Racing Victoria (RV), in consultation with the Ballarat Turf Club (BTC), wishes to advise that the Sportsbet-Ballarat meeting scheduled for this Sunday, 2 June will be transferred from turf to the BTC’s new Polytrack.
The turf track, which has received 37mm of rain over the past week and more than 140mm this month, was inspected by RV stewards today and deemed unsuitable for racing on Sunday.
Stewards were of the opinion that a section of the track between the winning post and the 1700m mark would not sufficiently dry in time for Sunday’s meeting and thus the decision to transfer the meeting prior to acceptances was made.
RV considered turf transfer venues in the region, however the racing program, impacts of wet weather and track maintenance requirements meant there were no other suitable turf venues.
As a result of the transfer, the distance will be changed for the following races on Sunday’s program:
- Maiden Plate – 1500m from 1600m
- BM78 Handicap – 2100m from 2000m
- Fillies and Mares BM70 Handicap – 1500m from 1600m
All other distances and prizemoney remain unchanged with a field limit of 12 to apply for all races.
As a result of the transfer to the synthetic track, horses entered for Ballarat on Sunday that are seeking a turf venue may be entered for Bendigo this Saturday, 1 June until 5pm today as an extended entry or as original entries prior to 10am tomorrow for Moe (Monday, 3 June) and Warrnambool (Tuesday, 4 June).