WERRIBEE Racing Club is confident an investigation will find there are no underlying problems with its track after a jockey was injured and two horses euthanased during a race meeting last week.
Last Wednesday’s meeting at the Bulban Road track was called off with eight of 10 races completed.
Apprentice jockey Boris Thornton was thrown into a railing when the horse he was riding, Frenchkook, put his foot in a hole on the track and broke his leg. Frenchkook was put down while Thornton, 15, was taken to hospital with suspected leg injuries. He has since been released.
Another horse, Adoboli, was put down after being injured in race six.
Racing Victoria has launched an investigation into the track and the circumstances that led to the meeting being abandoned.
Chief executive Bernard Saundry said preliminary advice was that the track was suitable for racing at the start of the meeting but deteriorated throughout the day.
Racing returned to Werribee in late 2010, three years after jockeys refused to race there because of concerns about the surface.
The state government and Racing Victoria spent $5 million to upgrade the surface and its drainage systems.
Calls are now being made for the upgrade to be reviewed. But Werribee Racing Club general manager Ross Kendell was confident there were no problems with the work completed.
“Every track, when it goes through a major reconstruction like this, has some settling issues. Flemington went through a similar stage a few years ago.
“From our point of view, we know there aren’t any major underlying structural issues. The track is only three years old . . . it is a fantastic track.
“We are not talking anything as major as when the track was shut six to seven years ago.”
Mr Kendell said the investigation would cover a range of factors, including what times of the year the track could be used and the type of turf used.
He remained confident the arrival of international horses for the Spring Racing Carnival in 10 weeks and the Werribee Cup, scheduled for the Wednesday after the Melbourne Cup, would not be affected.
