A small Tasmanian racing club has called off its upcoming season after attracting just 23 horse nominations, well short of Tasracing’s minimum requirement.
King Island will not have a racing season in 2026/27 after the local racing club confirmed it could not attract enough horses and participants.
The King Island Racing Club said only 21 thoroughbred and two harness horses were committed by the July 31 deadline for trainers to confirm their entries.
Tasracing CEO Andrew Jenkins said those numbers were not enough to make a season viable.
“Unfortunately, these numbers fall well short of the minimum required by Tasracing to facilitate a racing season,” he said.
Jenkins said he appreciated the efforts of the club’s committee to drum up interest for the coming season.
He acknowledged the work of club president Audrey Hamer and said Tasracing would continue working with the committee on finding solutions.
“We have certainly not ruled out a return to racing on King Island next season,” he said.
Hamer said the decision had been extremely difficult for the committee.
“We would like to thank the trainers on and off King Island who were willing to commit horses to race for the season,” she said.
“We know how much racing means to our community – not only as a much-loved summer social event, but also for the positive impact it has on the King Island economy and the many local businesses and volunteers who benefit from race days.”.
“While we are disappointed, we are certainly not giving up.”
Hamer said the club’s focus would now shift to giving itself the best chance of returning for the 2027/28 season.
