THE track at Healesville race course was given the all clear by Racing Victoria last week, paving the way for a return to racing at the picturesque track.
Healesville Amateur Racing Club committee members were at the course on Thursday as the new sections of the track were put to the test under the watchful eye of Racing Victoria’s Country racing development and administration manager Garry Buckley.
HARC president David Purcell said almost 1500 cubic metres of soil was laid on a low spot between the 1000-metre and 600-metre mark on the back straight, raising it by 700 millimetres in some places.
Work was started on the track in April last year but had to be abandoned as a result of a very wet winter.
“We didn’t get back to it until November and it was finally seeded in December,” Mr Purcell said.
Jockeys Adam Bodey, Leigh Taylor, Courtney Pace and Stephanie Dorning put four lots of horses through their paces to test out the track.
As they moved into the starting gates for the final “jump out” Mr Buckley said approval from the jockeys was one of the criteria for an all-clear to race.
“We have to be satisfied there are no abnormalities with the track itself, but the riders and the stewards have to tick off on the track today as well,” he said.
With the 2 March meeting booked out for marquees, and the Healesville Cup meeting scheduled for the week after Easter, the HARC committee is looking forward to getting back to the business of racing, and, hopefully, seeing some return for all the hard work.
Mr Purcell said while the jockeys had given their seal of approval for the new stretch of track, the punters were also on a winner.
“It’s that little bit higher over there, so they’ll get a better view of the horses down the back straight,” he said.
