The Castlepoint Racing Club will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the annual Castlepoint Beach Races on Saturday, March 11.
“We’re inviting people to come along to this historic event next weekend,” Castlepoint Racing Club president Scott Whitehead said.
“It’s going to be a wonderful day, celebrating the region’s rural heritage. And it’s timely to have something to celebrate in light of the past few difficult weeks.”
The annual beach race began in the early 1870s and is one of very few race events of its type still running in New Zealand.
This year will be extra special, Whitehead said, with a special exhibition stand commemorating 150 years of beach racing at Castlepoint featuring alongside the usual line up of fun family events.
Expect children’s games on the beach between races, prizes for Best Dressed Racegoer and a lucky dip style of gambling known as equalisator betting.
In October, the club will launch a book called Racing Against the Tide, written by Matt Philp and illustrated by Lottie Hedley, commemorating 150 years of beach racing at Castlepoint, Whitehead said.
“We’re inviting race attendees to check out the anniversary exhibition stand and put their names on a list to pre-order our soon-to-be-released commemorative book for the early bird price of $50.
“We’re also really excited to have our photographer Lottie Hedley at this year’s races – it means anyone who comes along this year may end up featuring in our history book.”
