Oreti sand just right
Track resurfacing via Southland is an investment in the future for Christchurch greyhound club
Christchurch greyhounds will be running on a smoother track that may help them go faster, and it’s all thanks to sand coming from Southland.
Fifty-five truck and trailer loads of fine sand from Southern Aggregates’ Oreti Beach plant is being used to resurface the Christchurch greyhound race track.
The processing plant is near Invercargill.
The track needs 1450 tonnes of sand, and 1250 tonnes has already been transported to the track at Addington Raceway.
Christchurch Greyhound Racing Club secretary Tony Music said a mountain of sand was sitting in one of the car parks.
Work on removing the old track surface – a mixture of two types of sand – started yesterday and would be followed by laying down textile cloth, a new drainage system and the sand.
The old track was raced on several times a week and needed a new surface, Music said.
Greyhound Racing New Zealand national track curator Nigel Rugg and Dave Cooke, of Radler Consulting Ltd, said the Southern Aggregates’ sand was perfect for the Christchurch track.
The sand’s cushioning effect would help reduce injuries to greyhounds, Cooke said.
The same sand is used on the greyhound track at Ascot Park in Invercargill. ‘‘It is one of the safest and fastest tracks in New Zealand,’’ Cooke said of Ascot Park.
The Christchurch club was investing in the future by using the Southland sand, Cooke added. The total cost of the track project was about $200,000.
Without disruptions, racing should resume there on April 25.
In the interim, new race days have been scheduled in Invercargill and
Dunedin to provide racing opportunities for Canterbury greyhounds.
Invercargill’s race meetings are on tomorrow as well as April 13 and 20.
Eighteen races have been programmed for tomorrow.
‘‘It [Invercargill’s Ascot Park] is one of the safest and fastest tracks in New Zealand.’’ Dave Cooke Radler Consulting Ltd