MERGE SURGE
Beaudesert and Coast set to unite
GOLD Coast Turf Club is poised for a shock merger with Beaudesert Race Club in a bid to help the struggling 139-year-old country track stay afloat.
In what could lead to a major upheaval in southeast Queensland racing, Beaudesert members will vote in the next six weeks to decide if they unite with the progressive coastal club.
If approved, the merger would allow Gold Coast to sublease the Beaudesert facilities and take a step towards making the country club financially viable again.
Beaudesert’s board needs at least 51 per cent of the club’s 75 members to support the move in order to proceed.
Committees from both clubs have been in talks in recent years about partnering as the financial strain surrounding Beaudesert continued to deteriorate.
“We have been really struggling,” treasurer and committee member Matt Ahrens said.
“We will get by but it’s like you are going through the motions at the end of the year. By end of 12 months you have done hard work just to break square and haven’t been able to put anything back into the facility or give members anything better. “You are just surviving. “The merger isn’t something we need to do to survive but it’s more of an opportunity on behalf of our members.”
Gold Coast officials declined to comment, but it’s understood should the merger go ahead, the club could take smaller race days to Beaudesert.
Gold Coast is awaiting news on significant funding for lights and track upgrades from Racing Queensland, a move that would give the club the ability to hold Friday
night racing. The expected upgrade is likely to add 10-15 races to Gold Coast’s program each season. Many of those extra Saturday meets could then switch to Beaudesert, as was the case for last month’s Beach to the Bush race day.
Beaudesert traditionally relies on the revenue gained from Anzac Day races, held last Wednesday, to keep the club going, along with Beaudesert Cup and Derby Day.
The club lost more than $1 million due to the March floods that prevented the club racing until October.
They also missed out on running the 2017 Anzac Day meeting.
“Anzac Day is our main revenue for the year,” Ahrens said. “We just had a good one and the club lives off that. There are a couple of other profitable days a year but otherwise most of the meetings you lose money because of the cost to run them.”
All Beaudesert committee members are volunteers.
Gold Coast has been helping supply staff and other resources to a club it believes would have folded months ago if not for its assistance.
Beaudesert lease their land from local council and the Gold Coast club aim to make the property freehold, as is the case at Aquis Park, within three years.
“If we can get this off the ground with the members we will probably develop a 20year … plan to try and take the club forward as the population grows,” Ahrens said.