An Australian horse racing club will lock bikini-clad women in barrier stalls and run them down the racecourse as part of a controversial new novelty event, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported Tuesday.
The Gold Coast Turf Club in the state of Queensland launched the event, which is planned to become an annual fixture at the club's first race meeting of the summer season.
Some believe this will take the popular tourist destination to a new tacky low. In a Gold Coast Bulletin poll, 39 percent of respondents said the gimmick was degrading — while 61 percent disagreed.
Up to 150 women, who must wear bikinis and running shoes, will compete through a knockout system for a first prize of AU$5,000 (US$4,800).
The event was copied from America's famed Hollywood Park racecourse, which holds a similar event annually.
Turf Club chief executive Grant Sheather acknowledged some may see the event as degrading, but said it would be done in "good taste."
''When people say 'Gold Coast' you think of beach, you think of girls and you think of bikinis; it's a marketing ploy to build racing," he said.
