Round four Country Racing Program applications open miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Central Queensland race clubs will receive part of $2.8 million for facility upgrades, creating more than 100 jobs across the state.
Thirty-seven of Queensland’s smallest and most remote country race clubs will each share in the infrastructure funding, Racing Minister Grace Grace announced earlier in January.
“Country racing plays a critical role in regional Queensland, contributing to economic and social wellbeing, as well as providing an important meeting hub for regional communities,” she said.
“The Palaszczuk Government’s Country Racing Program provides critical infrastructure funding across the state to improve and enhance our non-TAB racing clubs and their communities.
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Eight Central Queensland race clubs will share in nearly $700,000 worth of infrastructure funding from the State Government’s Country Racing Program.
The big winner is the Emerald Jockey Club with $470,000 for a new racecourse mower, fertilising and spraying equipment, an irrigation upgrade and tie-up stalls.
Bluff Blackwater Amateur Race Club will receive nearly $200,000 for a new public address system, perimeter fencing for the horse float area and to refurbish its tie-up stalls.
Yeppoon Turf Club will receive $40,000 to upgrade its chute and Clermont Race Club $10,000 for fencing.
In Gladstone there is funding for culvert repairs, Alpha is set for a track upgrade, Aramac Racing Club received funding for a firewall for shed development and Barcaldine will receive funding for a new judges tower.
Gympie will use its share of the money to build two new stewards stands at the Southside track, with Turf Club president Shane Gill saying the club was hearing up for a better 2021 and looking forward to hopefully returning to its normal crowd capacity, though it will all of course depend on what the virus does.
“Yes, we are hoping to get back to our normal crowd sizes this year and we’ve got a couple of good ideas on the boil,” MR Gill said. It is two months until the first race meeting of the year. Turf Club, Spencer Slatter (Life Membership) and Shane Gill (President)