BRISBANE NOBBLES GC RACING
Night races not likely until 2021
THE $10 million Magic Millions race day is unlikely to be held under lights until at least 2021 because of a track upgrade debacle at Brisbane’s Eagle Farm
Ongoing problems with the state’s premier track are affecting developments at all levels of Gold Coast racing, including infrastructure and track upgrades, race-day prizemoney and luring more big name trainers.
Eagle Farm’s track underwent a $22 million upgrade in 2014 but a botched job meant racing did not resume until June 2016. The new surface was plagued by even more problems when the grass never truly “took” to the surface and eventually died in March last year.
Trainers and jockeys complained the Eagle Farm surface was worse than a heavy track.
An inquiry led to an announcement that the course would be rebuilt in August last year but delays with the tender process and problems with access to materials have critics believing Eagle Farm won’t hold another race until 2019.
The Gold Coast City Council has approved the installation of lights for night racing at the Gold Coast Turf Club.
But GCTC chairman Brett Cook said the Bundall club may be forced to sit idle after it was told its Racing Queensland-approved $39 million masterplan would not be put through Treasury until the Eagle Farm track upgrade was completed.
Mr Cook was hopeful of having the Magic Millions run under lights in 2020, but new Racing Queensland CEO Brendan Parnell said both the Eagle Farm delay and “logistical” issues meant 2021 was more realistic.
“It’s an exciting project and great for both Gold Coast and Queensland racing but it’s very complex and there are a lot of logistical elements that need to be worked through,” Mr Parnell said.
He said he’d have more of an insight into various challenges faced by the GCTC and others at meetings with various racing groups this month.
Industry sources did not believe it would be finished until the New Year. Mr Cook said it could take three to nine months to complete construction of the lights and upgrades to the training track and course proper on the Coast.
“We have to make sure Eagle Farm is up and running properly this time,” he said. “With Eagle Farm down all the other race clubs are getting extra work.
“We have had to take on extra meetings with Ipswich, Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast.
“It’s important it gets up and running before they shut another one down and do major work on it.”
The lights will enable GCTC to host night racing on some Fridays while shifting other meetings to Beaudesert.
Trainer Michael Costa moved from Sydney to the Gold Coast at the end of 2016 to take advantage of a track he rated highly and the lower costs of living.
Costa, who stables Brisbane winter carnival horses for major Sydney trainer Bjorn Baker, said night racing could inject more money into the industry and the quicker it arrived the better.
“Night racing doesn’t change how we operate as trainers much and getting more money injected into the system would far outweigh the tweaks we would make in the stable,” Costa said. “Gold Coast has one of the best tracks I have ever seen with the amount of races it cops and how well it races. It’s absolutely phenominal.
“It just probably needs the supporting factors around it where it can have a bit of a breather at some stages.”
Big name trainers such as Chris Waller, Kris Lees, Gary Moore and record-breaking Queensland horseman John Zielke have set up on the Gold
in the past year, and all want the planned track upgrades to be green lighted.
Racing giants Godolphin and Team Snowden have also said they would consider setting up on the Coast if the work was done.
Mr Cook said the GCTC was in the best financial position in recent memory and ready to push into a new era.
The club signed a threeyear naming rights deal with Aquis, worth an estimated $600,000 a year, and discussions are already under way to double that contract.
Weekly corporate bookings are strong and while oncourse revenue through memberships and general admission has plateaued, offcourse funding from sponsors such as Aquis and function centre bookings have the club on track to record $1.4 million profit this financial year.
Mr Cook said building a $1 million airconditioned betCoast ting ring this year and the development of a licensed club as part of the masterplan were key to helping the club fight competition from local pubs, clubs and The Star casino.
“We have all this land but trade only one day a week,” he said. “The more race clubs can trade six or seven days a week, the better they will be.”
The club is also looking to increase prizemoney to stop trainers chasing bigger riches over the border.
It would be achieved by the club’s better financial position and proposed developments of residential units in the GCTC precinct.
Over the border at Murwillumbah, trainers can get up to $9625 through a breeder owner bonus scheme (BOBS) offered in every race. Runners that finish 10th or better also receive prizemoney.
In Queensland, runners can earn up to $8500 in bonus money through the QTIS
scheme, designed to encourage people to breed and race horses in Queensland.
However, just one race at last Saturday’s Gold Coast meeting carried the incentive. Unlike NSW, Queensland provincials only pay to fourth.
Mr Cook said he had approached Mr Parnell about bringing back extra funding for prizemoney offered by the state governing body four years ago that had prize pools at $19,000, not today’s $16,000.