Ballarat Turf Club chief executive officer Lachlan McKenzie is confident Ballarat Cup Day will buck the trend of falling attendances experienced in the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
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McKenzie said all the signs pointed to an increased crowd for the meeting on Saturday, November 23 - the last feature day of the spring.
He said pre-sales were up for the corresponding time last year.
McKenzie said there was only one area not sold out and the number of marquees down the main straight had doubled in number.
He said the long range forecast was also favourable in the lead up and for Cup Day, which he believed would see general admission racegoers turning out in big numbers.
Next week is predicted to peak with 30 degrees on Wednesday, with 19 degrees forecast for the Saturday.
This year's Ballarat Cup meeting - Lachlan McKenzie's last day as CEO at the club - will be the richest raceday ever run in regional Victoria.
The 10-race program is offering $1.8 million in stakemoney, a 52 per cent increase on last year.
The additional $620,000 was announced mid-year, with the listed Sportsbet Ballarat Cup worth a record $500,000.
The increase from $350,000 makes the cup the richest race in regional Victoria.
The cup distance has also been trimmed from 2200m to 2000m owing to the race having to be run on the outer turf circuit after the installation of the all-weather synthetic surface, which replaced an inner grass circuit.
McKenzie has no doubt the shorter trip will see a higher quality cup field.
The out-and-out stayer which would previously have headed to the cup will be catered for in a $125,000 benchmark78 handicap over 2600m.
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