Officials scratch Sydney meeting
THE race meeting set for Warwick Farm in Sydney on Wednesday has been abandoned because of the spike in COVID-19 cases in the Liverpool area.
But the Gosford races on Thursday and Saturday’s Randwick Kensington meeting are not under any immediate threat.
The unprecedented decision to call off the Warwick Farm meeting came after Racing NSW did a risk assessment given the cluster of 28 cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, about 15 minutes from Warwick Farm.
Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys emphasised this was a “precautionary measure to ensure that the hard work of the industry in continuing to operate during COVID-19 is not compromised”.
“The decision to abandon (today’s) Warwick Farm meeting has been made following a risk assessment performed by Racing NSW and the uncertainty in respect of the spread of the virus in that area,’’ V’landys said.
“Racing NSW will continue to monitor the COVID-19 developments in NSW and shall continue to react to ensure the livelihood of its 50,000 participants during the pandemic.’’
Racing NSW chief steward Marc Van Gestel said the location of Warwick Farm is in Liverpool city shire that has been deemed to be high risk.
“We believed the best decision was to abandon the meeting and not compromise the rest of the industry by having participants going out there to the races,’’ Van Gestel said.
“We decided in the circumstances, it was too risky until we have more information about the spike in numbers in the Liverpool area.”
As a result of Tuesday’s revised restrictions, Magic Millions has made the decision to further delay its national sale on the Gold Coast, which was due to start on July 20.
It will now begin a week later on July 27.
“It’s imperative to our industry we give participants the best opportunity to attend, the National Sale plays a vital part on the sales calendar,” Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said.
“The extra week provides prospective buyers with the opportunity to research and inspect the catalogue if they are in a position to do so.”