3 minute read

Tasmanian thoroughbred racing followers need only become used to one timeslot for the remainder of the 2020/21 season with Sunday afternoon racing alternating between Hobart and Devonport until October.

In Brief

• Racing exclusively in Hobart and Devonport for remainder of season.

• 1600m starting point used for trials from Tuesday.

• Good numbers for Sunday's program.

The all-weather tapeta track in Devonport is accustomed to handling the increased workload during the colder Tasmanian months but the regular racing in Hobart will be a test for the improved track which has only held 18 race meetings following the first meeting on the re-developed surface on 1 February 2020.

Tasracing's Project & Facilities Manager Ricky Aitken is pleased with the progress of the Hobart track since the highly publicised issues in late 2020 but remains determined to take a long-term view to a track which is still in its relative infancy.

"Relatively speaking I think it's raced well across the last three months and we're determined to make sure it stays that way," said Ricky Aitken on the Hobart track which has held six race meetings since the calendar turned to 2021.

Sunday's nine-race program will be the first of six meetings left in Hobart for the course of the racing season, but one change replay viewers will see commencing on Tuesday will be a new starting point for trials conducted in between race meetings.

"The barriers will be at the 1600m point and a temporary finishing point placed down the back straight.

"The trials will be around witches hats out-wide on the track which will be at least +18m off the inside of the track," said Aitken with the new position of trials enabling horses to work on a part of the surface that is rarely used.

The alternating starting and finishing points for barrier trials and jump outs is something that is common in other parts of Australia and is also likely to be implemented in Hobart in due course.

"Ultimately I think the plan will be to alternate our trial starting points between the 1600m and 800m so effectively that part of the track is only trialled on once a month," added Aitken.

The track in Launceston has recently concluded its involvement with the 2020/21 season and is undergoing remedial work. Aitken is conscious that works on the Hobart track may not be as detailed as Launceston, but a compulsory shutdown period will be needed later in the year.

"Our long-term view is that we'll need extended breaks a couple of times a year during the growing months of spring and autumn to do some meaningful work to the track," Aitken said adding that the next break for the Hobart track will likely be around September.

The rail is in the +3m position for the entire circuit on Sunday, one that enables maximum field sizes which is a positive for trainers and punters alike with three of the nine races scheduled receiving 12 or more acceptors.

The +3m position has been used twice in Hobart since the track re-development, the initial time for the first meeting back on 1 February 2020, and subsequently again on Caulfield Cup day, 17 October. On both occasions winners were able to come from anywhere on the track with the weather differentiating substantially between the two meetings.