New stabling at Dubbo Turf Club will allow the club to grow its reputation as one of the major clubs in regional NSW.
Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders joined the club’s general manager Vince Gordon and president Chris Davis on Tuesday to officially open the new 20-box complex.
The facility has been constructed at the eastern end of the existing stabling, and was funded by $318,000 of COVID-19 stimulus funding.
“Racing was one of the sports that was able to keep going through the absolute worst of the pandemic, and that is because of the strict biosecurity protocols followed by participants,” Mr Saunders said.
“The sport has been thriving in our region, and while that is great for trainers and jockeys it also means great things for vets, farriers, trackwork riders, strappers, stockfeed suppliers and so many others in our community.”
Dubbo Turf Club general manager Vince Gordon said prominent local trainer Kody Nestor will utilise the new facilities, adding that the investment is a major boost for the club.
“Having more horses trained on track allows us to continue our ongoing development as not only a spectacular racing track, but also a significant training centre,” Mr Gordon said.
“We had over 2000 trained starters last year, and that helps the whole region because if we didn’t have horse being trained out of Dubbo, places like Coonamble, Warren, Narromine and Wellington wouldn’t have the same population to draw from.
“Those towns are all going very well and racing is really thriving, and that comes from the level of investment we’ve seen from the NSW Government and Racing NSW.”