New track for Timaru

The Phar Lap raceway at Timaru has had a major spruce up ahead of its season-opening meeting on Sunday .

The 1200 metre track has been completely re-surfaced.

“It had become quite powdery and floury,” says Harness Racing NewZealand (HRNZ) venue inspector John Denton, “the old product was past its best.”

So over three days last week Denton and Phar Lap’s track manager Warwick Coles oversaw the removal of the old surface, and then replaced it with fresh sand and grit.

The work was partly funded by the Government’s Racing Safety Development Fund.

"We were thrilled with that funding," says Timaru Harness Racing Club President Liz Shand.

“We put on 200 tonnes of racetrack sand and 100 tonnes of chip,” says Denton, “with a recommendation that we add another 100 tonnes of sand to replenish it next February.”

“The new material gives the track more life, and a lot more cushion.”

The “new” track will be in use for the first time when it hosts a nine race meeting on Sunday. It will be the Timaru Harness Racing Club’s first meeting of the 2020-21 season.

'We are delighted to have it all sorted in time for Sunday," says Shand, "we have set up our future with the best material and the best advice."