UNQUESTIONABLY land-locked Moranbah is a long way from the ocean.
Granted water is nearby courtesy of the Isaac River and Nebo Creek is a bit further away.
But it still raises an eyebrow when chatter blends the tiny mining town in the harsh dry of Central Queensland with a beach-themed race day.
However, it's all going to happen on Saturday and Moranbah will, if you pardon the pun, become a sea of boardies, Hawaiian shirts and sunscreen.
"It's hot out here," race club secretary Bianca Bulst said.
"We live in the country and it's really hot so we tried to think of an idea that would keep our patrons comfortable and that was quirky and fun and encourage them to come out to the races.
"There is not often a themed race day out here but the committee came up with the idea.
"We were going to do it in November because that's our biggest meeting but we decided to do it for a small one rather than hold off until later in the year."
Bulst said the community was excited by the idea.
"Preparations are going pretty well," she said.
"There was some work on the track to make it level and even and we are looking forward to it and hopefully the patrons will enjoy it.
"We're expecting between 400 and 600 because that's the average we get for our first meeting of the year.
"We are really expecting to see some very colourful outfits on display. People in districts such as Moranbah make an effort to show their support on big days."
Alan Welburn
Lover of sport, particularly horse racing and all things Olympic. Have spent my entire working life in journalism, mostly with News Corp on its major metro mastheads. Done plenty of things but the best by far is having a teenage son who calls me dad.
Lover of sport, particularly horse racing and all things Olympic. Have spent my entire working life in journalism, mostly with News Corp on its major metro mastheads. Done plenty of things but the best by far is having a teenage son who calls me dad.
