Racing Victoria unveils its $25.3m dream field in Melbourne’s north to help future the state’s racing infrastructure

Racing Victoria has unwrapped its $25.3m dream field in Melbourne’s northwest, a property three times the size of the entire Flemington racecourse precinct.

Racing Victoria chief executive Andrew Jones unveils the industry’s $25.3m dream field in Melbourne’s north-west. Picture: Racing Photos

Racing Victoria has unwrapped its $25.3m dream field in Melbourne’s northwest.

News Corp can reveal the enormous property, 1.7km wide and 2.6km long, is bound by Oaklands, Craigieburn and Mickleham roads, Oaklands Park.

RV boss Andrew Jones said the 1000 acre block, three times size of the Flemington racecourse precinct, offered Victorian racing “endless options for the future”.

“I’m not expecting bulldozers to come here anytime soon,” Jones said.

“It will be a case of ‘ready, aim fire’, rather than ‘ready, fire, aim’, the objective is to get it right slowly, rather than get it wrong quickly.”

Racing Victoria’s North West Land in Oaklands. Picture: Racing Photos

RV has potential uses in mind, but no set plans for the land.

“Really, it is a blank canvas for us,” Jones said.

“We’ll work through with the various clubs of greater Melbourne, the VRC, MRC and MVRC, but also Werribee, Pakenham and Cranbourne.

“Work out what we need, where we need it and when we need it, to make sure the facilities in Victorian racing are always at least as good as they are now, and hopefully better.”

Options include a racetrack, training centre, education space, quarantine facility, “or none of the above”.

The $25.3m purchase, excluding stamp duty and fees, settled a fortnight ago.

The lush land, with sweeping views of Melbourne and marked by rows of towering eucalypts, had been owned by the one family since the 1930s.

The original homestead, tucked away in a western pocket of the expansive property, primarily used for grazing, is subject of a heritage overlay.

While a racetrack is part of the big-picture, Jones said the land is unlikely to become a “fan-oriented facility”.

“We have very good fan-facing facilities at Flemington, Caulfield and The Valley and they’ll get better with (Caulfield and The Valley) redevelopments,” Jones said.

The Oaklands property is 1.7km wide and 2.6km long. Picture: Racing Photos

The Oaklands parcel is likely to instead be modelled on Cranbourne or Pakenham training and centres, with the option to include quarantine and “a racing university”.

“We have to do all that on a financially responsible basis, if we don’t need it, or we don’t need it yet, there’s no particular rush,” Jones said.

The land, zoned green wedge, is on the fringe of the urban growth boundary at Mickleham Road.

Based on preliminary discussions with planning authorities, the green wedge zoning is unlikely to cause any significant roadblocks.

Pakenham racing and training centre at Tynong was built on green wedge land.

Jones congratulated his predecessor Giles Thompson for the investment foresight.

North West Land Aerial. Picture: Supplied

“Victorian racing has been very well managed for a long period of time, been lucky to come through Covid with $100m-plus on the balance sheet, and converting $25m or so of that into land is a no-brainer,” Jones said.

“Every year we do nothing, the land will be worth more, I think it is a very farsighted decision … it really gives Victorian racing endless options for the future.

“We’re in a very fortunate position, this is zoned green wedge now, we don’t expect it to change anytime soon, but if it does … nothing really bad can happen.

“Even in the very unlikely scenario we do nothing … the return on investment would be pretty good, that’s not the purpose of the acquisition, the purpose is to future-proof the industry in metropolitan Melbourne, particularly.”

A master plan for the North-West Land is not expected until mid-2023.

Originally published as Racing Victoria unveils its $25.3m dream field in Melbourne’s north to help future the state’s racing infrastructure