The Otago Racing Club is promoting its Wingatui racecourse as a possible site for state-of-the-art, all-weather racing facilities.
New Zealand Racing Board chief executive John Allen signalled that the industry must move to upgrade its facilities to stop the wave of abandoned meetings that cost clubs more than $2 million in lost profits earlier this month.
Allen told the Otago Daily Times his organisation would investigate the possibility of building all-weather racing facilities, in both the North and South Islands, that would cater for all three racing codes - thoroughbred and standardbred horses and greyhounds.
That has resulted in the Otago Racing Club quickly putting its hand up to have its Wingatui racecourse considered for such a development.
Chief executive Hannah Catchpole has already started dialogue with Allen and the racing board, which is still in the very early stages of considering its building options.
''Wingatui is the perfect location as it is the middle ground between Christchurch and Invercargill. It would make sense because we are that central point for South Island racing.''
The large block of land the club owns and its good horse population base were other factors that strengthened the Otago club's case for being the base for a premium facility for South Island racing.
''We have got really good horse numbers down here,'' Catchpole said.
''We may be a small club but we want to see racing happen at all times of the year and have the necessary space . . .''
Allen said any new plan or plans to build new facilities in New Zealand would probably need to be a collaboration between the three racing codes.
The Otago Racing Club was open to working with the harness racing and greyhound codes to get the racing board to spend their millions on a new facility at Wingatui, Catchpole said.
The first stages of any plan to build such facilities are yet to be revealed by the New Zealand Racing Board.
