Burrumbeet is a small town in Western Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Western Highway, 24 kilometres from the regional centre of Ballarat, and 136 kilometres from the state capital of Melbourne. Lake Burrumbeet is nearby and gives the small town its name as well as its reputation for superb camping, bird-watching, boating, fishing, hunting, water skiing and picnicking. Burrumbeet’s other claim to fame, aside from this pristine reserve of natural beauty, is that it is home to the Burrumbeet Park and Windermere Racing Club, which hosts the annual Burrumbeet Cup every New Year’s Day.
The Burrumbeet Park and Windermere Racing Club
The BP&WRC, as it is known, is under the jurisdiction of Racing Victoria, and all 24 of its committee members are volunteers. Its president is Rod McKinnon and its secretary is Paul Brumby. The BP&WRC is a Thoroughbred racing club, meaning most of the steeds that are stabled there are owned by wealthy individuals, syndicates or partnerships.
The Burrumbeet Cup
Being held at the BP&WRC, the Burrumbeet Cup is of course a Thoroughbred horse race and is held over a distance of 1800 metres. The race is held under handicap conditions, meaning horses carry different weights that are allocated by the handicapper. The goal in assigning the weights is to equal the playing field, as such, and enable all horses to finish together in what is known as a dead heat, which adds to the excitement of the race. Horses that seem superior or have better track records than others are given a heavier weight to carry, putting them at more of a disadvantage than slower horses who are also competing.
The major race sponsor of the Burrumbeet Cup is Petrogas Regional, which took over from Scott Petroleum after the 2014 cup. The 2016 Cup is the 126th running of the race, and top prize money sits at 15,000 Australian Dollars. Since Burrumbeet is quite remote and also quite beautiful, people enjoy making a day of coming to the event which is made a little easier logistically because it is held on New Year’s Day. Families, friends and couples all come together to picnic on the lawn and enjoy the race and the day out, and there are plenty of free rides and activities to keep children entertained.
Cup Betting Advice
For both online and offline punters, odds and NJ sports betting sites and jockey performance should be closely monitored in the weeks leading up to the New Year’s Day race. It’s easy to find this information in official publications and online, and bettors should also keep their ears to the ground for more inside information. This can be especially helpful in deciding on a frontrunner to back, which is a good strategy because of the tight turning nature of the track. Choosing a horse-and-jockey team that will break out from the start, then put a length on competitors before relaxing can often lead punters to victory.
Bettors that are on the course are also in an excellent position to compare the horses’ odds in a very immediate and close-contact way. By checking out the Bookies Ring as the odds are being set for the next race and then looking again to see which contenders have been wound in, bettors should be able to back a winning horse and get a tidy windfall. Comparing prices at the TAB caravans on course should also reveal some smaller on-course overs bets.