The Kilcoy Race Club has unveiled plans to utilise its new million dollar facilities during the Christmas period with thoroughbred and harness meetings, and a professional foot race.
The south-east Queensland club has been able to substantially upgrade its facilities and track after grants from the local Somerset Council and state government.
The club has plans to be a premier TAB midweek and Friday club and possibly an alternate training centre to cater for a spill-over of city trained horses.
It will have a race meeting on Friday to be followed by its first stand-alone harness meeting on December 30.
Further race meetings will be held on January 4 and Australia Day.
There will also be a $5000 Kilcoy Gift, a professional foot-race over 120 metres to be run on Australia Day.
“We hope this event will become the Stawell Gift of Queensland,” Kilcoy chairman Con Searle said
“This first running will be a highlight of what we hope will be a family day. It’s a Sunday and it will be free entry for kids who no doubt will be interested in the mini-trot races which are run between the gallop races.”
Searle said the club had been lucky during the current drought conditions to be able to access treated water.
“We are allocated 140,000 litres of treated water daily and even through the drought of recent months the Kilcoy track has been bright green,” Searle said.
“Betting turnover on our meetings has skyrocketed and I’ve no doubt part of the reason for the big uplift is the state of the racetrack.”
