believed the event was the best ever.
"This is the greatest part in Southland. I know Burt Munro has more people, but that’s over a longer period of time.
"It just gets better and better and I don’t know why. It’s a magic formula and I’m just the conductor - I’m not the magician."
Mr Bellew voiced concerns in the past week, after the government announced the greyhound racing industry was "thrown under the bus" and would close in 20 months.
The one-of-a-kind Ascot Park Raceway facilities, where the Christmas event was hosted, would loose up to 50% of its income once greyhound racing stopped.
He believed it would only be a matter of time before the equine industry would draw the attention of government officials and also be "thrown under the bus".
The popular annual event’s host tents were full of groups of friends and corporate groups holding a Christmas function.
It was a place where people could enjoy their day with friends and work colleagues.
"They don’t want this to go away - we don’t want this taken off us.
"We deserve this Saturday. It’s a beautiful platform. I’m the proudest man in the park."
An estimated 6000 attended the annual event.
The tote takings were down by about $20,000 on previous years. But he would be exploring an app before next year’s event that would allow guests to load money remotely and would hopefully boost takings by about $50,000.
Emergency and security services reported minimal minor incidents during the day and the crowds were well-behaved.
- By Toni McDonald
