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Eagle Farm Racecourse Could Be Closed For Six Months!

Written on the 2 June 2017

As we mentioned on Facebook earlier in the week, Saturday's Queensland Oaks program has been moved from Eagle Farm to Doomben, where the track is currently rated a Good 4 following fine weather in Brisbane all week.

This morning Racing.com announced the chairman of Brisbane Racing Club, Neville Bell, has indicated Eagle Farm could close for up to six months while experts are called in to rectify the ongoing issues the track has experienced since the redevelopment.

Bell spoke to RadioTAB in Queensland, saying the BRC and Racing Queensland are determined to get to the bottom of the problem which could take a significant amount of time.

"The track surface is not up to the standard of Group 1 racing and they are the facts," he said.

"It is going to be properly evaluated; Racing Queensland and the Brisbane Racing Club are working closely to come up with that solution.

"In saying that, it is not the flick of a switch obviously or something that can be done instantly."

Evergreen who built the new Eagle Farm track are submitting a renovation plan with consultation being sought by a number of experts in Australia and overseas.

"It is going to be a period of time, it could be up to six months, it could be three months, the short term definitely we won't be racing at Eagle Farm for a period of time. How long that is will be determined by the panel of experts," he said.

"We will also include industry stakeholders so it will be a very open and transparent process going forward."

Doomben of course will be forced to carry the majority of the load during the closure. Racing Queensland and Brisbane Racing Club are currently working through race programming and the effect this will cause having the main track out of action, to the rest of the schedule, which includes mid-week meetings and barrier trials.

(Photo: BRC chairman Neville Bell and CEO Dave Whimpey - Photo credit: Peter Wallis)


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Authorised Representative
(AR 001 272 774) under the TTSC's AFSL (288-213)