Racing: Auckland Cup party on despite uncertainty on alert level

A party atmosphere will prevail despite a smaller crowd on Auckland Cup Day tomorrow. Photo / Dean Purcell

Auckland race fans, or simply those looking for a party, have been quick to snap up the prime spots created by alert levels uncertainty for tomorrow's Cup Day at Ellerslie.

Ellerslie bosses are pressing ahead as if tomorrow will be a normal Cup Day open to the public with the expectation that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will today announce that Auckland will move to alert level 1 before Saturday at noon.

"We made the decision on Wednesday to press on as if that will be the case because we had to start putting everything in place," says Ellerslie chief executive Paul Wilcox.

"We have been watching the case numbers like everybody else and if that changes and the Government announces a different decision we will react to that but we have to plan for a full Cup Day experience because that is what we hope we will get."

Because of the uncertainty some patrons who had booked for the hospitality areas have cancelled but vacancies in prime areas like Cuvee and Silks have quickly been filled.

"We lost some bookings, in particular from people who may have had to travel to get here and were uncertain what level we would be at, but they were quickly snapped up," says Wilcox.

"But we still have plenty of places left to put people and if, as we hope, we are at level 1 for Saturday we have huge capacity in the stands and on the grass.

"We know we are going to have a smaller crowd than usual but we are looking forward to a special day, especially with Melody Belle trying to break the Group 1 record."

Ellerslie will host one of its famed after parties in the Cuvee but with a brief interruption.

"We will be stopping the music for a few minutes around 6.40pm so we can all watch the All-Star Mile and Probabeel on the big screen and around the track.

"After that we can celebrate, all going well."