Delay in race track funding

Trainers and owners are unable to condition their horses for racing until the flood-damaged training track at the Warwick Turf Club is repaired.
Queensland Racing funding, to help cover the costs of the repairs, have been delayed as a result of a number of Queensland clubs needing assistance following this year’s natural disasters.
Warwick Turf Club Inc president Jim Costello said a patch job would cost in the vicinity of $40,000 to $50,000. It is yet unknown how much funding would be provided through Queensland Racing.
Although the damaged grounds are causing an issue for local trainers and owners, Mr Costello said the club would still be able to hold their next meeting, the Killarney Cup, on March 19.
“Both floods did a lot of damage to the training track and running rails,” he said.
“That’s not good for the trainers and owners because they can’t get their horses ready to race but hopefully if they can be a little more patient; we’ll have it up and running soon.”
Mr Costello said the past few months had been a difficult time for them financially but the club was still travelling reasonably well.
“The loss of the Boxing Day races, which are one of our major revenue raisers for the year, hasn’t helped but at this stage it isn’t going to affect our viability,” he said.