A college basketballer-turned-Miss International Australia and an aspiring actor. Meet the official ambassadors for The Hunter in 2025. Selina McCloskey, 24 of Eleebana, and Ben Blackler, 20 of Belmont North, have been unveiled as the faces of Newcastle’s $1million horse race, which is scheduled for the Broadmeadow track on Saturday.
McCloskey, a self-confessed regular in fashions of the field, travelled down the freeway recently in preparation. “My mum is my biggest supporter and we travelled to Sydney on the weekend, especially to find an outfit,” Ms McClosky said. “So I’ve got a white Rebecca Vallance dress and then I’ve partnered with an amazing Newcastle milliner Samantha Cook to make a fascinator for me.”
Mr Blackler already had his suit selected but was still on the search for a “colourful” of “floral” style shirt.
Jets soccer legend Jason Hoffman was also on hand to help with proceedings at Nobbys Beach on Tuesday along with a host of local surf lifesavers.
Loch Eagle and You Wahng, horses from the stable of Newcastle trainer Kris Lees, soaked up the sand, sea and sights from one of the region’s iconic locations. Emily Stalder and Emily Harrison were the respective jockeys on board.
Newcastle Jockey Club’s chief executive officer Duane Dowell hopes to exceed the 6000 trackside crowd from The Hunter staged 12 months ago. “It’s pretty much in line with last year but we’re expecting a big influx obviously, which always happens in the last four or five days leading into it,” Dowell said. “So we’re expecting every bit as big a crowd, and probably even an increase on last year.”
General admission are among the tickets still available online via the Newcastle Racecourse website, but some areas have already sold out. Gates open at 11am with action due to get underway around 12:30pm. Final fields are due for release by Racing NSW on Wednesday. The early BOM weather forecast for Newcastle on Saturday shows a range of 17 to 29 degrees Celcius with a shower or two, and possible storm.
Photo Credit: Marina Neil