It remains a waiting game for the Burrumbeet Park and Windermere Racing Club, with the committee still unclear on crowd numbers for its annual New Year's Day meeting.
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The club received some promising news over the weekend with the further easing of COVID-19 restrictions and on Monday from Victoria's Racing Minister Martin Pakula, who said there was potential for crowds "up to 5000 in a few weeks' time".
Club president Steve Biggin said plans remained largely on hold for the club, despite some potential light at the end of the tunnel.
"We need to wait until we get an official approval before we can go ahead and plan anything with any confidence," Biggin said.
"...it's nearly certain that we won't be able to run a full program of entertainment events like we would normally.
"We don't have enough time to book things. We are five weeks out now and we still don't know.
"It's just going to be a case of once they (government/Racing Victoria) make the decision, what can we organise within that time period?
"We've sort of been unable to commit to anything at this stage. Even with the announcements, it's looking good, but until we actually get approval for that event, it's still up in the air a bit."
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On Wednesday afternoon, Racing Victoria confirmed the remaining seven months of the 2020-21 racing season - being January through to July 2021 - and had Burrumbeet locked in as part of the schedule.
If given the green light for patron attendance soon, Biggin felt the club could still sell all of its marquee and umbrella packages in time for the New Year's Day meeting.
On Monday, Pakula told RSN that there was a public events framework in place that allowed organisations to make event applications.
"We'll work with Country Racing Victoria to try and submit something on behalf of all the country clubs so that once we've got that signed off, so long as everybody abides by whatever protocol is agreed, they'll be able to have some people at their events," Pakula said.
Pakula said the potential for crowds between now to early-mid December would be around the 500 mark, but thought that there was potential for "up to 5000 in a few weeks' time".
The club held its annual general meeting on Sunday and presented Malcolm Draffin with his life membership.
Miners Rest trainer Mitch Freedman won this year's Burrumbeet Cup with Not To Know.
