“A couple of hundred” people were in attendance for the eight-race meet.

Ararat Harness Racing Club secretary Amanda Kilpatrick said the crowds were decent considering the heat.

“We had a fair turn out considering it was a hot day,” she said.

“We didn’t have as many kids as we thought which was a little disappointing since we had lots of activities for them.

“We had many raffles which were successful.”

Numbers were down from last year’s meet around the same time of year. Kilpatrick said having a meet at this time of year is particularly difficult.

“A lot of people go away which makes things tough,” she said.

“We are hoping that we can get a bit more of a consistent schedule next season – something like having all our meets on Tuesday nights.”

The club’s next meet will be on February 1 at night. ​