TYERS Park trainers have been given a taste of an eventual $3.7 million investment in the racing complex.
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A new horse-walker arrived at the racecourse on Tuesday and was in use on Wednesday, allowing up to 10 horses at a time to be worked.
"We had to level the ground and put the footings and the base down," Bathurst Thoroughbred Racing general manager Michelle Tarpenning said.
READ ALSO: Investment announced in Tyers Park
"We've attached electricity and water so we can wet the area down in between horses working, so it doesn't get too dusty.
"This is a really important training aid for racehorse owners, because when you've got so many horses in work, you can't be physically working them all the time."
The horse-walker is in a temporary location at Tyers Park near Eleven Mile Drive at the moment but will, according to Ms Tarpenning, be moved eventually to a back paddock along with three other new horse-walkers.
"We did this as a pre-purchase as an aid for our trainers," she said.
"They could get used to the equipment and they could see what's to come. It's a really positive step for the club and for the trainers."
The NSW Government announced the $3.7 million in funding late last year for an upgrade to Tyers Park as part of its COVID-19 stimulus package.
It will pay for four new stable blocks (of 20 boxes each), the horse-walkers, treadmills and a widening of the track by three metres.
IN NEWS AROUND BATHURST:
"There's no doubt that with this $3.7 million investment from the State Government, we're going to be the premier racing track in regional NSW," Member for Bathurst Paul Toole said when he was at the track on Thursday.
Bathurst Thoroughbred Racing president Bernard Ryan said the investment had already proven a success.
"Some 18 months ago we only had 30 horses in work at the track and today, just on the promise of the redevelopment works to come, we now have a commitment for between 70 and 80 horses to be based at Tyers Park, each pumping about $20,000 per annum directly into the local economy," he said.
Mr Toole said the extra horses will "provide work for our trainers, our owners, our feeders, our local suppliers".
"This is only going to continue to grow," he said.
"Over the next couple of years, this [investment] is going to transform the site."
Figuring it out
The $3.7 million investment in Tyers Park will break down to:
- $1.5m for the construction of additional stabling (four stable blocks)
- $400,000 for installing four horse-walkers
- $300,000 for installing up to four treadmills
- $1.5m for the reconfiguration of the course, widening it by three metres.