Magazine: ARMA Week in Brisbane
By Rob Jenkins in Racing on 31st Aug 2008 6:00
The Australian Racecourse Managers Association was formed in 2004 in Tasmania. The association is the voice for the industry in its quest for improvements in race and training track construction, management and presentation throughout the nation. This year the annual conference was held in Brisbane. Pitchcare takes a look at the week that was.
Eagle Farm Race Track played host to for 2008, with around 120 delegates and participants attending the five day conference. Some delegates from the top Racecourses around Australia and New Zealand were present including those from jockey and Turf clubs such as Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Gold Coast, Darwin and thoroughbred NZ.
So what happens when all the big hitters of the racecourse industry get together? Well they go to the races of course!
Day 1 was a Saturday the 16th of August and saw the delegates head to Brisbane Turf Club's Doomben racecourse for a fantastic day of racing with a chance for everyone to catch up and re-acquaint.
Day 2 saw the delegates board a coach for a trip down to Sunshine Coast Turf Club in Caloundra. Now there happened to be a days racing at the track, but were assured that's not why they went down for the day! The reason for the trip down was for an inspection of the brand new Cushion track. The cushion track is the first of it's kind in Australia, and for many of the delegates it was the first chance they had had to set foot on one.
Murray Weeding racecourse manager of Sunshine Coast Turf Club was at hand to talk over the cus
hion track with the delegates.
This surface is state of the art and differs from the synthetic tracks already in use down under. The difference being the drainage allows for draining vertically. The track was designed for Queensland conditions and those encountered at Corbould Park.
The new synthetic surface has replaced the old sand track, its circumference is 1760m with a width of 18m. The depth of the synthetic surface is 175mm. The mixture used to create the surface is formed up from a mix of long and short synthetic fibres, rubber, silca sand and wax. All the materials used are new and not recycled which is the case for some other surfaces. This allows the surface and consistency to remain the same when its needs to be topped up.
Aus
tralia is not looking to replace its grass tracks but the industry is looking for sustainability, as a direct result of the country's water shortages. The synthetic surface benefits include minimal irrigation, low maintenance costs a safe and consistent surface regardless of weather conditions, this in turn improves rider safety and minimises injuries to horses.
Day 3
After a fun weekend with plenty taken in, the delegates went along to the main event the conference at Eagle Farm.
A quick welcome kicked off the day at 8am with Warren Williams the ARMA chairman giving a
introduction as to what to expect over the next few days.
CEO of Queensland Turf Club Stephan Ferguson then proceeded to give the delegates a history of the Queensland Turf Club and their history and operations. The Club Eagle Farm Racecourse was formed in 1863 with the first race meeting held in 1865 the club is considered the premier sporting and entertainment Club in Queensland.
Malcom Tuttle of Queensland Racing then gave a run down on racing in Queensland before a talk started on Equine Influenza (E.I). E.I was responsible for the loss of billions of dollars for the racing industry last year and everyone is keen that there is never a repeat outbreak of the virus. E.I was a huge part of last year's meeting at Flemington, and the 2007 ARMA conference was smack bang in the middle of the outbreak, preventing the delegates participating in many of the scheduled events. The subject brought about some lively discussion and accounts of those dark months for the racing industry. Queensland and New South Wales were worst hit by the outbreak and are leading the fight to make sure the industry never sees a repeat of an episode again in our country.
Arthur Stubbs then got things started on a question and answer session on Synthetic tracks. There was a
break down on some of the surfaces out there in Australia; the Viscoride, Pro-Ride, Thorough Track and the new Cushion Track. The delegates t
hen broke into three groups to go off an discuss what they wanted from the tracks in the future. Unanimously the delegates agreed that these surfaces could never replace grass surfaces but conceded that they do have a part to play in the industry. With Australia in the midst of drought and with wet winters in other parts of the country preventing racing, the synthetic tracks can be utilised more than just a training surface.
The part of the day I'd been looking forward to the most, and no it wasn't the lunch,was the walk around Eagle Farm Racecourse. Allthough, the spread laid out for us all was a meal fit for any hungry jockey and a full stable of horses but i wont go into that! Bill Shuck Eagle Farm's racecourse manger gave us a quick review before our inspection.
