'Best country race meeting': Familiar faces, and new ones, in big Cup crowd

As the clock struck 11am, and the MTC gates opened, punters ran through the turnstiles hoping to get a great vantage point, while others rushed straight to the bars or the bookies.

Vicki Glasgow from West Wyalong was among them, joining her sisters for her seventh Gold Cup.

"It's a girls weekend," she said.

"Three sisters get together every year and we come down to the Wagga races.

Linda Mowatt travelled from Sydney and said a trip to the Gold Cup had been on the "bucket list" for many years, because she wanted to experience what country racing was all about.

"We came for the two-day carnival ... it's been lovely," she said.

"We've been to a few country meetings ... last year we went to Warrnambool and when we were there we decided the following year we'd come to Wagga.

"I had a win yesterday, so I need a win today as well."

With close to one-and-a-half hours between gates opening and the first race, revellers had a chance to settle in before the track action started.

Spirits were high along the fence and in the dozens of corporate marquees lining the track.

Live music from DJs and jazz bands could be heard in every corner of the turf club as the crowd continued to roll on through the gates.

Rotary volunteers help guide the hundreds of cars through the ever-growing parking lot, while Carevan manned the barbecues, slinging steak sandwiches and sausage sizzles to the hungry masses.

More smiling faces streamed through the gates as the first race neared, joining up with friends already inside the venue waiting for the first jump.

One group in attendance was the Westside Punters Club from Sydney, whose matching bright yellow scarves made them stand out in the crowd.

"You've got to wear your scarf," Winston Langthorne, the unofficial spokesperson of the Westside Punters Club, said.

"You get fined if you don't wear your scarf."

The club has made coming to the Gold Cup an annual tradition since 2015, with 15 members trackside for this year's event.

"We all used to work together in the same office way back in the day," he said.

"The guy that formed the Punters Club was born and bred in Wagga ... a lot of us are still in Sydney, but others are in the country so it's a nice central location.

"It's the best country race meeting you're ever gonna go to ... if you ever go to other country race meetings they pale in comparison to this one here."

The moment the crowd had been waiting for soon arrived - the first race of the day.

Horses out in the mounting yard drew the gaze of onlookers hoping to get a glimpse of a winning bet, while those who weren't at the yard went straight to the fence hoping to snag the best vantage spot.

As the gates crashed back and horses rumbled down the home straight, punters started to cheer on their chosen bets, voices growing louder in desperation as they neared the line.