Geelong Track Set To Open
- Friday, 18 June 2010 08:45
Geelong could race on its new synthetic track before the end of the month.
The track, which is being laid by Pro-Ride, was to have been completed in February but was subject to a series of frustrating delays.
Racing Victoria, which has been in control of the project, is now hopeful that the first meeting on the new synthetic track will be held on June 29.
Local trainers will be able to gallop horses on the track on Monday and there are plans to hold up to 10 race trials on the new surface next Wednesday.
"We want some horses working on it and to oversee the successful completion of trials before we call for nominations for the first meeting," RVL chief executive Rob Hines said.
Providing the synthetic track is given all the clear, entries for Geelong's June 29 meeting will close next Thursday, a day later than usual.
Geelong Racing Club chief executive Paul Carroll said Pro-Ride would put the finishing touches to the track on Saturday.
"We are anticipating horses will gallop on it on Monday, trial on it on Wednesday and, touch wood, it will be ticked off by the stewards so we can be racing on the 29th," Carroll said.
The new synthetic track replaces the Geelong ThoroughTrack which was also a synthetic surface but was open for racing for only 15 months.
The last meeting on the Geelong ThoroughTrack was in October 2008.
Drainage works were carried out on the ThoroughTrack early last year, but in the process stones from the base of the track contaminated the surface.
Ironically, the ThoroughTrack was to host transferred meetings from other venues which couldn't race because of bad weather and other factors but the ThoroughTrack's own problems caused numerous meetings to be transferred away from Geelong.
In the last month alone, the opening of the Geelong track has been postponed twice.
It was to have had a delayed opening on Friday, but last month that was amended to June 25.
RVL has blamed poor weather for the latest delay and the June 25 meeting will now be held at Traralgon.
