With Penrith Stadium sitting dormant next door for the foreseeable future, Penrith Paceway is now home to the biggest sporting events in town.
Kicking off this Saturday afternoon, the Carnival of Cups is expected to be Penrith’s most attended sporting event of the year – and it’s easy to see why.
Not only will top tier harness racing be on display – including the famous time-honoured $60,000 Renshaw Cup – but some of Australia’s most-loved entertainers will be putting on a show for the thousands expected to turn out.
Speaking with the Weekender, an excited Penrith Paceway CEO Tash Greentree said due to the annual Carnival of Cups program being reimagined by Harness Racing NSW last year, the historic Renshaw Cup will be held on a new day – this Saturday – for the first time in decades.
“The Renshaw Cup, which has been running for 56 years now, traditionally runs on the Thursday before Easter,” she said.
“The Carnival of Cups has been running for 17 years and last year Harness Racing NSW upended it, changed the format and come up with this great event, which is a combination of top tier racing and high-class entertainment.”
Parkes, Young, Tamworth and Albury have already hosted the Carnival of Cups since September and now it is Penrith’s turn to reaps the benefits of the reformatted concept.
“The Carnival of Cups has already been run at several iconic regional locations and we’ve been lucky enough to have been thrown into the mix,” Greentree said.
“Our selection was contingent on moving the event to a Saturday, which we were overjoyed with because it’s a day off for most of us the next day.”
Not only will this Saturday’s Carnival of Cups be home to kids rides, food trucks and the like, but the free-ticketed event will also include performances from some of this country’s biggest music acts.
Multi-ARIA award-winning rock band Birds of Tokyo will return to the harness racing arena to headline the trackside entertainment. They will be joined by former cricketer Brett Lee’s band Six & Out, Sarah McLeod of The Superjesus fame, as well as Carnival of Cups alumni Brooke Supple and Sydney band Fathers Favourite, fronted by Mia Hewitt (Bec and Lleyton Hewitt’s daughter).
“I think this will be one of the biggest events in Penrith this year and the best part is it’s free to attend,” Greentree said.
“It’s really important people who come along register for their free ticket through the Carnival of Cups website, or they can contact us directly.”
Gates open at 4.30pm this Saturday, March 15, with all the action set to be begin at 5.30pm.
To book or for more information on food and beverage packages, visit http://www.carnivalofcups.com.au.
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.