24 Feb 2017 Shepparton News, Shepparton VIC (General News) by Alison OConnor Seymour Racing Clubs longawaited training track is finally a reality. The existing synthetic training track is well past its use-by date, but the track will soon be in top condition all-year round thanks to a $1.2 million funding package from the Victorian Government. The current training track was put in 13 years ago and it was only supposed to last six or seven years, so its done pretty well, Seymour Racing Club chief executive Penny Reeve said. Its well and truly at the end of its life. Its just not up to a suitable standard anymore. Weve added more material to it over the years to try and draw out its life, but its beyond that now and it just needs to be replaced. Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said the Victorian Government would contribute $600 000 towards the project through the Victorian Racing Industry Fund (VRIF), while Racing Victoria would provide $420 000 and the Seymour Racing Club would contribute $180 000. The upgrade will include stripping the existing surface, improving the base and drainage systems and replacing some running rails, while a new automatic irrigation system will also be installed. At the moment its what they term a synthetic track, so its sand, fibre and wax all mixed together, Ms Reeve said. The new track will just be fibre and sand, and an irrigation system will be set up on it to keep it at a moist level. With the current track, the wax breaks down over time and you need to put more wax on, which is very costly, whereas the new track will rely on water to maintain its surface. The new track will also be made slightly longer to allow for a more sweeping bend at one end, in contrast to the current tight bend that horses and trainers have to deal with. About 38 trainers work with about 100 horses at the track each day. Our trainers will still be able to use our other sand tracks in the meantime, but there will be considerable disruption because drainage needs to be put in for the new track, which will go across the other two tracks, Ms Reeve said. But the end result is we will have a whiz-bang track right here in Seymour. They have the same track at Mornington and trainers really like it. Ms Reeve said the club was thrilled to be a beneficiary of yet another injection of funds. Seymour Racing Clubs grass track recently underwent a $5.5 million makeover, thanks to VRIF. We have been waiting for VRIF funding from the government and were so thrilled it has come, Ms Reeve said. VRIF funding is just the best thing for race clubs. It means we can actually do things, and were so thankful for it. Ms Symes said the latest announcement was another important improvement to Seymour Racecourse. (The racecourse) has been undergoing a $6 million redevelopment over the past 16 months with support from the Andrews Labor Government, she said. We are pleased to support the new training track, which will greatly enhance the facilities at this vital country training venue. Work is expected to begin in April, and should take about 10 weeks to complete. Caption Text: New track: Seymour Racing Clubs Penny Reeve was thrilled with this weeks funding announcement, which will see a new training track installed at the venue. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.