Graeme Hawkins – track showing signs of wear
In view of the deteriorating condition of the Scottsville track, Gold Circle has made the decision to move the racemeetings of Tuesday, 19 August, Tuesday, 26 August and Tuesday, 2 September to the Polytrack at Greyville.
That leaves four remaining racemeetings at Scottsville before the course will be closed for a major overhaul during the spring treatment period which is scheduled to commence on 15 September.
“Because of the various developments at Greyville last year, the Scottsville racecourse did not undergo its annual spring treatment in 2013 and as a consequence the track is now starting to show serious signs of wear and tear,” said Gold Circle’s Racing and Marketing Executive Graeme Hawkins.
“Apart from tomorrow’s meeting (Tuesday, 5 August), we will retain the racemeetings of 13 August, 7 September and 14 September at the Pietermaritzburg track but the number of runners down the straight will be limited to 14, as a false rail will be erected to avoid racing on the extreme inside where the track condition is at its worst,” added Hawkins.
“The Scottsville racemeetings of 7 September and 14 September are major fund raising charity days – hence our desire to stage these meetings there – but the possibility remains that these could also be changed if circumstances so dictate.”
As the Polytrack caters for distances of up to 2000 metres, Gold Circle has added a MR 74 over 2400 metres to the programme on Sunday, 14 September, to compensate for the loss of a similar race on Tuesday 26 August.
