Country Championships ready to jump at Moruya Jockey Club

Moruya Racecourse will host the South East qualifier heat for a second time on Sunday, March 3, after thousands attended a bumper day of racing last year.

In addition, a calcutta will be held on Saturday, March 2, at the Adelaide Hotel.

The Moruya Jockey Club will also have Group One winning jockey Tommy Berry and retired Canberra Raiders legend Jarrod Croker attending as event ambassadors.

A showpiece event on the regional racing circuit, a $150,000 prize pool will be on offer in the 14-horse race. The unique series, which is designed to promote racing in country NSW has strict eligibility criteria.

Horses must be under the care of a country trainer in that region (there are seven regions) and have accrued enough points to qualify.

The first and second horse past the post in each regional race will qualify for the Country Championships final at Royal Randwick on Saturday, April 6. That race comes with $1million in prize money.

Moruya Jockey Club executive officer Ken Brown said while the event was vitally important for the club, it also had a large flow-on effect for the region.

"What we're trying to encourage a lot of people to do is come down to our area and enjoy the whole weekend.

"Come for the races but hopefully they're here Saturday, Sunday and go home Monday and basically have a really good time while you're here and enjoy everything that we've got to offer.

"We've got some great golf courses here, it's a great time of year to go fishing, the dining here has just excelled in the last five years."

Food vans, pony rides, a jumping castle and DJs will be some of the extra activities on offer while trackside, a fashions in the field program will include prizes for best dressed child, female, male and couple.

"It's not a normal race day by any means. Everything has to be top notch for this sort of thing," Mr Brown said.

"This is something that we are very proud to host and it's something we want to continue to host in the long term."