The Goulburn Harness Racing Club will this week see the start of a new era of harness racing when the completely redeveloped Goulburn Paceway is re-opened on Friday afternoon whilst the club hosts a Tier 2 harness meeting.
Following last year’s floods, much of the Paceway’s racing surface had been washed away whilst the jogging track sustained similar damage. Through Goulburn Mulwaree Council, the club was granted State funding to repair the damage and given the significance of these works, the club’s committee sought additional funding from Harness Racing NSW to construct a ‘state of the art’ racing circuit which would ensure the fairest, safest and most competitive racing possible.
The new Goulburn Paceway will now sport an increased radius on the home turn of 103 metres, 10% cambering on all corners, and spiral turns designed to aid horses travelling wide on the track to carry their speed into a wider home straight. These major improvements should see considerable improvements in race times, whilst horses will be able to win from all positions in running. Club President Dennis Day commented “it’ll be frightening what time they run”.
Reconstruction and design of the track was carried out by Divalls Earthmoving and Bulk Haulage in consultation with Victorian track expert Graham Maher. The finishing touch to the complex is a regulation safety fence replacing the well worn and dated galloping track running rail.
With one of the finest racing circuits in Australia, the count down now commences for the Goulburn Club’s second Carnival of Cups meeting which will be held on Sunday the 22nd January, 2012. Featuring the $30,000 Frank & Edna Day Goulburn Cup, the $18,000 Goulburn Soldiers Club Goulburn Rose and the $12,000 Goulburn Mulwaree City Sprint, the track records for the 1710m and 2240m journeys looked to be on ‘borrowed time’! With the level of prize money on offer, the Goulburn Club is hopeful of drawing many star pacers to its premier meeting aiding the promotion of Goulburn Australia wide.
The club’s next race meeting is this Friday, the 25th November. The club invites all fans of the harness sport to come out on Friday afternoon to enjoy an afternoon of exciting racing and the re-opening of the States second super fast racing circuit.
