Geelong to address turf track bias
Efforts to minimise track bias on the Geelong turf track have failed with jockeys steering a path to the outside rail at Sunday’s meeting.
The Geelong Racing Club has acknowledged the problem and says it will work with Racing Victoria during planned renovations over the next six weeks.
In an RV statement, Geelong Racing Club chief executive Daniel Salter accepted there was a clear track bias despite aeration of the outside section before the meeting.
“…I do acknowledge that with the rail out today at nine metres this has not worked as well as we would have hoped,” Salter said.
“We will now look at making significant improvements to the track surface during our annual renovations over the next six weeks prior to our return to racing on March 18.
“We understand the concerns raised by participants and the racing public regarding today’s meeting at Geelong, and will discuss the matter with stewards and Racing Victoria in the coming days.
“The club, as stipulated in the pre-race comments by our track manager Mark Jennings, did foresee a possible issue with the section nearest the outside rail and in light of this, we took action to prevent any bias in that area prior to today’s meeting.
“I have every confidence that we will not see an incident like this when we return to racing on March 18.”