By Ray Hickson
Introducing the Illawarra Grange – New South Wales’s newest racecourse.
The inner track at Kembla Grange is set to stage its first official meeting on May 5 and according to Illawarra Turf Club CEO Steve Keene it’s going to change the shape of racing in the area.
Constructed at a cost of over $8 million, the track is 22m wide and has a 1980m circumference with a 410m home straight and a 4 per cent camber and drainage that it is promised will reduce the loss of meetings due to wet weather.
“It’s an amazing investment in not only Kembla Grange but the Illawarra from Racing NSW,’’ Keene said.
“The club is grateful for the funding Racing NSW has provided for the facility and not only will our trainers and local participants benefit but industry wide participants will benefit from this amazing track.
“The plan is that washouts will be a thing of the past at Kembla.”
The Kembla Grange B Grass, known as the Illawarra Grange, hosts its first meeting on May 5.
The Illawarra Grange is better known as the B Grass and the rebuild by Evergreen Turf, along with Abax Constructions and Elite Soil & Sand, has been well received by participants who have put the track to the test in trials and jump outs.
And it’s been no rush job, the first official trials on the new track were held in March last year so the surface has been given plenty of time to settle in while the support infrastructure was installed.
“The track has been performing exceptional during the trials and jump outs we’ve been having,’’ Keene said.
“All horses will get their chance, be able to swing off that turn and the jockeys have been raving about how smooth the bend is.
“It’s a credit to the guys who have done the work to get it so right and there’s no better time to open it up than now.”
From a trainer’s perspective, and as someone who has ridden on the track many times, Luke Price says the surface has been a huge boost to training on the track and to have it as an additional racing surface can only be good as a back up not only for the Illawarra but racing in the south coast area.
“It’s got a fantastic camber, it corners so well and I know Tommy (Berry) has said the same when he’s ridden on it for me,” Price said.
“It can cop some rain so it’s going to be a huge asset when we get those real wet periods.”
The seven-race meeting programmed for May 5 features races over 1150m, 1300m, 1400m and 1450m but Keene said the track will also be able to host races at 2000m and 2200m.
There are no fixed dates for further meetings as yet but that will change if it passes the first test as well as expected.
“We want to showcase the track and we want people to see what we’ve been seeing for the last little while,’’ Keene said.
“It’ll be good to get it on TV for everyone to see and for people to come down and have a look.”
