Magic Millions 2025: Damaged track to be repaired ahead of big Gold Coast 2YO Classic race day
Fresh photos show the operation underway to remove and repair a critical section of Gold Coast Turf Club race track so the state’s richest race day goes ahead on the Glitter Strip. LATEST
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Police investigating damage to the Gold Coast Turf Club racetrack that has put Saturday’s $14.5m Magic Millions race day at risk are looking at CCTV, animal activists and track staff.
Gold Coast District Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon said police were notified by the club on Friday of the damage to a section of turf near the finish line which spans about 16 metres by 20 metres.
“We are currently looking at CCTV, not just of the location where the damage is, but also in and around the racecourse to ascertain the movements of people in and out of there and also whether there are any people who should not have been in the premises that were there,” Chief Supt Hanlon said in an update on Monday morning.
“We’re also meeting and speaking with a number of employees that were in and around that area at the time. Part of our investigations include talking to animal activists.”
The latest on the police probe comes as the section of damaged turf is ripped up as a major repair job begins in a race to ensure Queensland’s richest race day is held on the Gold Coast as planned.
Police believe the damage had occurred days prior to being discovered. At this stage testing of the turf is still underway to determine how the turf was killed. Chief Supt Hanlon said if it was an act of vandalism, those involved would have required some level of planning.
“That’s a concern for us considering the event that was occurring. It’s surprising from a policing perspective that that much damage could have been caused without someone noticing it earlier,” he said.
“Our investigation is fairly broad at this moment and as further information comes to hand, we may start targeting a certain cohort of people.”
Turf Club CEO Steve Lines said the repairs had begun but said he was not prepared to point the finger at anyone while the investigation into the damage continued.
“There are a lot of theories going around but we will have a report within the next five days which will outline what was put on the track,” he said.
“Police are still investigating and we are not in a position to judge but we have met with the turf expert and people should be wary of any accusations at this point.
“We had detectives out again (on Monday morning) and we continue to acquire evidence.”
Club bosses met at the weekend with turf repair company Evergreen Turf to institute a fix allowing Queensland’s richest race day - featuring the $3m 2YO Classic and the $3m 3YO Guineas races - to go ahead without a hitch.
Vastly-respected Flemington track manager Liam O’Keeffe also flew into the Gold Coast on Sunday to help fix the track, which had been found to be poisoned at the 500m mark.
Mr Lines said the damaged section had been squared off for removal and replacement with healthy turf.
Originally this was to come from the 2400m section of the track but a better-quality area was found late on Sunday which instead will be used.
“I’m as confident as I can be in a crisis and this is absolutely a crisis but we are working to fix it,” he said.
“All the equipment has arrived, we have prepared the area and squared it off and we are happy with the turf we are harvesting and that will start going in on Tuesday.
“It looks like the right solution but we need the weather to be with us but I feel reasonably confident with where we are at.”
Thursday will be D-Day for the Saturday race, when the treated section will be tested to see if it will withstand the pressure.
Eagle Farm and the Sunshine Coast, which successfully hosted Saturday’s meeting at short notice, loom as the logical options if the racing has to be moved.
Saturday’s race was to be the first-ever twilight meeting but it was forced to be relocated to the Sunshine Coast whilst all the entertainment stayed on the Gold Coast including Daryl Braithwaite and Amy Shark concerts.
It was discovered late on Friday and police began investigating what has been described as “wilful damage”.
Asked about his ideal timeframe for a final decision on whether to proceed with the Magic Millions race day on the Gold Coastor move it, Racing Queensland CEO Jason Scott said: “We don’t want to have the mad rush of last week.
“We will hopefully put a horse over Wednesday evening, at worst Thursday morning and a decision will be made very early Thursday to give people time to react and us - we’d have to move to another club.”
The final call was a complicated process involving racing stewards, the jockeys association and Magic Millions, he said.
“Part of it is a commercial decision. I don’t want to get to a situation where the track looks good Thursday, doesn’t improve to the degree we expect and it gets cancelled Saturday.
