The Gold Crown, one the State's biggest harness racing carnivals, draws horses from all over Australia and is one of the highlights on the social calendar of Bathurst.

But in 2020, the running of the event coincided with tough new measures in place to control COVID-19. While the event went ahead, it did so without spectators.

The ruling 12 months ago came as a bitterly disappointing blow to the Bathurst club given the Gold Crown Carnival is the highlight of its calendar.

But 12-months on, organisers are happy with how things went.

Chief Executive Officer of Bathurst Harness Racing, Danny Dwyer said it was great to see crowds returning to the racing.

"Last year, full restrictions were in place across New South Wales which meant no spectators were allowed at the event.

"I think at the Gold Crown Final (2020) there were eight people watching the race and they were all staff," he said.

He said the impact on the club was enormous.

"It was hard, really difficult," he said.

"We had no access to crowd revenue for basically the whole 10 days, it had an enormous financial impact on the club.

"We lost all of our sponsors.

"The income we would normally generate through the bar and catering effectively for the whole 10 days didn't happen."

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He said the club was heavily reliant on the income it normally generates from the carnival to support it throughout the remainder of the year, so it was great to see the crowds coming through the gate again in 2021.

"We had a really good crowd Saturday night," he said, adding it has been a gradual process to get people back through the gate.

"It's taken 12 months to get back here but its good," he said.

On Saturday night, the Gold Crown Finals, he said there were about 1,000 people come through the gates.

Pre COVID-19 the same event would attract between 1500 and 2000 people.

"So we are are getting back there," he said.

He said harness racing is a family orientated event, and to make it more inviting for families the club had attractions for kids like jumping castles.

"We're doing little things that make it a family night.

"But Saturday night was definitely a good step forward, they are lifting restrictions again tomorrow so we are slowly getting there.

"Next year the Gold Crown will be back bigger and better than ever," he said.

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