Taree-Wingham Race Club will team with the Manning River Times to promote the 2017 Crazy Day. For the first time Crazy Day will switch to a Saturday – August 19, the day before the running of the Taree Gold Cup.

The cup carnival will start on Friday August 18 at the Bushland Drive track, where the feature event will be the Hopkins-Livermore Handicap – named in memory of two giants of Mid North Coast Coast racing, Don Hopkins and Ike Livermore.

Crazy Day will be underway from early Saturday. The race club’s Calcutta dinner will be held on the Saturday night leading into Sunday’s cup meeting.

Manning River Times advertising manager, Kelly Payne said combining two of the area’s major events, Crazy Day and the cup carnival, will be a winner for the Times, the race club and the community.

"It's fabulous to have the race club on board in this capacity,’’ Ms Payne said.

"We've been looking at reinvigorating Crazy Day and we feel this is the ideal initiative to do that."

Ms Payne said the two day carnival attracts many visitors to the area and they’ll now be able to cash in on Crazy Day.

Crazy Day started in 1986 and until this year has always been held on a Thursday. Ms Payne said it’s time for a change.

“But it is important for retailers to keep the sale to the Saturday,’’ she added.

Taree-Wingham Race Club chairman Greg Coleman is looking forward to a long association with the Times.

"The race club sees an opportunity to be able to make our carnival bigger and better,’’ Mr Coleman.

He believes the carnival has the potential to match Grafton’s July cup carnival which is a major drawcard for the Clarence Valley.

”The partnership between the Times and the race club could create a flow-on for businesses, hotels and restaurants in the area,’’ Mr Coleman said.

“There’s already two motels booked out in Taree for the carnival.

"For many years our club has been supported by local businesses in Taree and we look at this as an opportunity to give something back to them"

"If the retailers participate on the Saturday, people from outside the area will have something to do on the Saturday and spend their money in the town."

"The club has taken this on with the view that it will be a long term sponsor of the Crazy Day Saturday – we see the benefits for the community and we are a community facility."