The Committee of the Mornington Racing Club has decided to undertake a major upgrade of the Course Proper immediately following the 2010 Luxbet.com Mornington Cup.
Over the past two years, three meetings including the important T'Gallant Peninsula Cup and AFL Grand Final Day meetings have been cancelled due to the state of the track.In addition the Club has raced many meetings on tracks rated a Heavy 8 or worse, which in turn has significantly affected starter numbers and therefore turnover.
Investigations into the track profile revealed that at the worst section, the drainage rate is less than 1mm per hour.In comparison, it is understood that Flemington Racecourse drains at 150mm per hour and Caulfield Racecourse drains at 120mm per hour.
"With such a poor drainage rate, even the slightest amount of rain at the wrong time increases the risk of having a meeting cancelled" CEO Fraser Bayne explained." A cancelled meeting has a significant effect on the financial status of the Club and robs the members of an opportunity to watch exciting thoroughbred racing at their home track."
The project will involve removing the top layer of soil and replacing it with a faster draining profile.This soil will be mixed with the layer below, creating an overall profile that will drain at effective rate.In addition to the new soil, a new drainage network including over 20km of drains will be installed.
The final layer will be a completely new kikuyu based grass surface, which is currently being grown on a plot at Skye.
Upon completion of the project, the Club will have a surface that drains at approximately 70 to 80mm per hour, which the Club and industry turf consultantsbelieve is the appropriate rate for a Club that has a large percentage of its meetings over the summer period.
Whilst this project will mean that 5 meetings will have to be transferred, the Committee believes that the track upgraed will allow the Club to reliably race throughout the year, attract more runners and better quality fields and ultimately enable the Club to host in excess of 20 meetings per annum.
"This project is a major step in securing the future of the Mornington Racing Club and will also allow the Club to provide members quality racing a on a superior track throughout the entire year" Bayne said.
