A Long-overdue track upgrade will have immediate benefits once racing returns to Ascot Park in early December, a Southland official says.
The Southland Racing Club's meeting there on Sunday was abandoned after one race when a horse slipped going around a bend.
Club president Sean Bellew said the abandonment was not directly related to the track itself but the fact the rail was moved out for Sunday's meeting had caused the problems, and an upgrade of the track was needed - the first in at least three decades, he believed.
''What we realised was because the track broke up so badly after two days' racing in February and we had to move the rail out 4m ... the negative camber came into play at the 1200m and horses slid on hard ground.
''We've got to go backwards in order to go forwards.''
The two days of racing in quick succession on February 16 and February 18 accentuated the problems, which all stemmed from the root structure of the grass, Bellew said.`The experts tell me the root structure is thatch-rooting, and the roots can't penetrate down because of the compact nature of the track.
''The ground is chipping out quite badly. In some instances, they're dislodging clods of six inches by six inches. But the danger comes in the next race when you get horses running over corrugated ground.''
Bellew has been heartened by the offers and suggestions coming in from not only around the district, but as far afield as Canterbury.
''I've had farmers from Mossburn to Lumsden to Dipton to Tokanui telling me how to deal with it.''
Two meetings were likely to be affected by the closure. A Wairio Jockey Club meeting in May would probably move to Winton and a Southland Racing Club meeting in October might move to Gore, Bellew said.
''We are very confident we will have the track right for our Christmas at the Races [meeting in December], which is our big day for us down here in Southland. That's an 8000-people-on-course day for us.''
The track maintenance programme, which was already under discussion before the recent problems, will result in about 170kg of grass seed drilled to supplement the existing grass.
''We were looking at spraying off completely ...
"but we think we may not do that and just deal with the thatch root. It's a short-term loss for a long-term gain.''
