ON the eve of Pakenham Oaks Day, the most popular date on the local racing calendar, Pakenham Racing Club chief executive Michael Hodge sat down with Gazette reporter RUSSELL BENNETT to provide an update on the newest jewel in Racing Victoria’s crown – the new Tynong precinct.
RUSSELL BENNETT: The race day stalls and tunnel, specifically, are well on the way to being built. What is the latest with those, and the general course construction?
MICHAEL HODGE: We have two priorities or timelines. The first is having the track available and ready for training of horses from Pakenham. That has slipped and the weather has played a big part in that.
The tunnels and the horse stalls are well underway, but considerable work is still required to be completed to get us to a position where the venue can be ready for the arrival of horses and full scale training.
The second stage is racing. Racing will not commence until at least 12 months after training. What’s interesting there, is that we will return to racing in the season of 2014-15 and consistent with this, the Club has just provided race dates to Racing Victoria Ltd (RVL) for racing to commence mid-March 2015.
At this stage, 17 meetings have been scheduled from March 15 for the 14/15 racing season, nine of which will be on grass, with the remaining eight on the synthetic track. It’s important to recognise that the meetings on the synthetic track will be part of the RVL Winter racing program that is conducted each year from May to August.
RB: So when will the synthetic track be built?
MH: We plan to commence it late 2014 in readiness for racing in the winter of 2015. It is also a key piece of infrastructure for training, so the earlier it is ready the better.
RB: Where is the club at with regards to the trainer allotments?
MH: The Club is about to launch the marketing campaign and bring to market the Stage 1 trainer allotment sub-division, which will consist of 18 lots. There are currently 80 trainers on an expression of interest list. We’re waiting for the Spring Carnival to conclude before we head out on a number of road shows across the key racing/training centres – Pakenham, Mornington, Cranbourne, Caulfield and Flemington. We will be launching the sale of the trainer allotments via road shows and we’ll be looking to conclude those towards the end of November. The trainer allotments will be sold via a tender process, and tenders will close on 30 January, 2014.
RB: Have you been working with the Pakenham Trainers Association on the facilities?
MH: Yes, we have and with the transition fast approaching, that consultation has ramped up considerably. In regards to facilities, the masterplan which was completed five-years-ago, still dictates the development agenda and there has been considerable consultation on that and on refining elements of that masterplan as we go. The Pakenham Trainers are key stakeholders in this development and they will continue to be closely involved via the consultative processes that have been set up by the Club and the Pakenham Trainers Association.
RB: The weather has had a big impact on the schedule. Do you have a rough estimate on how long it has been delayed?
MH: At the moment, the schedule is suggesting that the program is running two months behind. The horse stalls, sand tracks, tunnel, exercise ring and float park are on the critical path, to get training happening as soon as we possibly can.
RB: When is the first lot of turf scheduled to be laid?
MH: We expect Evergreen Turf will commence to lay turf in January 15 and that process will continue on through to March as it is a two-month process in itself, due to the size of the grass track and the fact there is nearly 10 hectares of turf.
RB: Over recent weeks, what have been the most pressing things to deal with at the property?
MH: The contractors would definitely say the weather and of course the strong winds that have been with us this past month. At the moment, it’s all about project delivery and the critical path to getting training facilities completed. There is also concurrent activities that are still being worked on, such as the course proper; the building of the wetlands, which is integral to our drought-proofing strategy; and the civil works associated with roads and car parks and other key services infrastructure.
RB: With the V-Line track just over the road, will there be any plans for a station between Nar Nar Goon and Tynong, or an upgrade to either of those?
MH: It has been discussed at Government level and is part of the club’s overall vision, but it’s not something we’re focussed on in the short term. We are however considering the entire vehicle and public transport management requirements for the facility, of which rail services is just one important component.
