Townsville racing is back on track

By Wayne Heming

Townsville Greyhound Racing Club president Gary Heath said trainers were ‘lining-up’ to trial their greyhounds in a final fitness assault before the resumption of racing at the Showgrounds circuit on Friday.

The meeting will end the closure of the track to replace the ageing guide rail, which was 49 years old and beyond repair.

The club will showcase its new $500,000 running rail with a full 12-race card on Friday night.

“The new rail looks awesome,” Heath said. 

“The old one was living on borrowed time. The distances haven’t changed, so all the track records will remain the same.”

Heath said the club had conducted trials on Tuesday morning and afternoon and again on Wednesday with trainers “chomping at the bit” to give their greyhounds some fitness work.

“It’s been very tough. I’ve never experienced as much rain as we’ve copped this wet season and I feel for many trainers," Heath said. 

“I hate to imagine how much rain fell during that wet spell, maybe more than two metres. It never let up. I can’t ever remember a wet season like that.

“Even last Saturday morning we got hammered again.

“It was like a cyclone, wind going in all directions and a power line came down which left us without power for several hours.”

The resumption of racing means the area’s top trainers, including Bobbie-Jean Chaffey, Hayley Wooler and Mark Partland, can renew their battle for premiership honours for 2025.

Chaffey carried off last year’s trainer's title. 

The two female trainers - Chaffey and Wooler - will hit the track running on Friday night with a combined total of 35 runners in the 12 races.

Chaffey has 21 starters while Wooler is well represented with 14 runners.

Chaffey has a big hand in race three with Freddy Dodge and Super Pickle and also in race four with Cleo Blazer and Panadom.

“We’re confident after staging some trials that everything is ready to resume racing,” Heath said.