Gold Coast bikini-clad women's "horse race" banned

Melbourne, Sept 30 (ANI): The bikini race at the racetrack, which the Gold Coast Turf Club had planned to conduct, is under threat after bosses banned it from taking place.

The turf club had planned on having 150 bikini-clad women leaping out from barrier stalls and running down the main straight of the Bundall racetrack on December 4, to compete for the 5000 dollars prize money.

But Racing Queensland Limited Chairman Bob Bentley has, during an interview on Brisbane radio, said the race would not be allowed to go ahead on the course-proper."Not in the best interests of the image of racing, this does nothing for the image of making the Gold Coast a city of repute. So we won't sanction it, it won't go ahead," the Courier Mail quoted him as saying.

However, GCTC chairman Andrew Eggleston has said that he is not giving up without a fight"We will be writing to QRL to ask what it takes to make the race acceptable. Whether that means a name change or something else we want to know," he said.

"Personally I'd like the race to go ahead on the southern lawn in the area outside the main racing circuit.

"The only problem I can see so far is the word bikini. There are a lot of them everywhere you go on the Gold Coast," he stated.

Critics including Queensland's top female horse trainer, Gillian Heinrich, have slammed the Bikini Track Sprint as tacky and demeaning.

Eggleston, who is seeking urgent talks with RQ, said the race was "not for floozies in bikinis" but would be run by Athletics Queensland and feature "elite" runners including top beach sprinters.

If the race is banned from the course-proper, the turf club has a contingency plan to run it in front of the grandstand. (ANI)