But the state of the near-1600m track at Kurow Racecourse can be put down to two things - good old-fashioned hard work and knowledge of the land.
The track was presented in excellent order for the Kurow Jockey Club's annual meeting on December 30, and the good3 surface received a big tick from Racing Integrity Unit stipendiary steward Jeff McLaughlin.
''It's the best track I've walked in two years,'' McLaughlin said, adding he was very impressed by the sole of grass.
Kurow Jockey Club president Simon Williamson said the quality of the track could be put down to a combination of things - and a combination of people.
''There's been a lot of hard work put in by people shifting water on a dry year like this,'' Williamson said.
''We've kept taking the top off it and kept water on it and that's the secret, really.''
The planting of chewings fescue grass into the track has also helped the surface, as it is a broader, rougher leaf of grass, preventing slipping.
The preparation of the track and the course as a whole starts three months before the meeting, ''We do spraying and bits and pieces. It saves a lot of work when you get closer to the day,'' he said.
''We start watering about six weeks out and after that we just keep an eye on it.''
The watering is done using a K-Line irrigation set-up which, while costly, reaps the rewards every December.
''It's quite an expensive operation - it costs $100 a day to run the K-Line and that's been going for about six weeks this year before the meeting.
''Ken Paterson - a local farmer there - he farms the inside of the track and he shifts the water for us.''
Williamson also praised Hakataramea Valley farmer Barry Gray, who keeps a good eye on the track, and Neville Gard, who mows the track every week or 10 days.
The conditions at Kurow in December were a far cry from 12 months earlier, when surface water on the track forced the cancellation of the 2013 meeting.
''The forecasts are getting better and Kurow is normally pretty dry. How often do you get 50mm of rain in Kurow overnight? Once every 10 years. Last year it just happened to be the day of our races.''
