Birdsville Races cancelled for 2020

Organisers of the Birdsville Races announced the event would not go ahead this year.

Known as the Melbourne Cup of the outback, the races have been held annually since 1882, with the exception of 2007, when the event was called of due to equine influenza.

The two-day event was scheduled to take part from September 4-5, with next year's event to take place from September 3-4.

Birdsville Race Club vice president Gary Brook said the decision to cancel was made with a heavy heart due to the region's dependence on tourism.

"As much as we were holding onto the hope that we could run them, we're at a point where we've had to concede defeat," he said.

"The health of our patrons and those who live in outback Queensland is of paramount importance to us."

Gary said organisers considered moving the event to late September or October, but the consensus was it would still be too soon to hold the event.

Hosting the event in November or December was not practical due to the extreme heat in the Simpson Desert at this time.

Gary said he hoped the expected domestic travel boom in 2021 would bring record attendances to the event next year.

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