Cessnock's time-honoured Jungle Juice Cup race day will be held at Cessnock Racecourse on Monday, October 28.
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This year's program will include two feature races - the Cessnock Leagues Club Jungle Juice Cup (1350m) and the Cessnock Cup (2125m).
Each will carry prizemoney of $37,000 and are open handicaps, while the other six races on the card will have $22,000 prizemoney each.
First held in 1981, the Jungle Juice Cup is Cessnock's biggest race meeting of the year and draws punters from across the Hunter and beyond.
Previously held in July, the cup was moved to the second Friday in October in 2017.
Newcastle Jockey Club industry liaison and racing supervisor Michael Buckley said while the cup has been well-attended by the people of Cessnock and the Hunter region in the two years since the date change, the governing body Racing NSW decided to move it to a Monday meeting this year.
The Jungle Juice Cup day will the last meeting at Cessnock for the 2019 calendar year, as no meetings are scheduled for November and December.
"Unfortunately the drought in the Hunter region has affected us as we rely on water in our dam to irrigate the track to present a safe racing surface, which has seen some meetings transferred to Newcastle over the last 12 months," Buckley said.
"There looks to be nice rain forecast later this week which will see the Cessnock surface in excellent condition by late October."
Jungle Juice Cup tickets can be pre-purchased online for $10 at newcastleracecourse.com.au, with tickets also available at the gate on the day for $15.
Racing presenter Gary Harley will host a Calcutta at Cessnock Leagues Club on Sunday, October 27 at 7pm.
Racing will resume at Cessnock in 2020 on Tuesday, January 14.