Toowoomba Turf Club weighs up options after getting approved for Clifford Park Racecourse function facility, stables expansion

One of Toowoomba’s premier function spaces has been given the green light to expand – but the club responsible has revealed it is still weighing up its options. Find out what was planned here:

The Toowoomba Turf Club is still weighing up how to spend a $500,000 grant from racing’s governing body, despite being approved for a major expansion of its function facilities at Clifford Park Racecourse.

The Toowoomba Regional Council last week gave the green light to a two-stage extension to the racecourse site, which included a new 165 sqm function space to cater for more events and 400 sqm expansion of its horse stables.

It comes more than a year after the plan were first submitted by the turf club, which had obtained a grant towards hospitality facilities by Racing Queensland.

But CEO Lizzy King said while obtaining the approval was a welcome result, the turf club was now reassessing its strategy.

Layout plans for the new approved function centre at Clifford Park Racecourse, which is part of a two-stage expansion of the Toowoomba facility.

“It’s better late than never, it’s just a matter of what we do now,” she said.

“It’s significant, where we can possibly provide a new facility for race meets and events, so it’s great to provide that option.

“We’re competing with so many other places that have function spaces right now (so) it may not go in that space.

“We’re looking at using that money to beautify that facility in other areas.

“We’ve got our AGM coming up and the board has a terrific strategic plan that covers our future, so that grant funding and our function spaces will be top of mind.”

The second part of the approval involving more horse stables might not be needed, after the turf club bought an adjoining parcel of land to meet that need.

“The stables has already been done, an opportunity popped up where a property next to us came up for sale and we jumped on it,” Ms King said.

Clifford Park has returned to its pre-Covid level of race meets and events, with Ms King revealing the venue had been booked out for the rest of the year.

“Going into Christmas, we race every Saturday and we have no rooms available for private functions; we are chockers until Christmas Eve,” she said.

“People have finally gotten over the fear of going out after the pandemic, which is great to see.”

One of the club’s premier events, the inaugural Ray White Highfields King of the The Mountain race, will take place on New Year’s Eve.