Randwick racecourse is attempting the equivalent of hosting a family Christmas in the middle of major home renovations.

The big surprise is that it’s working.

The secret is simply to invite fewer relos.

Those who want to turn up and drink a little too much can still do so.

But they’re not bothering anyone because for once there’s room to move and plenty of places to escape to, or from.

That includes the old Flat in the middle of the course, where the poorest punters used to congregate in the old days.

It’s the first time many racegoers have seen punters in the infield, although one old-timer described the $25 entry fee there as a “bit rich”.

The obvious downside for the track is smaller crowds.

The gate had to be capped on Derby day at 16,000 – a good 8,000 fewer than usual and a far cry from the 28,000 who turned up for the Golden Slipper at Rosehill a week earlier.

The upside was that those who did come enjoyed their race day in comfort, free from the jostling elbows that have been the norm at every turn.

The main grandstand was full of scrap metal instead of people, its roof, one side and part of its back ripped off.

Alongside was a fenced-off area the size of a football field full of building debris and cranes.

Prominent owner John Singleton said: “It will all be worth the wait in the end, but in the meantime it remains a bomb shelter set alongside a tent city. It looks like Osama bin Laden was the designer.”

The $150 million redevelopment will be finished next year, providing the Australian Turf Club with a new grandstand and 4500-seat horse viewing area to be known as the Theatre of the Horse.

There will also be a 1000-seat ballroom which will double as corporate suites on race days.

And no doubt a return of the fancy sponsored marquees.

There was no sign of them on Saturday, or of the Hooray Henrys who tend to populate them.

In their place were punters lolling about on picnic rugs, or watching from underneath umbrellas, enjoying the peace and sunshine of a glorious autumn afternoon.

It all seemed more democratic, and more pleasant.