Curtains For Paeroa Racing Club

Posted by Gold FM on 30/07/2012

The Paeroa Racing Club has shut the doors on it's stables for good. The cash strapped club was to have hosted it's final meeting on Wednesday the 25th of  July and then the rain intervened.

The powers that be decided to give the club a reprieve and allow them to reschedule the Lion Red Steeple Chase Meeting and host a Sunday race meeting, which was to have run yesterday. Once again the weather put paid to the last ever meeting.

The decision to cease operations at the picturesque race course brings 137 years of racing history in Paeroa to an end. The club thrived during the gold rush years and was strengthened by the productive dairy industry when the glory days of the golden era finished.

In the early post World War II years the Paeroa course was rated as one of New Zealand's most successful country clubs.

Club secretary Jennifer Stewart said that while she'd managed to reduce the annual loss from $150,000 per annum to just $18,000 during her six year tenure, the club's life expectancy was always obviously short.Only the volume of volunteer support and the generous sponsorship of the Barbara Anderson Family Trust, who owned the land and leased it back to the club had kept the club going for as long as it did.

It's a sad reflection of today's economic times and race goers from around the Waikato and Coromandel will miss the colourful spectacle and friendly atmosphere of the Paeroa Racing Club.