Racetrack Columnist Upsets SA Officials with Closure Claims
- Tuesday, 14 January 2003 00:00
Representatives of the South Australian Racing Clubs Council (SARCC) and the Murray Bridge Racing Club (MBRC) have flatly denied claims by Adelaide based columnist Peter Neall that their track will soon no longer host track work.
Neall made the claim in his "On the Grapevine" column in the January/February issue that the provincial track at Murray Bridge was heading for the same fate as Cheltenham.
The report said that "like the threatened closure of Cheltenham as a training facility there is also talk that Murray Bridge trainers will have to relocate their operations to Strathalbyn for Murray Bridge will become, like Cheltenham, only used for racing."
"The Strathalbyn course would then become a training facility only," Neall continued.
The CEO of the SARCC, Chris Biggs was dismayed at the claims saying they had no substance.
"This article could not be further from the truth," Biggs said in a statement issued late last week.
"Murray Bridge is a strong training facility in which the industry and the club have spent significant funds over a number of years in developing a benchmark for training facilities."
"At the same time Strathalbyn has developed into one of the key racecourses for themed events, and there has been no discussion at any level regarding any reduced use of either facility," Biggs continued.
A statement from the offices of Thoroughbred Racing South Australia (TRSA) said that Neall had agreed to print a retraction in the next edition of the magazine.
