Ballarat meeting transferred to Werribee

Racing Victoria (RV) wishes to advise that the meeting scheduled at Ballarat on Sunday, 19 January 2020 has been transferred to Werribee Racecourse.  

In addition to the Ballarat Turf Club’s (BTC) annual track renovation period following the Ballarat Cup meeting in November, significant drainage works including sand slitting and sand banding were undertaken at sections shortly after the winning post and at the 1700-metre mark.

This section of the turf track underwent renovation during the construction of the Ballarat synthetic track earlier this year, with the drainage works scheduled for this period to allow for an improved climate for completion and ensure the re-shaped section on the track was able to drain to required levels.

With these works conducted alongside the annual renovation, the track needs further time to recover than usual and as such, the BTC have opted to transfer their January meeting.

Ballarat Turf Club CEO, Belinda Glass, said: “Our annual renovation period is always programmed immediately following the Ballarat Cup and this year the club have taken the opportunity to undertake significant drainage works past the winning post and through the new turn.

“Works included both sand slitting and sand banding to improve drainage in areas of the track that suffered last Winter.

“While the club is disappointed in losing a race meeting, it was important that these works were undertaken at this time in order to provide us with more confidence in meeting racing commitments through the 2020 Winter period.

“On behalf of the club, I would like to thank the Werribee Racing Club for hosting the meeting and we look forward to a return to racing at Ballarat on Saturday, 4 February”.

As a result of the transfer, the updated program with distance changes is as follows: