Canberra Racing to install new synthetic Polytrack

Work will begin on installing a new synthetic race track at Thoroughbred Park on Saturday, with it hopefully finished in time for the meeting on May 19.

That means the new Polytrack, which will replace the problematic synthetic Acton track and is believed to cost about $5 million, will be up and running in time to allow the grass track to take the winter off.

Canberra Racing chief executive Darren Pearce announced the new track on Friday, which he said could be used in all weather.

That included the massive storms that have become part of Canberra life and have led to race meets being called off in the past.

Instead, if the grass track's now too wet, the races will simply switch to the synthetic track.

"It's an insurance policy for those [really wet] meetings as well," Pearce said.

"We have a lot of hot weather and storms in summer here, but if they can use it on the Gold Coast in those conditions you can be pretty confident you can use it in Canberra in our conditions."

The new track will also allow them to renovate the grass track over winter - something that hasn't been able to happen regularly in recent years.

Canberra's cold winters make it hard for grass to grow and difficult to rejuvenate the track.

The Acton track was installed in 2007, but it developed problems in recent years and hasn't been used for racing since August 20, 2021.

It's undergone several renovations during its lifetime, but will now be completely replaced by a Polytrack.

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Pearce said it was a proven performer not only in Australia - with Polytracks in NSW, Victoria and Queensland - but around the world.

He said it reduced the risk of injury for the horses and also improved jockey safety.

"It's just a proven track. It's used in NSW, Victoria and Queensland for racing and training," Pearce said.

"The Gold Coast just installed one ... and it's not only proven in Australia, it's proven globally.

"We're getting not only the track, but a maintenance and service agreement where they'll give us basically a program to maintain the track and they'll pay regular visits to make sure it's always in peak condition.

"We're really confident that we've made the right choice."

Work will begin on the installation of the new track less than a week since the end of the race club's successful Canberra Carnival, with more than 10,000 race fans flocking through the gates over the two days.

He said a full debrief would take place in the coming weeks, which would determine whether it remained as a two-day carnival or potentially changed format.

"It was a strong success and a step forward for the club in terms of engagement with community and customer experience," Pearce said.

"It's still conjecture whether the two-day carnival is the right format for the long-term and we're doing a detailed review on that to make a recommendation to the committee on how the carnival best presents in future years."

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