THERE aren’t many grass tracks west of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, and for good reason – they are hard work to maintain. We are blessed in the Outback to have a turf surface at Barcaldine, but ongoing maintenance issues reared their ugly head again last week.
It’s a recurring saga, largely because the Barcaldine Regional Council owns the facility and is tasked with managing the track. Depending on who you talk to, sprinklers were left on and the surface simply wasn’t up to scratch to host Saturday’s meeting.
The good news is that Racing Queensland picked up on the issue early, allowing the meeting to be transferred to Longreach.
While it wasn’t ideal – considering most trainers specifically targeted Barcaldine for its grass – it was certainly better than losing a crucial Battle of the Bush qualifier just three weeks out from the final.
Still, something has to be done about the Barcaldine track, and it is time for RQ to step up.
In my opinion, councils simply aren’t equipped to manage racecourses, especially in an arid location like Barcy.
It isn’t the core business of a local shire, and ratepayers shouldn’t have to shoulder that burden.
On the other hand, the race club committee relies on just a handful of dedicated volunteers, and putting track maintenance on their shoulders would be asking too much.
A compromise is needed – one that gives the club a greater say in track management while allowing the council to maintain a stake in an important community asset.
Reverting to dirt or sand would be a major backwards step, which is precisely why RQ must now take a leadership role and mediate a path forward.
