Brisbane Racing Club boss Dave Whimpey backs Eagle Farm track to live up to expectations in long run

BRISBANE Racing Club chief executive Dave Whimpey concedes punters are right to question the performance of Eagle Farm.

BRISBANE Racing Club chief executive Dave Whimpey concedes punters are right to question the performance of Eagle Farm.

With hindsight, he said, many aspects of the project should have been done differently.

Whimpey admitted pundits who have called for the track to be shut down until it improved had a “valid view”. However, there was “an equal and opposite view that we should be running more on it to bed it down’’.

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Whimpey insisted the track would live up to expectations in the long run, despite being pilloried by every sector of the industry since its return in June.

“The punters and stakeholders of this great track have extremely high expectations that we are not meeting at the moment and we accept that,” he said. “The top 10-15mm is holding moisture in that thatch layer. To fix that, we start a renovation and rail program.

“After next Saturday, we start coring. That coring will break up the thatch layer and allow moisture to get down further into the profile. We are very confident by doing that coming into the spring and summer it will significantly improve the track.’’

Whimpey said last summer’s nematodes attack and the chemicals needed to remove them meant the renovation which would have occurred in the autumn did not happen, contributing significantly to the track’s performance at the moment.

Events leading up to the reopening of the track were “a perfect storm of what not to do’’.

The Eagle Farm track has been heavily criticised since reopening in June.

“Technically we probably did (race too soon), but there was a lot at stake with the winter carnival,” he said. “When Eagle Farm was out, (Queensland racing) had a $150 million decline in turnover. That’s a lot of pressure on Eagle Farm. This is an economic converter.

“Are we learning? Yes we are. Do we have a technology that’s going to land in a great spot? Yes we will.

“I’m confident of this.”

Australian Trainers Association state spokesman Cameron Partington said the BRC should have been more honest in its appraisal of the track in its early stages.

“We were constantly told how great the track was going to be,’’ he said. “It would have been nice if they had been upfront about it six months ago.

“What you want to see is gradual improvement and we’re not seeing that at all. The form just goes out the window. I imagine a lot of punters would have decided simply not to bet there.’’

Whimpey strongly defended the club’s much-criticised watering policy.

“If we didn’t water at all, you’re going to get a powdery, dry sub-surface,” he said. “At the moment, we have 30 per cent moisture in the thatch layer, but down further only 10 per cent. So it’s very dry underneath, but wet on top.”

Q & A with BRC boss DAVE WHIMPEY

Q: What do you say to punters that believe it should be shut down?

A: “I would say that’s a valid view. We have moved some race dates to give it a break. There’s an equal and opposite view that we should be running more on it to bed it down. There’s polarised views. The punters and stakeholders of this great track have extremely high expectations that we are not meeting at the moment and we accept that.”

Q: Have you brought more pressure on yourselves by not being more up front with the issues that had come before the track opened?

A: “If we had our time over again we might have shared some of those concerns we had. We didn’t know until we ran over it, though. We wanted to make it a positive thing. If we came out with those issues would it have turned everyone (owners/trainers) off it completely? You’re kind of damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

“If I had it over again I think we would have shared some of the data earlier. Right now, I still rate it a 6.5 out of 10 (from the data tests done on the track). It’s a challenge to get the right balance between the data and what people feel.”

Dave Whimpey admits the club may have reopened the track too early. Picture: Patria Jannides

Q: Did you race too soon?

A: “Technically, we probably did, but there was a lot at stake with the winter carnival. There are commercial pressures and you have to find the right balance.

“When Eagle Farm was out, (Queensland racing) had a $150 million decline (6.1% decrease) in turnover. That’s a lot of pressure on Eagle Farm. This is an economic converter.

“We at the death knell looked at everything and Doomben, but there’s also corporate risk as well. Ideally, we would have loved to open over summer, or spring at the very least. Opening in winter will probably never be done again.”

Q: There is a perception you are watering too much. Right or wrong?

A: “I think it’s wrong. The people making those perceptions aren’t considering the cold, still nights and dew on this track.”

Q: Would it have been better to lay turf rather than stolonizing?

A: “Absolutely. We would have laid turf (with time over again). It’s a $600,000 difference (but) that’s a foregone conclusion. We all agree with that, but we can’t change that.”

Q: Is Kikuyu the right type of grass for the sand profile track?

A: “Absolutely. If we had time over again, would we have done more investigative work on couch? Yes we would. Will we have this same grass in five years? Time will tell.

“At the moment I stand by the kikuyu we have on it. Once it grabs and holds, we will reassess it then. Does that mean we will oversew it with couch? I can’t say. It’s possible we could have a hybrid. We have to go through one summer and see how it stands up.”

Q: You bypassed an option to have Evergreen provide 12 months of maintenance on the track. Was this a mistake?

A: “Absolutely, we would have changed that. We would have left the maintenance program with the experts. That was a rationalisation. Like stolonizing instead of laying turf.

“The BRC has put over budget nearly $600,000 that would have otherwise been part of the maintenance program. We have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at this track.”

Q: Are you still as confident today this will be the showpiece track everyone hoped it would become?

A: “My confidence level has increased. That’s easy to say and rolls off the tongue, but who’s going to listen to me? It will take time. We need a really good dose of Mother Nature. This track will be really thirsty over summer.

“Are we learning? Yes we are. Do we have a technology that’s going to land in a great spot? Yes we will. I’m confident of this.”

Originally published as Brisbane Racing Club boss Dave Whimpey backs Eagle Farm track to live up to expectations in long run