WORK on Ballarat Turf Club\u2019s all-weather synthetic racing surface is complete and the track has already been pressed into service.<\/p>\n
Heavy rain made the turf course unusable on Sunday and Club management were able to save the Mother\u2019s Day race meeting by swapping to the poly-track.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a lot more rushed than we anticipated but given the circumstances with 69mm of rain on Thursday night and Friday morning, and we\u2019d had 117mm of rain since the start of the previous week, we would have lost the racing meeting,\u201d said BTC CEO Lachlan McKenzie.<\/p>\n
Following successful recent gallops and jump out trails, as well as the Mother Day races, Mr McKenzie said the racing fraternity were positive about the poly-surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had excellent feedback back from all the jockeys and trainers. There\u2019s no issues with any part of the track. Horses seemed to be able to win from any spot, there\u2019s no bias or paten.\u201d<\/p>\n
After an 18-month process, Mr McKenzie said seeing the new surface being used was, \u201cA great feeling<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see it all come together and race so well was all very rewarding and a great sense of achievement given the amount of work and investment that\u2019s gone into building the track,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With two options now available to the club for race meetings, it means the turf track will be used less, extending its quality, especially over the winter months.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a racing perspective it\u2019s reassuring knowing that for the upcoming winter, and winters to come, we\u2019re guaranteed to be able to race,\u201d Mr McKenzie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a training perspective, it\u2019s a huge boon for our club to be able to include a new track that 16m wide and is a forgiving, all weather surface that\u2019s another great assets for our training centre and I\u2019m sure will result in more horses and more winners coming from Ballarat.<\/p>\n
Ballarat Turf Club\u2019s new synthetic track will get its official launch on Friday, 17 May with the Porter Plant Cup Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WORK on Ballarat Turf Club\u2019s all-weather synthetic racing surface is complete and the track has already been pressed into service. Heavy rain made the turf course unusable on Sunday and Club management were able to save the Mother\u2019s Day race meeting by swapping to the poly-track. \u201cIt was a lot more rushed than we anticipated […]<\/p>\n