Forbury Park back from dead with races allocated; sells package of land

FORBURY Park has got off the canvas and is alive, confirming it has been reallocated race dates and has sold a parcel of land to a local consortium for more than $1 million.

The club said it was thrilled to be racing again and moving to Wingatui may be a longterm option.

Yesterday was DDay for the race track and the club at Forbury Park as the final calendar for the 202021 season was released. The draft calendar indicated Forbury Park had lost all of its meetings, both in harness racing and greyhounds.

But after some lobbying from the club, the Racing Industry Transition Authority (RITA) yesterday confirmed it had allocated 10 dates to the Forbury Park club and also 10 dates to the Otago Greyhound Racing Club, which races at Forbury Park. The trotting club will also host the Tuapeka meeting on October 25.

Forbury Park Trotting Club chief executive Della Henderson said it was very exciting for the club and acknowledged the hard work done by the board, staff, club members and supporters.

The club had 20 dates last season and she said it could operate with 10 dates.

It had agreed to take part in a feasibility study which would look at its longterm future.

The club had sold off a piece of land, between the old stand and the southern end of the ground on Victoria Rd.

She said the land had been sold to a local consortium to use for residential housing. She declined to say who bought the land but confirmed it had been sold for more than $1 million.

‘‘We have been really focused from last year trying to secure a future for the club. From OctoberNovember last year we have been trying to put a plan in place,’’ she said.

‘‘We have managed to do that . . . but we have not sold the land to get the dates. There was never a conversation around that.’’

The option of moving the club to Wingatui was one which would be considered.

The Racing Industry Transition Authority yesterday said licences allocated to Avondale — which received five dates — and Forbury Park were conditional on regional reviews of racing in Auckland and Dunedin being completed by the end of this year.

Forbury Park’s first harness meeting is set for October 1, while the first greyhound meeting is on September 3.