Flemington’s track manager Liam O’Keeffe said the opening of the new track, called Gallop Track, continued the VRC’s commitment to its trainers to provide the best possible training surfaces for their horses.
Opened at the end of August, it has given the 20 trainers based at Flemington another exceptional track option to work the 600 horses trained there.
Trainers love the Gallop Track surface as it represents the latest chapter in the evolution and improvement of synthetic tracks.
O’Keeffe explained the make-up of the surface was different to other synthetic tracks and would lead to a more consistent and safe surface year-round for horses to gallop on.
“It’s a synthetic surface made up of sand and emulsions, which is an oily, wax type material that binds the material together. There are some fibres in that sand that soften the footing,” O’Keeffe said.
High-quality sand sourced from a You Yangs quarry is used, which is another one of the improvements.
“It’s a beautifully coloured sand and it will give a nice cushiony surface for the horses to gallop on.”
Currently, Flemington trainers have the option of galloping their horses on ten different training tracks.
“Eight of them are sand or synthetic tracks and the other two are grass training tracks,” explained O’Keeffe.
“It provides trainers with a lot of opportunities to work on different courses for their horses. Horses can stay nice and fresh on different training tracks without doing the same thing every day,” he said
The new Gallop Track has replaced the old Pro-Ride track.
