By Xavier Smerdon
Jeremy Crawford, Werribee Racing Club CEO said at this stage the club’s next meeting on 26 February would go ahead as scheduled.
“We could have raced this week but we decided to err on the side of caution,” Mr Crawford said before the weekend.
Recent downpours caused damage to the training facilities, resulting in the decision to move the meet to Seymour.
Racing Victoria’s Acting Chief Executive Paul Bittar said the rain came at an inconvenient time.
“A standard track renovation was undertaken immediately following the opening meeting on 4 December, but the wet weather and low soil temperatures experienced since have not allowed the renovation to take full effect,” Mr Bittar said.
“We could have proceeded with the race meeting on 29 January, but it would have impacted the long-term consolidation of the track which is still very new and potentially put the March Cup meeting in jeopardy, so we have taken a conservative approach while the racing surface remains in its infancy.”
In Yarra Valley the racetrack was flooded for the third time in three months, causing race meetings for the next three months to be moved to different venues.
