The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) and Racing Victoria (RV) are pleased to announce the opening of a new $4.56 million state-of-the-art Polytrack training track.

Flemington Racecourse is arguably the most famous race course in Australia and has had race meetings run each year since 1840. Just a short distance from the city centre of Melbourne it has a  circumference of 2,312 metres and a straight of 450.

The new Polytrack replaces the old dirt track and the synthetic surface will be used for jump outs as well as training. The new 2,200-metre track will provide a more forgiving surface for horses and will also reduce the training load on Flemington’s grass tracks, in turn helping with the condition of all other tracks including the course proper.

VRC Chief Executive Officer Neil Wilson said the Martin Collins Polytrack surface is a significant addition to Flemington’s facilities.

“We are delighted to open this important enhancement to our facilities, providing Flemington trainers with another world-class track to prepare their horses for raceday,” Mr Wilson said. “Approximately 600 horses utilise Flemington’s training facilities every day and it is vital they continue to be among the finest in Australia. This new track provides an all-weather year-round surface that will enable us to hold jump outs when our grass training tracks are unavailable due to wet weather.” “We are grateful for the support of both the Victorian Government and Racing Victoria in the construction of a superior and more sustainable track for horses, jockeys, trainers and racing participants.”

To ensure that the track will be suitable for use in all weathers, over 3,400 tonnes of graded drainage stone was laid under the 2,600 tonnes of graded asphalt before the 20,000sqm of premium Polytrack surface was installed on the 2210m long training track.