Racing Minister Denis Napthine’s political duties will force him to miss the May Racing Carnival at Warrnambool for the first time in living memory.

The new Racing Minister will be in the office for the whole three-day-carnival due to the release of the state government’s annual budget coinciding with the event.

Mr Napthine is on the hunt for a television or radio that could alert him to the race results while he is in parliament.

“I’ll have one eye on Parliament and another on the Grand Annual Steeplechase,” Mr Napthine said.

“I can’t miss Parliament that week given that the budget is being presented.”

“We’ll have to find a television, or I’ll listen to the radio in my office to find out who wins,”

Mr Napthine said that he was torn between his responsibilities as Horse Racing Minister and his responsibility as the South West Coast MP.

“I have a duty to the horse racing industry but I also have my government and parliamentary duties to attend to,” he said.

“It’ll be the first Grand Annual that I’ve missed out on for as long as I can remember — I’ve been going for years and years.”