Eagle Farm to be ready by April

AAP - Friday August 4

Eagle Farm racecourse, which has been closed for two months, should be ready to resume hosting race meetings in April.

Photo: Steve Hart

An independent report by former Victoria Racing Club chairman Dale Monteith into its closure was released at Eagle Farm on Friday.

The report recommends the removal of the existing grass and thatch layer and replacing some of the base with angular type sand.

The report also recommended laying couch grass and also having a graduated return to racing in the first 12 months of operation.

The work should be completed in time for a return to racing in April and the next winter carnival.

Monteith pinpointed several areas where the $10 million new track had failed including using the wrong sand, wrong grass, and the budget for the project.

He also identified problems with maintenance programs during and after construction as well as weather events.

Queensland's Racing Minister Grace Grace was supposed to be on hand for the release but she was caught up in a massive traffic jam on the Gold Coast Highway.

Eagle Farm, Queensland's premier track, has been closed as a racing venue since May 27 and Grace instigated the independent report.

The closure followed repeated complaints by trainers, owners and punters about its surface.

Grace called a meeting of interested parties on Thursday which included Brisbane Race Club boss Neville Bell and the club's chief executive David Whimpey as well as RQ chief executive Eliot Forbes and Monteith.

Bell and Forbes said the main point was there was a clear path to go forward with tenders for the remedial work to be called within a matter of weeks.

Forbes said the remedial work would be funded through the Racing Infrastructure Fund with the $1 million to $1.5 million cost to be covered by it not public funds.

"This report has taken into consideration all the circumstances and feedback on the track design, construction and maintenance," Forbes said.

"It gives us a clear path on how to get Eagle Farm back racing as soon as possible."

Asked if RQ was considering any legal action over the track failure Forbes said all options would be reviewed

He said race dates allocated to Eagle Farm from December to March would be relocated to other tracks.

Bell said it was not a matter of blame game and he wanted to emphasis the club was committed to getting back to Eagle Farm as soon as possible.


 

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Thursday December 19
Here is the full list of 36 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
No Shock in Supernova
The good times keep on rolling for connections of winning machine Here To Shock(NZ) (Shocking) who plundered the inaugural A$1 million Supernova at Pakenham over his favoured 1400m distance for trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes.
Sires With Winners - Friday December 20
Here is the full list of 71 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Four MM Lead Ups for Icarian Dream - what are the stats?
Two-year-old filly Icarian Dream’s win in the B.J. McLachlan Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday will see her head into the Magic Millions 2YO Classic having had four starts before year’s end, which might seem a lot in this day and age – but is it? We’ve had a look.
Is He the Next Via Sistina or Buckaroo?
The Fastnet Rock x Galileo cross is a formidable one and has produced this spring’s elite Group I winners Via Sistina (IRE) and Buckaroo (GB) with another lightly raced import bred the same way in Gilded Water (GB) going two for two in Australia with a cavalier win at Randwick on Saturday.
$250,000 Magic Millions Debut Friday Night – Sale Mail
A field of 10 unraced juveniles will get the chance to go straight into the $3million Magic Millions 2YO Classic with a win in tonight’s $250,000 Magic Millions Debut (1000m), so who are the contenders?
Another Stakes Win For This Burly Enigma - Leave The Whip At Home
Enigmatic is a word often bandied about in racing but it certainly sits well upon the ample shoulders of Cannonball, a big odds winner of the Listed Magic Millions Falvelon at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Arriving Home Goes Two for Two – Three-Quarter Brother for MM 2025
Talented I Am Invincible filly Arriving Home does her best work on the line and we saw it when she scored on debut at Warwick Farm earlier this month and again when she got there in the last stride to win at Randwick on Saturday.
Zoustar Mare Wins for Te Akau - Half-Brother for K1
Consistent sprinting mare Egyptian Queen was rewarded for a string of solid performances at Te Rapa on Saturday, powering away with the Lodge Real Estate 1200.
Hong Kong Summed Up - Dec 22
A double for Brave Smash, including a new winner, also new winners for Hellbent and Kermadec, and three yearling catalogue updates amongst seven Australasian bred winners at Sha Tin on Sunday.