WHEN St Arnaud, in Victoria's west, was threatened with having the plug pulled on its only race meet of the year, it wasn't going to just lie down and let it happen.

In May this year Country Racing Victoria and Racing Victoria Limited released a five-year infrastructure plan that required St Arnaud Racing Club to "prove their viability" to remain in operation.

The club, which usually takes about $3000-$5000 on the gate, was told it had to take $10,000 this year in order to survive.

Club president Brett Douglas, together with the rest of the St Arnaud community, decided enough was enough and set about reaching the $10,000 target.

"We decided that we couldn't afford to lose another thing out of this community," Mr Douglas said.

"We drew the line in the sand and took a stand. People who had never been to the races before were there this year."

The St Arnaud Cup went ahead last Saturday and took a final figure of $14,865 on the gate, well above the necessary $10,000.

"The Cup was a fantastic day," Mr Douglas said.

"Between 1800-2000 people attended, and that's a conservative figure.

"We wouldn't have gone ahead with this meet if the community didn't want it and they've shown they definitely want it," Mr Douglas said.

"The street was still abuzz on Monday. It has really given the town a lift," he said.