Eagle Farm was in magnificant condition. The 2027metre track rated a good 3 for the racing a couple of days earlier, felt great on foot. The surface was flat and true. As we rounded the track and the corner coming into the 435 metre straight, I couldn't help but feel maybe I had missed my calling and that I could have been a great jockey, then reality hit as I looked at my stomach and my 6 foot frame as I realised I was just on foot and it was all just a pipe dream, but seriously looking down the long straight to the winning post was a great feeling and you could only imagine the anticipation jockeys must feel on a race day.
The
Kikuyu surface was in top nick for August and the grass had lost none of its colour. Cut at what looked about 10cm, the grass was healthy with no signs of disease. Kikuyu Grass (
Pennisetum clandestinum) is a native of East Africa, and is the most common grass found on racecourses in Australia due to its vigorous growth and drought resistance. Often considered a weed on many a golf course, it can produce a fantastic surface when properly cared for. It's high resistance for wear has made it a favourite for racecourses for some time, as has its deep below ground runners it's fast to spread and ideal for the high impact areas racing causes. The track had minimal wear, a few divots were to be seen on the main corner and in the straight, which was to be expected after the racing the other day.
The day finished off with a look at distributors' machinery, and then some drinks back in the rough habit bar at Eagle Farm. The drinks put on by ARMA where a thank you to sponsors, as without them the week would not be possible. It gave everyone a further chance to have a chat and round off a great day.
Day 4 and second day at the Eagle Farm conference.
The morning kicke
d off with a look at the new ARMA website followed by a talk from John Benett the CEO of Venue Mangers Association.
The main talk for the day was on Track rating procedures in Australia and New Zealand. In what was a very informative few hours with several contributors, the delegates covered the methods used, instruments used and the control. Pitchcare will bring you a future article on track ratings, the procedures and talk on the day.
Rachel Poulter of the department of Primary Industry in Queensland gave a talk on Turf Nutrition followed by Paul Jackson from Bayer who went into Pests and Diseases of Turf grasses. The hot topic in both talks was Kikuyu yellows the disease that is a threat to most race courses above Victoria. As yet no solution has been discovered for the disease but work continues to be done on it. As with most problems prevention is the best cure and managing your grass keeping it healthy, fed and aerated.
Geoff Hatton from Sustainable Turf Renovations was also on the stage in the afternoon, Geoff introduced the delegates to lock sand, which is a new product in Australia. The interesting sand made from polypropylene fibres will be a big benefit to race courses as it improves the cushion effect in the surface. It works by knitting together, holding the sand particles solid while allowing grass roots to attach. It allows the nutrients to flow down via the nylon strands to the deep-seated roots. This results are a turf surface that is far more stable than plain grass. This interlock also provides a shock-a
bsorbing effect which restores surface uniformity after load distortion. Locksand is perfect for situations where the best of both worlds is required, aesthetics and softness of grass, but with the ability to provide a stabilized root zone that is free draining and resists wear and tear. Geoff put the call out for racecourses to try the lock sand in different areas of the course and see how it performs.
Another product of interest was RVL MawFafe Running Rail. With all the bad publicity racing has been recieving with horse fatalties, Dan Mawby in conjunction with Racing Victoria has brought out a new generation plastic running rail. The rail is the culmination of extensive analysis and sophisticated crash testing. The unique features include a pivotting post release at the ground anchor in 20ms, with no steel above the ground and an automatic rail height deployment during pressure, this is being billed as the best and safest rail system in the wolrd.
After lunch we got on a bus for the long drive to Doomben Racecourse, all two minutes of the trip!
As yesterday with Eagle Farm, we were allowed onto Doomben for a walk over. Not having seen much of Doomben besides the obvious big meets on the television, I was suitably impressed. Warren Williams General Manger for Brisbane Turf Club (D
oomben), gave us a run down on the track.
The Doomben Track was opened in 1933, and with its natural beauty Doomben Racecourse is now known as the Garden Racecourse. The track has a circumference of 1715 meters, the straight is 350 metres and it is raced clockwise.
