It's taken time but harness racing will return to Forbes this ANZAC Day.
The flood-damaged track has been rebuilt and Sunday morning trials have heralded the return of racing for Forbes Diggers Harness Racing Club.
A delighted Forbes Diggers Harness Racing Club president Lex Crosby is urging all community members to plan to include a visit to the races in their day.
While the meeting has continued - hosted by Eugowra in 2023 and Parkes in 2024 - this will be the first time the race meeting has been held at our local showground track since 2022.
The track has been completely rebuilt since those floods, and new fencing installed around it.
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The first floods of November 2022 had washed away the track surface but the club put gravel down so local trainers could keep their horses in work again.
The second, even bigger flood, was so much more destructive, washing away not only the track surface but the fencing.
"We virtually had to put all new fencing around the track, we've had to resurface the whole track, and re grade it so it had the camber," Crosby said.
"Forbes council have been tremendous to us."
Horses have been training on the track for a little while but now it's been put to the test with the first of a series of monthly harness racing trials occurring in February.
"It was very exciting having everyone back," Mr Crosby said.
"We were going to only have trials in the three months leading up to the meeting but we've had so much feedback that we're going to now have trials on the first Sunday of every month.
"We put on a breakfast for everyone, it's a good time to get together."
Plans for the traditional ANZAC Day harness racing meeting are coming together well.
Forbes Diggers Harness Racing Club was founded by returned service men to raise funds to build the RSL Club, and the ANZAC Day meeting is their signature event.
It always features a moving ANZAC Day parade and service amidst an afternoon of competition for a series of memorial races.
This year, Mr Crosby is rallying local sports clubs to a new feature: a Diggers Cup sports relay where four human members of each club will pull a gig around the track.
Another feature of the afternoon will be entertainment by the band Afliktion, of students from Red Bend Catholic College.
Mr Crosby believes it will be a very special day to honour Australia's service men and women, including those who founded the Forbes club, as well as show appreciation for all those who have supported the club since it was affected by disaster.
"It's been a long process to get us back on track," Mr Crosby said.
"A lot of people have helped us and as president of the club it's very moving , the people who have helped us out.
"I really want it to be a day the community can come together."
