'A nice way to remember him': Canberra joins the race to cure brain cancer

Which is why hundreds will flock to Thoroughbred Park in his memory for the Mike Cramsie Memorial Race Day on Friday.

And why a Mark Hughes Foundation fundraiser which started out with a humble target of $5000 has now raised more than $107,000 for brain cancer research.

Cramsie was on his way from the Goulburn races when it became clear something wasn't quite right.

It was August 2 2019 that Cramsie felt faint and saw flashing lights. A splitting headache the next day saw him cut off a conversation with his wife at their farm in Bywong.

That was when his family's world changed.

Cramsie had been diagnosed with brain cancer. His daughter Kate Harrison put on a front for as long as she had to while sitting in a meeting at work. The moment she reached her car, the tears started falling.

Cramsie died in early 2021. Harrison can still get teary when she thinks about a moment with her father or one of his jokes.

So the thought of Thoroughbred Park partnering with the family for the third annual race day named in Cramsie's honour is something special.

"It's a really nice way to remember him, it's a really nice way for all of us to reflect on him," Harrison said.

"Dad, my husband Regan and I had been up at the Goulburn races. Coming back, he just felt a bit funny. We thought it was blood pressure but as it turns out, that was the start of it all. He'd had two other turns before that where something wasn't right. This one was where he saw flashing lights and something wasn't right.

"It was 18 months pretty much of surgery, radiation, chemo, doing as much as we could together. It's just sad. His funeral had over 300 people which is kind of a testament to what he was like as a person.

"What we've found through dad's treatment is there is not a lot of treatments for brain cancer.

"There's kind of like plan A and plan B and that was pretty much it. Things like the life expectancy has only improved one per cent over the past 30 years, it's just nothing.

"To know now we're raising that money to help the Mark Hughes Foundation with all their research and the brilliant work they're doing, that's really special."

Harrison is hoping Friday's luncheon - set to be attended by about 250 guests - can help the fundraiser past the $250,000 mark.

Harrison says the partnership with the Canberra Racing Club makes the day about "more than just a racetrack and racing".

Plenty of eyes will be locked on the Mike Cramsie Memorial Handicap, which will be the eighth race at Thoroughbred Park on Friday.

"Dad and mum dabbled in ownership here and there. It's funny, the first year, mum had a share in a horse and when it came to dad's race, it ended up winning it in its first start. That was a crazy way to start the day," Harrison said.

"We just hold a big luncheon at Thoroughbred Park and try to raise as much money as we can. The Mark Hughes Foundation was the one we chose and we're really happy we did."