Castlepoint Beach Races

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Event Details:

Castlepoint Racing Club Annual Beach Meet, where picturesque Castlepoint comes alive to the sound of thundering hooves, keenly cheered along by a large crowd of punters, picnickers and spectators. Equalisator betting over 8 Races. Other activities include children's games, a fun Fashion Parade where participants are chosen from the crowd - "The Best Dressed for a Day at the Castlepoint Races", Lucky Race Book Numbers and other entertainment, all within the delightful ambience of Castlepoint. Horse Racing at Castlepoint dates back to the first days of European settlement in the district. Thomas Guthrie, the first white settler in the area is said to have encouraged sporting evenings on the beach in front of his station, with the station hands taking part in various athletic contests. If there were schooners in the bay the sailors would also come ashore, and contest the running, jumping and field events. Needless to say, the station hands, all of whom owned their own horses, also liked to wager with their fellow workers as to the relative merits of their horses, and bottles of rum were laid as wagers for the horse races along the Castlepoint beachfront. As time went on these races became more organised, and picnic days were held on the beach, with horses from the whole district lining up in a series of hastily organised, and not very well documented, races. Just when the first organised races were actually held along the waterside at Castlepoint is difficult to tell. The only hint of the first races is in a newspaper report in 1875, which reported that the scheduled meeting at Castlepoint had not been held. There is, however, a good record of the first organised meeting of the Whareama races, on Boxing Day, 1872, and it is from this meeting that the Castlepoint Racing Club dates itself. The Club became the first in New Zealand to use equalisator betting facilities, now regarded as a quaint feature of the meet, and the station hacks have been joined by horses with more aristocratic bloodlines.

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