Given the ongoing uncertainty and new outbreaks associated with the highly transmissible COVID Delta variant, organisers of the Birdsville Races have made the difficult decision to postpone the iconic event from September 2021 to Sunday 10th and Monday 11th April, creating a historic two race meeting in 2022.
The bucket-list 2021 Birdsville Races were scheduled to run on September 3rd and 4th.
“We are now less than a month away from the event, and more than 85% of our ticket holders reside in locations that are interstate and unable to currently enter Queensland, or in lockdown or discouraged from travelling to regional Queensland. The fact that key staff and contractors cannot make it to Birdsville now also jeopardizes our ability to stage a successful event. When announcing the end to the South-East Queensland lockdown on Sunday, the Queensland Premier pleaded with people not to travel to regional Queensland. We respect this cautionary request. We consulted key stakeholders and feel that postponing now while our patrons and local businesses in the region can plan for it is the responsible and right thing to do. It’s not what we wanted to do but it is the responsible decision. To run the 2021 TAB Birdsville Cup in 2022 is unprecedented but if its good enough for the Olympics, it’s good enough for us,” said Gary Brook, Vice President,