Steve Looks Ahead To Plans Set To Transform Cranbourne
Cranbourne Turf Club chief executive Neil Bainbridge is committed to developing Cranbourne as the pre-eminent training and racing centre in the state. Progress has been swift over the past three years and there’s more to come with a 300 room hotel; seven theatre cinema complex; state of the art veterinary hospital; 1000 seat convention centre; equestrian centre with a 3000 seat indoor arena; industry training centre; horse pool upgrades and drainage works on the grass training track all on the schedule.
In October 2014, the club opened it’s $4,000,0000 grandstand which Bainbridge says rivals any ‘city’ track facility. Last August, stage one of the $6,500,000 on-course stables complex was unveiled.
It has also, just last week, opened an uphill sand training track which has been designed more to replicate working in the sand dunes rather than providing a galloping track.
The on-course stables, leased from the club, are home to Robbie Griffiths, Robbie Laing and Greg Eurell along with training combination of Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young. A new block, which will be occupied by Enver Jusufovic, will be opened within a fortnight and that will take the number of horses trained on-site to 257.
“We have the room and desire to continue expanding the on-course stabling facilities and will eventually cater for a further 500 horses,” Bainbridge said.
The training centre already hosts 162 trainers who work as many as 850 horses each morning and, aside from those on course, has 150 odd horses walked on from the independent stables of Mick Kent, Cindy Alderson, Shea Eden and Nikki Burke which are adjacent to the training complex.
It was Kent who, unbeknown to Bainbridge, took it upon himself to adorn the new uphill sand track with a banner marking it as Mt. Bainbridge.
Around 1400 metres of sand trails lead to the heavy sand, rise which allows horses to work in either direction uphill for either 140 or 250 metres.
“The feedback’s been very good from trainers and their assistance led by local Robbie Griffiths has been instrumental in the outcome achieved,” said Bainbridge of the track which has been 12 months in the making and which required tonnes of clean fill which was provided free of charge by a local land developer. It’s replaced the sand hills between the training centre and racecourse which could no longer be used because of public access issues.
“Thoroughbred racing is the biggest individual industry here – in the biggest municipality in Victoria,” Bainbridge said.
That municipality is the City of Casey with a population of c. 250,000 which is two to three times greater than it’s inner city or nearer suburban counterparts. It’s 54 kilometres from the Melbourne GPO and can hardly be subscribed as ‘country’ or ‘provincial’ as was certainly the case when the first race meeting was conducted in 1867 or even in 1978 when the great Manikato (Manihi) won on his debut at the track.
That status may well change. The track, of course, also hosts harness and greyhound racing and with 118 meetings per annum it is the busiest racing centre in the country. Next season, the harness racing will have metropolitan status and the hope is that might – one day – also be the case with thoroughbred racing.
Bainbridge said: “Like Mornington, given our proximity to the CBD, we are essentially a city club and we’d hope that would eventually be recognised in terms of our racing status.
“We would hope that we would be favourably assessed in terms of prize money increases just as Moonee Valley has been funded to offer increased night prize money above basic midweek levels. Cranbourne has been an integral part of the success of night racing with our turnover up 9.5 per cent, for the night racing season just concluded.”
Bainbridge foresees a $1,000,000 race at the track which might be a $1,000,000 Cranbourne Cup (1600m), under lights, with the winner ballot exempt from the Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m).
“Alternatively we could look to develop a different race which might be billed as a Cranbourne Millions. I’d hope this could happen within three years with the support of RVL and CRV. It might be specific to Cranbourne or could at least begin with a $1,000,000 dollar race which might rotate among outer metropolitan or major country clubs,” he said.
The club is debt free and well poised to begin the major developments, outlined above, in conjunction with state and local government and private investors.
“We have plans, and zoning approval, for the hotel which would surround our existing entertainment facility Trios. We’ve worked on this with Major Projects Victoria which is now known as Development Victoria.
“Other initiatives including the cinema complex, convention centre and veterinary hospital would be driven by $110,000,000 of private investment. Much of this would benefit the community at large and more specific developments like the veterinary hospital would be very valuable for the racing industry in the south east of the state,” Bainbridge said.
At the same time, the club will not lose sight of it’s core training facility with drainage and pool upgrades planned along with the creation of a chute to allow 1000 metres reverse direction, grass trials. “We’d envisage having 1000 horses on track eventually,” Bainbridge said.
The club also has land adjacent to the racecourse car-park which might well suit a major trainer wanting to relocate from another facility and there’s little doubt a place at Cranbourne will be much sought after if any of the inner-city training facilities are closed.
While there is no specific time frame on the various developments outlined for the track, the process has extended well beyond board-room discussion and are considered ‘very real’.