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Wednesday, September 20, 2017
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New-age farmer wins major award Mareeba’s Matthew Perkes was named winner of prestigious Charlie Nastasi Horticultural Farmer of the Year Award in front of more than 350 people at Friday night’s Mareeba District Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association gala dinner. ► Full story P11
The wallabies will not win! Racing fun goes ahead despite extensive track damage By Rebecca Wallis
DAY OF FUN: A human horse race provided great entertainment at the Mareeba Turf Club on Saturday. PHOTO PETER ROY.
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A plague of wallabies put an end to the races at the Mareeba Annuals on Saturday with the track events relocated to Cairns in the name of safety.
In a disappointing turn of events for the club, racehorse trainers and owners boycotted the races claiming track damage made it unsafe for the horses after an inspection on Wednesday led to the discovery of multiple
holes and turf irregularities. Mareeba Turf Club officials supported their decision and are working hard to fix the track ready for the next meeting on Boxing Day. “The club did put too much
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faith in the fence being finished on time and then we repaired the holes, but as soon as we did the roos were digging it out again,” said John Thurlow from the club.
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