NOMINATIONS for Orange’s first race meeting in more than four months have been extended after numbers in some races were down on expectations.

The nominations for Sunday’s seven-race program at Towac Park were released yesterday and just four horses have been entered in the 1600m Rating 77 Handicap.

Sunday’s 1300m feature race, the $12,000 Open Handicap, has attracted nine nominations, as has the 1600m Maiden Plate.

Golden West Race Club Michael Plummer is hopeful more horses are nominated before the second cut-off at 11am today.

“Racing NSW put an extra meeting on at Narromine (yesterday) and there are a couple of races where we are short a couple of noms,” Plummer said.

The 1300m Class 2 Handicap has attracted 13 nominations and will be the first class-based race at Towac Park since Racing NSW decided to phase the class handicapping system back in.

Sunday’s seven races will be run on a quality surface, with Plummer marvelling at how the Towac Park course has come up since the last meeting on May 9 after healthy rainfalls.

“In that time, we’ve been doing some work on the track and people will be amazed at the standard of the track,” Plummer said.

“We fertilised it and seeded it and it has come up a treat.”