“We need to take that risk out so it will be a combination of ourselves and Magic Millions - probably (co-owner) Katie (Page),” he said, saying she had already visited Eagle Farm.
Asked if it the racing had to move and what would happen with the trackside entertainment and festivities, he said: “One of the reasons we need to make the decision early is I’m very cognisant of a lot of owners coming from NSW and to give them time to book accommodation.
“Our preference is we want to run one event this week - it worked well last week with the social event on the Gold Coast andraces on the Sunshine Coast. But we have time to plan this week so prefer to have it all in one place.”
EARLIER
The club has ramped up security at its Bundall racecourse as experts work around the clock to fix its track ahead of Saturday’s Magic Million Classic.
Club bosses have met with turf repair company Evergreen Turf over the weekend to institute a fix which will allow the $3m 2YO Classic and the $3m 3YO Guineas races to go ahead without a hitch after a critical section of the track was found poisoned on Friday.
Vastly-respected Flemington track manager Liam O’Keeffe also flew into the Gold Coast on Sunday to help fix the track, which has been found to be poisoned.
Turf Club CEO Steven Lines said he was “fairly comfortable” the race meet would go ahead after Saturday’s twilight on-track action was moved to the Sunshine Coast.
“We met with a company called Evergreen on Saturday who flew up and took a look at the most affected areas, inspected it and the plan now is to square off a section at the 500m mark,” he said.
“We’ve done that now and it will be cut out and a good bit of grass from the 2400m track will be cut out in slabs, using a special machine.
“It will then be laid in that section and will be treated in and if the weather is on our side, then we are fairly comfortable the whole thing will be right.
“They’ve done the same process at Caulfield and Flemington in the past but it is the toughest part of the tracks because it is where the pressure really comes onto the horse.”
Mr Lines said Thursday would be D-Day for the Saturday race, when the treated section will be tested to see if it will withstand the pressure.
“We will run a horse over it on Thursday and get some feedback,” he said.
“Naturally we will be working on it constantly until then and we are also having talks with the Magic Millions to pull together a contingency plan if needed.
“The Magic Millions people and Katie Page have been amazing and hugely supportive.
“We are just gutted for them, so we need to do our darnedest to make sure this comes together.”
Eagle Farm and the Sunshine Coast, which successfully hosted Saturday’s meeting at short notice, loom as the logical options if the racing has to be moved.
Saturday’s race was to be the first-ever twilight meeting but it was forced to be relocated after a 250 sqm section of turf at the home turn was found to be poisoned.
It was discovered late on Friday and police began investigating what has been described as “wilful damage”.
“Police were advised around 7pm (on Friday) concerning a large area of the racetrack sustaining damage. Investigations remain ongoing,” a police spokesman said in a statement
“Any witnesses or anyone with relevant vision is urged to contact police.”
While the races were held on the Sunshine Coast, the off-track entertainment and festivities were still held on the Gold Coast, including performances by Daryl Braithwaite and Amy Shark.
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Mr Lines said it had been a stressful series of days but he was “staying up-beat” and focused on next weekend’s races going ahead while the investigation into the poisoning continues.
“Security has been put on, with specific guards on the track and we have CCTV everywhere too so we are working with investigators,” he said.
“This has been massive and we have put all the systems in place across the whole width and breadth of it so we can walk away saying we did absolutely everything possible to ensure this occurs.
“The bookings are fantastic, the weather is looking like it will be solid and this is probably the best we have ever been set up for it on track.
“It’s massively disappointing but we are looking ahead.”
Mr O’Keeffe inspected the course on Sunday as work began to fix the track.
He famously saved the day for Flemington in 2022 when a protester pumped 1000 litres of an oily substance onto the track just hours before the staging of that year’s Melbourne Cup.
Working against the clock on Melbourne Cup morning, O’Keeffe and his team were able to repair the damaged section of the track so the meeting could safely go ahead.
The following day they successfully removed the damaged patch of turf near the 1500m mark, re-sod with fresh turf and had the track in working order for VRC Oaks Day.
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