You’re the voice, Mark: McNamara back to call Carnival of Cups meet at Towac

But does anyone know the voice of the Carnival of Cups?

Mark McNamara will return to the Central West to call Orange’s Carnival of Cups meeting on the turf at Towac Park on Sunday.

McNamara has a long affinity with the carnival having first accepted the chance to call the series in its inaugural year in 2006 and traveled across the region – trotting tracks at Bathurst, Goulburn, Temora, Leeton, Junee, Young, Dubbo, Parkes and Eugowra – to lend his voice as the race caller for the Harness Racing NSW initiative.

Now based in New Zealand, McNamara will return to call the Orange finals on Sunday and it’s a chance he’s looking forward to.

“It was not only a lot of fun but also a great learning curve for race calling with the many different tracks involved,” McNamara said of his initial foray into the series.

He’s returned to call the Canola Cup in Eugowra a handful of times since venturing across to New Zealand to call harness racing overseas.

“I called the Carnival of Cups meetings right up to leaving to take my current role in New Zealand in 2009,” he added.

McNamara was on deck to call last year’s harness racing as well, a year which also marked the Orange Harness Racing Club’s move from Highlands Paceway to Towac Park.

He’s been part of harness race meetings in Highlands Paceway since regular commentator Bill Palmer retired and McNamara believes the transition to turf has put Orange back on the pacing map.

“In Australia grass track racing is making a semi-comeback, I saw Kilcoy (in Queensland) race on the grass a few weeks ago. It has been Orange that has kicked that right back into gear with the meeting a Towac Park 12 months ago,” he said.

“Richmond was the last permanent grass track in NSW so it's great to see one back.”

The adopted kiwi isn’t foreign to turf pacing, with New Zealand grass tracks a huge trend across the ditch.

“And it tends to draw a big crowd,” he added.

“They run big fields (up to 18 in a race) and there is something about seeing harness racing on the grass, it comes up a treat on TV.”

With a throng of New Zealand trotters set to race on Sunday, McNamara said any of those pacers that have performed well at Methven or Motukarara, renowned turf tracks in the south island of New Zealand, should go well at Towac Park. 

“They will be guaranteed to handle the grass track, same goes for any horse that raced well here last year to,” he said.

The action starts at 1.04pm at Towac Park on Sunday, with the main pace, the Kents H Hardware Benjo Paterson Cup jumping at 4.37pm.