Albury Racing Club is hoping it can surpass a crowd of 2000 for the first of its two highly popular festive meetings on Saturday. Both meetings regularly attract big crowds with many local businesses choosing the relaxing surrounds of the Albury racecourse for their Christmas functions. Club chief executive officer Steve Hetherton said he expected the crowd to grow on Saturday if the bookings for raceday packages were any guide. "The bookings have been similar to last year but for whatever reason this year they have been larger bookings," Hetherton said. "It has been pleasing to see and we are grateful for the support of all the local businesses who have chosen to hold their Christmas functions at Albury racecourse. "I wouldn't be surprised if we could exceed 2000 patrons on Saturday. "When I first arrived at the club as CEO in early 2019, I remember the first Christmas meeting that year was a crowd of around 1300. "It has grown since then and a lot of local businesses now regularly choose to head to the races for their Christmas functions. "We pride ourselves on creating an atmosphere where people have a great time socially and keep on returning which has been the key to the growth of both the festive meetings." The club received 122 nominations for the seven race TAB meeting. Gates open at 11.45am with the first race at 1.41pm and the last set to start at 5.36pm. Live music will be provided by Lion Bear in the beer garden from 3pm until after the last race.