Big crowds expected for Black Caviar's Queensland debut at Doomben

The Brisbane Racing Club has done its best to ensure that Doomben Racecourse will be entirely prepared for Black Caviar’s Queensland debut in the BTC Cup this Saturday.

With peak crowds expected to flow into the 20,000 person capacity racecourse, the Club has spared no expense in ensuring that everything is up to scratch in time for the big day.

BRC chief executive, Stephen Ferguson, is confident that the racecourse will be able to cope should capacity be reached.

“The management plan is for 20,000 people and while I’m not sure we’ll get that many the pre-sale bookings show we’re in for a big crowd,’’ Mr Ferguson said.

“The corporate bookings are up by 113 per cent on last year and pre-sale tickets for the public areas are going well.”

Mr Ferguson explained that having Black Caviar come to Brisbane would do wonders for the Brisbane Racing Club’s future.

“This is a dream come true for a racing club,” Mr Ferguson said.

“To have the world’s best racehorse coming to Brisbane to chase her 13th win is a sensational coup for us.

“Brisbane’s been through a very tough time of late and Black Caviar provides us all with a ray of sunshine.

“Instead of people just being attracted to an event, they’re attracted to a racehorse, which we think’s fantastic.”

Included in the recent renovations is a 40 metre elevated deck that was built against the outside rail just past the winning post, which has been constructed to accommodate Black Caviar’s connections and their personal guests.

“They will have more than 100 people alone coming to cheer her on and this space, which was formerly a car park, is one of the best vantage points on the course,’’ Mr Ferguson said.

“It was built to cater for Black Caviar’s owners and their friends but it will be a great asset for the club going forward.”

The capacity crowd that are expected for Saturday’s race are set to be up almost 400% on last year’s crowds of 5,391 people.