![Punters at the Albury Gold Cup. Punters at the Albury Gold Cup.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/xtb7LvhUpWdRyX3MGXCxS3/93e60ad9-5dc8-4d03-9adc-9e77f86d0116.jpg/r0_0_1200_675_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It goes without saying that you can never please all of the people, all of the time.
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So it should come as no surprise that opinions on the half-day holiday for the Albury Gold Cup vary in our community.
There are those that love it, as evidenced by the thousands of people who flock to the Albury Racing Club's premier event each year.
There are businesses which don't love it as much, given the increased costs and staffing issues which come with a public holiday.
Then there are those, such as Greens councillor Ashley Edwards, who are vehemently opposed to the event altogether on the basis that it endorses gambling, drunkenness and animal cruelty while also linking it to a spike in domestic violence.
Cr Edwards' comments are in line with the views of NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi and The Greens' "Nup to the Cup" mantra.
Cr Edwards is entitled to her personal views, but Albury is a vibrant regional city, where residents and tourists alike can have their passions satisfied in a broad range of ways, whether they're into entertainment, art, nature or sport, in this case horse racing.
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While understanding the issues raised by Albury Business Connect chair Simone Crighton and Australian Industry Group regional manager Tim Farrah around the half-day holiday, there is evidence why the Gold Cup should be supported by the city council and the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Albury Council's tourism leader Sue Harper said there was a boost in excess of $4 million to the Albury economy from this year's cup, which "generates employment for more than 450 contractors and staff".
It's half a day, once a year, and as far as public holiday benefits go, it makes a hell of a lot more sense than, as an example, the AFL grand final eve day off thrust upon businesses on the Victorian side of the border.
Businesses and ratepayers will be surveyed by Albury Council in September with the outcome and a recommendation to come before councillors in October.
It's a safe bet that not everyone will agree between now and then, but given council has supported the half-day holiday since 1998, anything other than a continuation of that backing would be considered a long shot.