Wanganui Jockey Club relinquishes licence for new meeting to Waverley Racing Club

WJC operations manager Bret Field says the priority is to present the best track possible for the feature day on September 5, while in the meantime offering new ground to starters at another venue.

The Wanganui Jockey Club has relinquished its licence to race on Friday, August 14, passing on the date to the neighbouring Waverley Racing Club.

The WJC gave up the new date allocated, preferring to preserve its track for the traditional spring meeting in September.

The WJC board met on Monday night to consider the viability of racing next week, mindful of the impact earlier meetings and the 11-race card on Friday had on the racing surface.

"The WJC board met to discuss the condition of the track and the recent heavy usage which has included three race meetings during late June involving 425 horses," WJC operations manager Bret Field said.

"The club made the difficult decision to cancel running the meeting on Friday, August 14 and has requested that the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing pass the licence on to our neighbouring Waverley Racing Club if that was suitable to the industry.

"While we could have raced here, the club understands that it is in the better interests of all stakeholders for us to make a diligent decision not to race here in August.

"The long-term forecast is unknown and our priority now is to present the best track possible for our feature day on Saturday, September 5, while in the meantime offering new ground to starters at another venue," Field said.

The meeting has since been confirmed to run at Waverley on Friday, August 14. The first of the 10-race card will be run at 11.45am and the last at 4.43pm.

The times will be subject to change depending on the number of horses nominated next week that dictate the number of races actually programmed..