This year's Golden Triangle of picnic races got off and racing to a fantastic start on Saturday, as hundreds of people turned out to enjoy a stunning autumn day trackside at the 2019 Moree Picnic Races.
A crowd of about 1,000 punters, party-goers and fashionistas donned their autumn racing best for the day, which Moree Picnic Race Club president Hannah Boland said was great, considering the tough year.
"We think the day went really well," she said.
"Given the drought, it was a good chance for everyone to come in from farms and have a great day socialising.
"I think everyone had a great day."
As always, the coveted Fashions on the Field competition was hotly-contested, with plenty of cutting-edge style on show making it a tough job for judges Sarah Kirkby and Toy Barwick.
Samantha Murphy was crowned Best Dressed Lady, while Brent Taunton was named Best Dressed Male, Jaimee Harris won Best Millinery and Eric and Anne-Maree Carrigan were the Best Dressed Couple.
More than 300 people stayed on to party the night away at the Marquee Dinner Dance, which featured entertainment by The Voice semi-finalist Rennie Adams.
Another highlight of the day was the launch of Bill Poulos' book, The Triangle, which chronicles bush racing across the district. A copy of the book was auctioned for an impressive $1,050. All proceeds from the sale of the book, including the auctioned copy, will go to Moree and District Historical Society to help transform the former Crown Lands building on Frome Street into a local historical museum. Members of Moree and District Historical Society were selling copies of The Triangle on the day.
Meanwhile, Moree Picnic Race Club donated a total of $5,000, from funds leftover from the previous year, to Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and Moree Can Assist.
The six-race event also featured a calcutta for the Moree Picnic Cup, which saw locally-owned gelding Track Flash claim a hat-trick of Boolooroo Cups, after also winning in 2017 and 2018.
Ms Boland said the event wouldn't have been possible without the support of generous sponsors.
"We had great sponsorship from local businesses, which was good, given the current climate," she said.
"We'd like to thank our sponsors and encourage everyone to support local."
