Last trotting meeting on grass at Blenheim

Press, 24 June 1981, Page 26

Last trotting meeting on grass at Blenheim

By

G. K. YULE

If the plans of the committee come to fruition, the Marlborough Trotting Club has run its last meeting on a grass track. A few minor details have yet to be completed. according to the president, Mr’ Peter Hope, and then work will start on an all-weather racing track; It is intended to extend the outside of the present allweather training track by some three metres into the present grass home straight, giving an all-over width of 20m to the new track. "There are about 80 horses worked on the track each day and they will be kept to the new outside section to help consolidate the surface in plenty of time for our next meeting early in February,” said Mr Hope.

The new track will be 1500 m in circumference, providing for racing over distances of 2300 m, 2700 m and 3200 m. and it will also be suitable should mile events be introduced. It is hoped tp start 15 horses in each race. “In all of the distances we have decided on, the horses will have a run of at least 200 m before the first bend,” said Mr Hope. The present grass track

will need little work done on it to compensate for the encroachment of the allweather track in the home straight. It is anticipated that some widening will have to be done on the home turn, but the material is at hand for this.

"We have had the greatest possible co-operation from officials of the galloping club, with whom we share the ownership of Waterlea, and this has made planning so much easier," said Mr Hope.

the trotting club has not yet worked out an accurate estimate of the costs involved in widening the track and shifting fences, but does not expect it will be too high. “It will be into five figures for sure, but nothing like the sum of more than $lOO,OOO to be spent at Ashburton," he added.

Arrangements are in hand for financing the project. It is hoped that most of the money will be raised by way of debentures from members and supporters of the club. Some tentative inquiries have been made in this direction and the response is considered more than satisfactory.

Work will, it is hoped.

start in earnest early in September, although a start will be made on preliminary preparations before then. "It is not as though we have to build a whole new track. There's only three metres or so of new surface to be prepared, so that shouldn't take too long." said Mr Hope. The Marlborough club had a slow track for its meetings last Saturday and Monday, with the surface showing the effects of hard wear by the time the last race was run. Even so. it provided a grand racing surface in comparison to the sea of mud encountered by horses and horsemen at Richmond Park for the Nelson club's meeting the previous week.

The introduction of an allweather racing surface inside the grass track at Richmond Park has been suggested in some quarters, but it could be some time before there is positive action towards this end.

The trotting club shares the running of the Richmond Park course with the Nelson Jockey Club and the show association and greater difficulty is expected in obtaining approval for constructing an all-weather track than has been the case in Blenheim.