Birdsville Race organisers were poised to announce television personality Sammie O’Brien as race ambassador for 2021 when the COVID Delta variant and ongoing border closures handicapped the event, forcing the postponement of the iconic races.
Keen to make up lost ground, rather than cancel the 2021 event all together the Birdsville Race Club announced a history-making double header for the Birdsville Races in 2022 – with the 2021 event now scheduled to run in April 2022 as well as the annual September event in its traditional first weekend in September slot.
New mum to be Sammie O’Brien has happily signed on for a double dose of outback racing, today being announced as the ambassador for both the re-scheduled April races, and the annual September 2022 Birdsville Races.
“Next year will be the 140th anniversary for the Birdsville Races, and in all that time there has never been a year that two editions of the event have been held. With ongoing overseas travel restrictions in place, and given the demand we’re experiencing for tickets, we’re confident that the appetite for two events is there. And we’re thrilled that Sammie is keen to join us in Birdsville for both of our 2022 TAB race meets,” said Gary Brook, Vice President, Birdsville Race Club.
As previously announced, the postponed 2021 Birdsville Races will run on Sunday 10th and Monday 11th April. And the 2022 edition dates are confirmed as Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd September 2022, with the TAB Birdsville Cup returning to its traditional running on the first Saturday in September.
A keen a race goer, Sammie was the face of the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival in 2019 and is looking forward to having two opportunities to get frocked up for the historic Birdsville Races in 2022.
“I was lucky enough to visit Birdsville with Queensland Weekender once before and loved it! It’s been on my bucket list to return to so I was thrilled to be asked to be the ambassador for the Birdsville Races. It’s the biggest bonus when you’re asked to attend something you’ve always wanted to, but never had the opportunity to. Although it’s a shame it was moved from this year to next, I’m quietly stoked that I’ll now get to enjoy a cold beer trackside at the races and at the iconic Birdsville Pub in April,’ said Sammie O’Brien who is due to give birth to her first child with husband Fraser Byrne in October 2021.
A country girl at heart, Sammie loves escaping to the much-loved 255 acre farm at Tarome that she and Fraser have started breeding cattle on.
“I’ve always loved horses, and getting back riding is one of the things I’m really looking forward to after I have my baby. I absolutely loved the time I took to go cattle droving in Western Queensland in 2019. I grew up living in Brisbane and Morton Island so I don’t come from the country, but I do love it. Two trips to Birdsville next year is my idea of heaven,” added Sammie.
The Birdsville Races, known as the Melbourne Cup of the outback, have been held since 1882 and have only been cancelled twice in the events history. Due to equine flu in 2007, and then COVID in 2020. The 2021 races have been postponed to April 2022 rather than a full cancellation.
The two-day spectacular of outback thoroughbred racing is synonymous with plumes of striking red dust as horses thunder down the Simpson Desert track and provides a much needed economic boom for the Diamantina Shire of Outback Queensland, as well as a much needed social event for remote property holders and communities.
Demand for tickets to the 2021 event was huge, with first release tickets selling out on the first day they went on-sale.
Patrons who purchased tickets for 2021 and would like to attend the postponed event don’t need to do anything.
Existing tickets remain valid, and all customers will be resent tickets closer to the new event date. If ticket holders are unable to attend the rescheduled event, refunds will be offered.
Additional tickets for the revised event date will be released in October 2021, while tickets for the September 2022 Birdsville Races will go on-sale on Wednesday 27 April 2022.
The iconic township of Birdsville, with a general population of just 115, plays host to the renowned 13-race carnival, with those who make the pilgrimage to Australia’s most remote town treated to a jam-packed weekend of thoroughbred racing, fun at the Birdsville Hotel and unique outback entertainment including an outdoor cinema under the Milky Way, live music and Fred Brophy’s famous travelling boxing troupe.
The event also supports the important outback medical work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Each year, horses and trainers make the long haul trek to Birdsville setting up camp under gum trees alongside the Diamantina River – creating their own community that has become as tight knit as the long-term residents of the Simpson Desert Township itself.
What: Birdsville Races
Where: Birdsville, Queensland
When: Sunday 10th and Monday 11th April, 2022
Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd September, 2022
More info: www.birdsvilleraces.com
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