Stony Creek racing action on Saturday

A holiday vibe will be in the air at the Evans Petroleum Saturday Races in Stony Creek this weekend, with entertainment for the whole family.
Kelly Sports will again be running supervised activities for the kids, and showbags from Country Racing Victoria will be handed out, Stony Creek Racing Club CEO Jason Benbow saying the bags proved a hit with his daughters at the track’s opening meeting on December 30.
Face painting and pony rides will add to the fun for young attendees, while everyone enjoys music from DJ Phil Napoli, hospitality and the afternoon’s racing action.
Feedback on the track was positive at the season’s first meeting, with the surface rated a Good 4 for most of the day as the new irrigation system achieved impressive results and is expected to improve further as teething issues are ironed out.
The new race day office has also been positively received.
Benbow said there was some confusion at the season’s opening meeting, with people expecting that building to still house the TAB, which no longer has an oncourse presence at most country race meetings.
However, he felt people adjusted well to the new arrangement with the Victorian Bookmakers Association providing 10 bookmakers, something that will occur again on Saturday.
“The betting ring was packed all day,” Benbow said of the first meeting at which the TAB was not present on track.
Pony rides for the kids are available at all Stony Creek meetings this season.
“Kids love to interact with the horses and there’s no better way than going on a pony ride,” Benbow said, noting the experience is available for all kids including those who have never ridden a horse.
As always, there’ll be a strong community feel at the track on Saturday, Stony Creek Football Netball Club staffing most of the bars and running its canteen, while Meeniyan Stony Creek Fire Brigade will sell raffle tickets.
The racing club runs the Stony Creek Community Fund, supporting the Meeniyan Men’s Shed and ‘Go Girls’.
Benbow stressed that involving as many local community groups as possible is the essence of Stony Creek Racing Club, offering those organisations the chance to generate awareness and raise important funds.
He expressed his appreciation to Evans Petroleum for its sponsorship, saying the company supports a lot of local events. 
While a hot day in the mid-thirties is expected on Saturday, there is no fixed temperature at which racing would be cancelled, with a wet bulb approach used, taking account of humidity as well as temperature.
Gates open at 12pm.
There’ll be further weekend action at Stony Creek on Sunday January 12 as the School Holiday Racing meeting takes place and a range of packages are still available for then.
Visit country.racing.com/stony-creek for further information and bookings.