Rain rules out races

By Stuart Teather
PAKENHAM Racing Club’s Tuesday meeting was moved to Bairnsdale after the track was deemed unsuitable for racing.
The track was too soft underfoot following the heavy rains of the previous week, with 24mm falling in the seven days before the meet.
The track had also had heavy traffic in the lead-up to Tuesday’s meet, with four meetings in six weeks, plus hurdles trials.
Racing manager Michael Hodge said the decision was made in the best interests of all involved.
“Obviously we’ve had too much inclement weather, the track is in heavy condition as a consequence of some previous race meetings, and also the fact that it’s the middle of winter, the grass growth just isn’t as good as it normally is,” he said.
“Given the soft conditions of the track, we felt it was going to cut up and presented a risk for the conduct of the meeting.”
Hodge was keen to stress that it was not just Pakenham suffering from the rain, with tracks including Moe, Mornington and Stony Creek affected as well.
In a further blow to local trainers, the two planned jumps races at Pakenham were swapped to flat races because Bairnsdale is unable to stage jumps races.
However Hodge said the decision would ensure the track was in fine form for the club’s next race meeting.
“We’re disappointed, it’s not something we want to do and it’s not a decision we take lightly, but it will mean our race meeting on 1 August will not be jeopardised,” he said.