The track surface also being Kikuyu grass was in fantastic knick. A darker shade of green than Eagle Farm and thicker in texture, it was ready for the day's racing the day after. The presentation area was of the highest standard and did the gardene
rs and track managers proud. We also where given a run down on some of the machinery used at the track including a Howard Rotavator 500, some John Deere cutting equipment and their big commercial Vacuum.
The day finished off with a talk on the fantastic Environmental Business Solution system E-Par and then the ARMA annual general meeting.
Later that night at the Old Tote Museum at Eagle Farm, the racecourse manager awards where handed out with the winning manager being Geoff Murphy from the Western Australian Jockey Club. It was the second time Geoff had won Racecourse Manger of the Year. Geoff looks after both Ascot and Belmont racetracks which are the two main city tracks in Perth. Well done to everyone involved in the two courses out there, and a big congratulations to Geoff.
Other Winners on the night included Adam Ayre from Muswellbrook Race Club, who was presented the Steriline/ARMA Racecourse Management Scholarship.
The Last Day 5
The morning saw the delegates head out to the Redlands Turf Research Institute for a tour of the facilitys, and a update of research being under taken.
To close off the meeting the delegates headed to Doomben once again to watch the races and see how the track held up during the day!
Thanks to the Australian Racecourse Mangers Association (ARMA) for a great week.
Check out more photos from the week by clicking here: www.pitchcare.com.au/magazine/article/642
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The Australian Racecourse Managers Association was formed in 2004 in Tasmania. The association is the voice for the industry in its quest for improvements in race and training track construction, management and presentation throughout the nation. This year the annual conference was held in Brisbane. Pitchcare takes a look at the week that was.
Day 2 saw the delegates board a coach for a trip down to Sunshine Coast Turf Club in Caloundra. Now there happened to be a days racing at the track, but were assured that's not why they went down for the day! The reason for the trip down was for an inspection of the brand new Cushion track. The cushion track is the first of it's kind in Australia, and for many of the delegates it was the first chance they had had to set foot on one.
hion track with the delegates.
tralia is not looking to replace its grass tracks but the industry is looking for sustainability, as a direct result of the country's water shortages. The synthetic surface benefits include minimal irrigation, low maintenance costs a safe and consistent surface regardless of weather conditions, this in turn improves rider safety and minimises injuries to horses.
introduction as to what to expect over the next few days.
break down on some of the surfaces out there in Australia; the Viscoride, Pro-Ride, Thorough Track and the new Cushion Track. The delegates t
hen broke into three groups to go off an discuss what they wanted from the tracks in the future. Unanimously the delegates agreed that these surfaces could never replace grass surfaces but conceded that they do have a part to play in the industry. With Australia in the midst of drought and with wet winters in other parts of the country preventing racing, the synthetic tracks can be utilised more than just a training surface.
Kikuyu surface was in top nick for August and the grass had lost none of its colour. Cut at what looked about 10cm, the grass was healthy with no signs of disease. Kikuyu Grass (Pennisetum clandestinum) is a native of East Africa, and is the most common grass found on racecourses in Australia due to its vigorous growth and drought resistance. Often considered a weed on many a golf course, it can produce a fantastic surface when properly cared for. It's high resistance for wear has made it a favourite for racecourses for some time, as has its deep below ground runners it's fast to spread and ideal for the high impact areas racing causes. The track had minimal wear, a few divots were to be seen on the main corner and in the straight, which was to be expected after the racing the other day.
d off with a look at the new ARMA website followed by a talk from John Benett the CEO of Venue Mangers Association.
bsorbing effect which restores surface uniformity after load distortion. Locksand is perfect for situations where the best of both worlds is required, aesthetics and softness of grass, but with the ability to provide a stabilized root zone that is free draining and resists wear and tear. Geoff put the call out for racecourses to try the lock sand in different areas of the course and see how it performs.
oomben), gave us a run down on the track.
rs and track managers proud. We also where given a run down on some of the machinery used at the track including a Howard Rotavator 500, some John Deere cutting equipment and their big commercial Vacuum.
The Last Day 5
