Albury trainer Mitchell Beer won’t run his horses while track remains engulfed in smoke from bushfires

Albury trainer Mitch Beer has made the welfare of his horses a priority and can’t see any sense in racing or galloping his team while the track is engulfed in a smoke haze.

Albury’s top trainer Mitch Beer has decided not to race any of his horses while a smoke haze covers the racecourse.

Beer made the call on ­Monday night after the four horses he took to Echuca raced below expectations. He will ­restrict his 50 horses to light exercise while the Albury track is ­engulfed in smoke.

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“I don’t know how long it will be for. It could be for a few days or even longer, it will be when it clears up. Financially I’ll take a hit, but in the grander scheme of things with what is going on, it’s nothing,” he said.

Beer said in long term he felt he would be rewarded by looking after his horses.

“There’s that much smoke around, it’s not guess work that they’re going to be affected.

“The horses I took to Echuca went dreadfully and raced pretty flat. In the car on the way home I thought about it and I regretted running them there.”

Mitch Beer the wellbeing of his horses must be a priority during these difficult times.

Beer said the air quality was so poor at Albury that Monday’s meeting, which had been transferred from Friday, was called off

“Logic says if Racing NSW has decided to abandon racing at the track due to poor air quality you shouldn’t be galloping them as well. You couldn’t be doing them any favours.”

Beer has over half the horses trained on the track and pointed out that no other horse also galloped there yesterday

“I’ll keep them ticking over. I’ll keep them in light exercise with trotting, walking and swimming.”
Beer sent out an email to his owners on Monday night telling them he wasn’t going to work or race horses during this period and he said he got 100% support from them for his plan.

He said if the track was still in the same situation next week he would look at taking his horses to another venue to gallop.

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Originally published as Albury trainer Mitchell Beer won’t run his horses while track remains engulfed in smoke from bushfires