.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
PLANS for a multi-million dollar expansion of training facilities at the White Hills racecourse are being development by Bendigo Jockey Club.
The proposal, which BJC chief executive officer Aaron Hearps says is in the very early stages, aims to significantly increase the number of horses trained at the track.
“Our numbers are currently at about 140 to 150 horses trained here, but we are looking to grow that to about 250 over the next couple of years,” Hearps said.
“Part of that plan is we are looking to build a new stable complex on course within the racecourse grounds.
“It’s pretty early stages at the moment. We have some local trainers in Shaun Dwyer and Paul Banks, who is now on the committee, getting some maps together and drawing how many boxes we can fit in.
“And we’re looking at having some treadmills and walkers and those sorts of things in there.”
The new facility would be situated to the right of the current racecourse entrance on Heinz Street.
Costings and more detailed plans are expected to be formulated in the first half of 2018, with existing trainers to be given an option of moving their bases to the new facility.
Hearps said it was hoped the development would lure a few new trainers to the region.
“We might be able to look at some Caulfield trainers or some trainers from South Australia, who seem to be jumping the border a bit at the moment,” he said.
“In terms of Caulfield, it doesn’t sound like their training facilities are going to be open well into the future, so there might be a few looking to relocate over the next five years.
“Our timing might work in quite well.
“Something the committee and I have been looking at is we haven’t had a good Group type horse here in Bendigo for a while, but we’ve got great training facilities and we are well located, so how do we look to rectify that?
“So we are taking steps to address that.
“Our track manager Bernard Hopkins assures me were up around 250 horses not too long ago and he thinks we can comfortably get back up to that.”
The BJC has prioritised an upgrade of the inside grass training track as its major capital works program for 2018.
It comes 18 months after a $1.1 million refurbishment of its sand track – jointly funded by the club, state government and industry – which has won rave reviews from local trainers.