Racing Victoria (RV) and the Benalla Racing Club (BRC) advise that Bet365 Benalla Cup Day will now be run this Sunday (26 September), after it was postponed from today due to concerns over a wet section of the track near the 200m mark.
An investigation by RV Stewards and BRC officials has determined that a malfunctioning sprinkler which had been watering the sand training track overnight as part of the club’s daily maintenance program was the source of the problem. The automated sprinkler had become stuck in the opposite direction at some point overnight, thus resulting in the isolated wet patch.
With little to no rain forecast in the area between now and Sunday, RV Stewards and the BRC are confident that the affected area will sufficiently dry for the track to be suitable for racing on Sunday.
The fields will remain as drawn, with all scratchings from the original meeting now being reinstated. In addition, no scratching fee will be applied should trainers choose to withdraw their horses from the rescheduled fixture.
In accordance with RV’s abandoned meeting policy, a compensation fee of $550 per runner will be paid to connections affected by today’s postponement irrespective of whether or not their horses start on Sunday.
Revised race times for the rescheduled meeting are as follows:
R1 12.35
R2 13.05
R3 13.40
R4 14.23
R5 15.03
R6 15.35
R7 16.08
R8 16.44 (Benalla Gold Cup)
R9 17.26