Thousands of racing fans attended the annual Ipswich Cup in style, despite a fire threatening to disrupt the event the night before.
Fire crews were called to the Bundamba track, west of Brisbane, on Friday night after a small electrical fire broke out in the old Ipswich Turf Club stand.
Fortunately, the fire did not cause substantial damage and punters were able to get to the track for the biggest event on the Queensland racing calendar as planned on Saturday.
Thousands of racing fans flocked to the Ipswich Cup, a major event in the Queensland racing calendar.
Punters dressed to the nines for the Ipswich Cup on Saturday
Attendees of varying ages took part in style at the Ipswich Cup, west of Brisbane, on Saturday.
Temperatures reached a high of 20C during the racing event in Ipswich
A happy attendee is seen taking a selfie as the event began on Saturday.
Three friends are seen heading to the Ipswich Turf Club for Saturday’s racing event.
Two companions are seen taking some time on the grass in the middle of the horse races.
The sun was shining for the punters who flocked to the racecourse to play the Ipswich Cup
The Ipswich Cup is a major event on the Queensland racing calendar
Two women are seen getting into the racing spirit at the Ipswich Turf Club.
One young man seemed excited about his day at the races this weekend.
Many attendees dressed in their best clothes for the automobile event
Large crowds of racegoers came to the venue dressed to the nines and enjoyed a day of clear skies and sunshine.
A racing fan is seen heading to the track along with thousands of punters on Saturday.
Large crowds of racegoers flocked to the venue dressed to the nines and enjoyed a day of clear skies and sunshine, with temperatures reaching a high of 20C.
Even the police officers present could be seen joining in the fun as they posed for happy photos with the jubilant racegoers.
However, the day was not all smiles and one guest was seen being carried away by officers.
For those who were actually paying attention to what happened on the track, the feature race, the $250,000 Ipswich Cup over 2150m, was eliminated by the Queensland horse Red Wave, ridden by jockey Angela Jones.
Red Dazzler’s five-year-old progeny ran a near-perfect race sitting just behind the leaders for most of the event.
The context of best dressed was also highly questioned by fashion-conscious racing fans.
Even police officers got into the holiday spirit by posing with the colorful racegoers.
However, there was at least one incident where officers were seen taking one of the racegoers away.
The fun-loving crowd consumed plenty of refreshments on the big day.
Attendees let loose for a day of racing and fun.
Sausage sizzlers were popular with racegoers at the Ipswich Cup
Winning trainer Tony Sears said the victory went to his daughter and training partner Maddysen, who he said deserved all the praise.
“Maddysen does all the work with this horse, all the credit goes to her,” Sears said.
‘We thought about it a while ago. The other day he had a really bad spell in Brisbane on a wet track, something he doesn’t like very much.
“(But) we were pretty confident without saying too much because it had no weight on a dry track.”
By the end of the day it was clear that the festivities were taking their toll on some of those in attendance.
A woman is seen being helped by her companions to leave the race site.
