“All the reports we got were very good,” he said.
“The crowd enjoyed themselves, (were) well behaved, and enjoyed the racing and the entertainment that we had.”
Held on Easter Sunday, the 2025 event attracted around 1200 spectators, with the club offering free entry along with an array of kids’ off-track entertainment.
Although the crowd was down on last year, when 1600 to 1700 people attended, Gloury was still upbeat about what the club had to offer this year, attributing some of the drop in numbers to a much later Easter, compared to last year’s March date, and the colder weather that came with it.
“We like to provide a good-value offering, which certainly we think we did,” he said.
“Last year’s Easter Cup was the biggest that we’ve had for about 10 years, so it was probably a bit of an outlier, but you’re always trying to improve on what you did the year before, and we were no different.
“Unfortunately, our numbers weren’t quite as big, but still by modern-day (standards) we had a healthy crowd in attendance and the crowd enjoyed what we put on.”
In the main race, Tooram Cee Cee won a second straight Easter Cup, while 90-year-old Lockington trainer Ted Jepsen also provided a highlight for locals when his horse Soho Playgirl prevailed in race six.
“Ted’s a really good guy, he’s 90 going on about 30,” Gloury said.
“He’s a really nice gentleman, and I’m really pleased that he’s got a smart horse in Soho Playgirl, and she just continues to get better and better.
“I was really pleased for Ted and the connections that it went very well and certainly, there’ll be a lot more wins in store for that horse the way that it went.”
Echuca’s next and final meet of the 2024-25 season will be on Tuesday, June 10.
The club was set to race on both June 8 and 22, but continued discussions between Harness Racing Victoria, Echuca Harness Racing Club and Shepparton Harness Racing Club, where Gloury also recently became president, led to a changed schedule in an attempt to strengthen potential race fields for both clubs during that period.
It means Echuca will have hosted only five total meetings in the 2024-25 season, having initially been slated for six after HRV made sweeping cuts to regional clubs last year in a cost-cutting measure.
The club had 12 meetings per cycle before the cuts.
HRV has continued to adjust its schedules for 2025-26, with regional clubs again bearing the brunt of the cuts, but Echuca has been able to maintain a six-meeting race slate.
The new cycle will see meetings in July, September and October this year, followed by the club’s flagship cup meet on New Year’s Day, the Easter Cup meeting next Easter and another June date.
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