Police ramp up probe into Magic Million track damage as repair efforts continue

The Gold Coast Turf Club CEO said the city had “banded together” during what’s been a “massive tragedy” as they race against time to fix their poisoned track.

Police will speak to current and former employees of the Gold Coast Turf Club as the investigation continues into the damaged racetrack which has placed Queensland’s most glamorous horse racing carnival under threat.

The Magic Millions was turned on its head on Friday when organisers were forced to relocate the carnival’s opening race day to the Sunshine Coast after discovering a large portion of poisoned grass near the finish line of the track.

Gold Coast tuff club racecourse manager Jody Rodgers on part of the damaged track. Picture: John Gass

Animal activists have denied causing the damage and Queensland Police Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon told media on Monday investigators were “not ruling anybody in or out” at this stage.

“We are looking at other people (besides animal activists), from employees, other people who might have some issues with the event or the race club,” he said.

“We’re not ruling anything out at the moment. Our investigation is fairly broad at this stage.”

Analysis of the damaged grass has been undertaken by experts with results expected early this week to determine exactly how the turf was poisoned.

Speaking on Monday morning as urgent track repairs began, turf club CEO Steve Lines said the mystery poisoning was a “massive tragedy” but he was confident the $14.5m Magic Millions raceday would go ahead on the Glitter Strip.

“We’re throwing every single resource that we possibly can to make this happen on Saturday,” he said.

“We’ve got lots of experts, we’ve got lots of advice and I feel very comfortable with what we’re doing at the moment.

Jody Rodgers with some of the equipment brought in from Sydney to repair damage on the track. Picture: John Gass

“The weather looks like it’s going to be on our side. We think that weather looks right for us and if it stays the way we want it and the way it looks from a forecasting point of view, we have a high level of comfortability around doing the racing here.”

Mr Lines said Flemington track manager Liam O’Keeffe, who helped fix the famous Victorian track hours before the 2022 Melbourne Cup after a protester dumped hundreds of litres of oily sludge, had arrived to oversee the repairs.

A top agronomist had also flown up from Sydney to consult on the repairs and determine what chemical may have been used to poison the grass.

The costly operation involves harvesting about 250sqm of surplus turf from another part of the racecourse and transplanting it into the damaged area.

It would then be galloped on by senior jockeys on Thursday morning to determine if the Magic Millions could go ahead, or if it will have to be moved to either Eagle Farm or the Sunshine Coast.

Tom Tate and Gerry Harvey at the Magic Millions Polo and Showjumping. Picture: Portia Large.

Mr Lines said widespread commentary that the damaged area looked too uniform to have been deliberate sabotage was incorrect, with the turf mown into a square in preparation for the transplant.

“Realistically there’s a whole range of different patchwork that existed under what occurred there,” he said.

“That’s the stuff our agronomist is looking at. He’s a highly-rated professional from Sydney who’s done pretty much every golf course in Australia. He’s seen these incidents before.”

Mr Lines said Magic Millions co-owners Gerry Harvey and wife Katie Page had been hugely supportive.

“We’re gutted, of course we are - Magic Millions is such a great partner of ours,” he said, “Katie and Gerry and the team … there’s been total overwhelming support.

“Everyone’s banded together to what’s been a massive tragedy. We’re not giving up hope, we’re going to do everything we possibly can to race here.”