It has been a very busy few months for the Moonee Valley Racing Club, with many initiatives undertaken that highlight the strong community spirit held at the Club.
Very Special Kid’s Christmas Party a big hit
The Valley opened its doors again to support a very worthy cause, the Very Special Kid’s Christmas Party, in December. Judging by the ear-to-ear smiles on the day from the children and their families as well as the amazing reviews received, we are happy to report another successful year of hosting this very special event.
The event has been running for over 21 years, three years of which have been hosted at The Valley, and we felt honoured to be a part of this day. Supplying a playground for very sick children in all stages of treatment, the ability to enjoy a day just for them and forget about the daily hurdles of their illnesses and disabilities, even if it is just for a few hours, brings with it much pride for the Club!
National Jockeys Trust T20 Cricket a smashing success
The human stars of our sport, the jockeys, play a critical yet often dangerous role when they take to the track each and every race. Unfortunately, like in many sports, accidents can happen and as an industry participant it is vital that we support jockeys in their time of need.
The National Jockey’s Trust is a not-for-profit organisation that provides significant support to injured jockeys and their families, with the Jockeys v Racing All Stars T20 Cricket Match one of their major fundraisers held each year.
This year the industry came together on January 24 for the fifth edition of the annual cricket match, with plenty of fun had and many highlights both on and off the field. The MVRC was proud to sponsor Cox Plate winning jockey Steven Arnold on the day and he represented the Club with great distinction, making plenty of runs and taking a couple of wickets.
This year set a new fundraising record, with overall donations reaching over $90,000, an amazing effort by all involved.
Local racecourse helping local people
The Moonee Valley Racing Club, as a proud member of the Moonee Ponds community and its surrounds, is always on the lookout to help our local constituents where we can. The fire that tore through the historical Court House on Mt. Alexander Road last year was upsetting in that many decades of local history went up in smoke, however thankfully no one was injured.
The MVRC was proud to attend and support the Rebuild The Court House Australia Day Breakfast and to help raise funds to go towards the rebuild of the historical Court House.
Another local charity that recently opened its doors in November was The Local Kitchen, a food kitchen for the disadvantaged in Brunswick. On their opening night they served 87 meals to the local Brunswick community, which continues to grow to in excess of 150 meals per sitting as awareness grows.
The Club happily donated goods to assist with the introduction of The Local Kitchen, including over 100kg of rice leftover from our recent Chinese New Year race meeting and over $500 raised through our H2H Tipping Competition.
The Bourke Street Tragedy deeply affected everyone at the MVRC
The tragedy that occurred on Bourke Street in the Melbourne CBD on Friday January 20 rocked Victoria and had a profound impact on all of us at the MVRC. On Friday January 27 the Club made the decision to donate all admission revenue along with donations from the Lawn BBQ to the Bourke Street Fund, raising $15,600 for the Victorian Government initiative to support families affected by the tragic incident in Bourke Street.
Further to this, over $61,000 has been raised from November to January through the donation of dining and membership vouchers to various charity organisation for fundraising events. These have included the National Jockeys Trust Golf Day, Essendon Football Club, Wintringham Community, Marcus Oldham College, Special Kid’s Christmas Party, National Breast Cancer Foundation and various local school cohorts.