What a day here in Sydney – it’s my first day in the big city on the East Coast of Australia; a day literally drowned in rain! So instead of a walking tour and ferry trip along the world renowned Harbour Bridge It’s plan B:  the opportunity to visit local race track Canterbury Park!

Parking on-site, no problem. A gentlemen pulls up beside me. “This the public car park?”…. “Seems so”. We walk together – he tells me he’s English, loves Cheltenham, but lives “Down Under” for a while and comes racing today, on this desperate day, to support a friend, who owns a horse that runs today. Oh, and he went with Martin Pipe to school – same class, he says!

I It’s still raining. In fact it’ll never stop. At least it’s free to get in. The ground upgraded to a Heavy 10  – whatever that means. Heavy is heavy? Anyway, I fight against the weather. Whenever there is only a slight chance of not getting totally soaked in seconds, I jump out, the camera in my hands, and shot, cleaned the lens, shot and back to seek cover.

I have to say it was impressive that the meeting was not abandonment. Ground staff must have be doing some magic with all the rain. Lest we forget the ongoing thunderstorms.

On a day like this, mid-week, atrocious weather conditions, naturally there’ll be only some die-hard racing fans or gamblers making there way to a track. That says there was zero atmosphere, though I’ve been told Friday nights under the floodlights can be pretty special.

Photo Gallery – Canterbury Park, AUS – 7th June 2017;  Florian Christoph: