The Kilcoy Race Club will turn back the clock to a golden period of Queensland racing when it hosts its first Wednesday meeting in 50 years.
Kilcoy was part of a thriving midweek circuit which included Laidley, Oxenford, Southport, Gatton and Esk until the late 1960s.
The club went to Saturdays in the 1970s before joining a TAB Friday circuit in 1991.
The Friday circuit was so successful Kilcoy was replaced by bigger clubs and has since had a mixture of race days.
The club has had a resurgence in recent years with an injection of funds and facilities upgrades.
Club director, retired race caller Paul Dolan, called at Kilcoy for four decades and said it was exciting the club had a Wednesday meeting.
“The original Wednesday meetings were just before my time but I recall then committee people telling stories about them,” Nolan said.
“In its hey day there were more than 80 bookmakers on course and regular buses to the track. Also more than 50 taxis brought punters to the track.”
Kilcoy has had a million dollar face lift in the past year thanks to grants from the Somerset council and the state government.
Club chairman Con Searle said the club now had the facilities to host a TAB Wednesday meeting.
“And the actual racetrack is a picture. We have been known as the Moonee Valley of the north for decades and we hope to continue to live up to it,” he said.
Wednesday’s meeting has been well received with 95 nominations across seven races.
Ipswich is set to resume racing in early April after a major track and facilities overhaul.
It has been closed for three months while work is completed.
