Port Lincoln race meeting abandoned after stolen car damages track

A race meeting in South Australia has been abandoned after a stolen car drove on to the track and caused damage.

A stolen car has caused damage to the Port Lincoln track, forcing the Friday twilight meeting to be postponed. Picture: Port Lincoln Racing Club

Friday’s twilight race meeting at Port Lincoln has been postponed under wild circumstances, after a stolen car drove on to the track and damaged the surface overnight.

The damage caused saw the track deemed unsafe for racing, with Friday’s meeting – a nine-race card – postponed to a later date.

Port Lincoln Racing Club general manager Eloise Dukalskis confirmed that the club discovered the damage during a track examination early on Friday morning.

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“We had a track inspection just before 5am this morning, the team member who did the safety run of the track was the person who notified us,” Dukalskis said.

It’s a huge blow for the Port Lincoln Racing Club, which has had a strong start to its 2024-25 season after a testing period.

“This club has had a bumpy couple of years coming out of covid, we’ve had some really great growth this season, big membership numbers and lots of businesses coming in to support us by having their Christmas meetings on site,” she said.

“To have to call off the meeting the day of is a tragic outcome for the club and all the businesses that were really looking to celebrate the start of the silly season after a pretty tight year.”

• Headstrong Sir worth the trouble

The stolen car was “dumped” at the racetrack. Picture: Port Lincoln Racing Club

The damage to the track was located at the 1200m mark of the circuit, with seven of the nine races scheduled set to be run over 1210m or further.

“The member of our team that was conducting this inspection had to notify police of the stolen vehicle that had made its way on to the track,” Dukalskis said.

“The damage has been limited to one section of the track, which is a redeeming nature of the incident, because it is isolated to one section of the track, we’re hopeful to undertake repairs, we’ll definitely be up and racing again ahead of our next meeting.”

Rescheduling Friday’s postponed meeting before the club’s next programmed meeting on December 6, is a challenge.

“Whether or not we can reschedule this current meeting, we’ve got a great local pool of trainers, for them to be travelling to other provincial areas for races is a significant undertaking,” Dukalskis said.

“If we can get racing happening here, the sooner the better for those local horses, it really does depend – it’s a bit early to tell.”

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A statement from SA Police detailed that a car was “dumped” at the racecourse after being stolen overnight.

“At 4.20am on Friday 22 November, witnesses located a Toyota Prado which had driven through a fence and rolled several times on to the racetrack causing damage to the surface,” the statement said.

“The car had been reported as stolen from Port Lincoln overnight. Patrols searched the area but no suspects could be located.”

Racing SA stewards confirmed the postponement of the meeting in a social media statement made on Friday morning.

Port Lincoln - 22/11/24 - Meeting Postponed due to an external incident that has caused damage to the racing surface.

— Racing SA Stewards (@RSAStewards) November 21, 2024

Not ideal. pic.twitter.com/udkPTXMtQK

— Joel Marshall (@joel_marshall86) November 21, 2024

Originally published as Port Lincoln race meeting abandoned after stolen car damages track