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By Mark Brassel

One of the biggest social events in the Casino area is Beef Week which kicked off yesterday with 10 days of festivities and celebrations.

There’s everything from a busking competition, cattle spectacular, bush poets show, golf comp, breakfast with the butchers, sausage judging, pie-eating contest, cow pat lotto and a whip cracking competition.

There'll be some great racing action at Casino on Friday. Image by Trackside Photography

There’s even the world’s largest meat try up for grabs!

Of course, one of the features of Beek Week is Casino Racing Club’s race meeting on Friday.

“It’s our Casino Returned Services Memorial Club Beef Week Cup Day – it’s a Racing NSW Country Showcase meeting and coincides with all the Casino Beef Week festivities,” said Renee Opryszko, Secretary-Manager of Casino Racing Club.

“The festival runs for 10 days at the end of May each year and celebrates all things beef.

“Gates open at 11am with an eight-race TAB card featuring the Casino RSM Club Beef Week Cup over 1400m worth $45,000. Also on the program is the $50,000 Super Maiden Showcase Plate.

“And being a Country Showcase meeting we will have more than $285,000 in total prizemoney on offer.

“There will be a Fashions on the Field for Best Dressed Lady and first prize is a $1000 travel voucher from Casino Travel Shoppe.

“We have live entertainment, full TAB facilities, bar and food outlets with a courtesy bus running to and from the event.”

Luckily, Casino has missed much of the severe flooding and extreme weather events on the Mid North Coast and the Northern Rivers regions.

“We’ve hardly received any rain, and the forecast is for good weather,” said Renee Opryszko.

“But our hearts go out to everyone affected by the wild wet weather that has hit all these places in northern NSW.”

Late last week Racing NSW announced a substantial emergency financial assistance package totalling $650,000 to support racing participants in Northern NSW.

The immediate financial assistance aims to help those affected by significant disruptions, including cancelled race meetings and the inability to train horses due to unsafe conditions.

The assistance is structured to provide targeted and practical support whereby $500,000 will be distributed directly to trainers across the impacted regions.

The funds will be allocated based on the number of horses unable to compete due to the weather.

An additional $150,000 will be provided to jockeys and apprentice jockeys in the region who have lost opportunities to earn prizemoney due to the disruption of scheduled race meetings.

Racing NSW has also worked collaboratively with Manning Valley Race Club and the NSW Trainers Association to assist the most severely affected trainers in Taree.

Meanwhile, Muswellbrook Race Club will kick off winter racing next Sunday with their feature event the $30,000 Shorty Cribb Aberdeen Cup (1280m) supported by the $30,000 Greg Cribb Memorial Red Crown (900m).

UPCOMING NSW COUNTRY RACE MEETINGS
Monday: Bathurst
Tuesday: Albury
Thursday: Armidale
Friday: Casino, Goulburn
Saturday: Quirindi, Bowraville (non-TAB), Cobar (non-TAB)
Sunday: Muswellbrook, Murwillumbah