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*Speech given by Chris Byrne Vice Chairman WRC Wed 29 OCT at the Werribee Cup luncheon...* I want to thank all the sponsors that have supported the Werribee Racing Club at this very difficult time. As you all know, racing was suspended at the Werribee Racing Club almost 12 months ago. The reason at the time was that the RVL deemed the track unsafe. There were differing opinions but we, like many other qualified experts, believed the track was safe. We did all agree on one thing, and that was that we needed to upgrade our racing surface. While other clubs have had large amounts of money spent on their tracks by the governing bodies, Werribee has had nothing spent for the last 24 years. We, as a committee, thought it quite reasonable to request funding from the governing body and together had a report commissioned regarding the Werribee Racing Course. Obviously after having nothing spent on the surface for 24 years, a race track reconstruction was recommended. The Werribee Racing Club was informed at the time that the governing body had no funding for the project. The rest is now history and today we are staging one of Werribee's premier events in Geelong. At this point the Committee would like to thank our Mayor, Kim McAliney, and the Wyndham Council for their great support. It is amazing to see the massive amounts of money our government spends on events and yet they can't find the money to fix our race track in a safe Labour seat. After requesting meetings with the Racing Minister I am surprised he has still not met with us. I don't know what the agenda is here but it is about time we got some assurances from the government that the Werribee Race Course will remain an open space and not a Vic Urban housing estate. The Race Course is for the use of the community and not just the racing club. It is open every day for joggers, walkers and many community groups. We are one of the fastest growing areas in Australia and only 30 minutes from the Melbourne CBD. Werribee should be a top priority. The committee of the Werribee Racing Club is totally committed to returning racing to Werribee and we are more than happy to work with the governing body to achieve this. I hope next year we are all at the Werribee Race Course celebrating Werribee Cup Day.
Luxbet.com to sponsor 2008 Werribee Cup 13 OCTOBER 2008 Luxbet.com is to become the sponsor of this year’s Werribee Cup to be run at Geelong Racecourse on Wednesday 29th October 2008. “Luxbet.com is honoured to have been afforded the opportunity of sponsoring a race with such a rich history as the time-honoured Werribee Cup,” Stephen Brassel, General Manager Marketing and Media at Luxbet.com, said. “The sponsorship of the Werribee Cup is a great opportunity for Luxbet.com to immediately put something back into the racing industry.” WRC Chief Executive David Horsburgh welcomed Luxbet.com as the major sponsor . “The Werribee Racing Club is one of the main Provincial Cups in Victoria. Who could forget Makybe Diva winning the 2002 Werribee Cup and then winning three Melbourne Cups? Luxbet.com’s sponsorship of this year’s Cup will further enhance the esteem of the Werribee Cup as an important part of the Spring Racing Carnival”. “The Club is committed to promoting Luxbet.com and its exciting venture into the racing industry.” Luxbet.com was launched on September 23 with a commitment to present a compelling offering to customers with aggressive fixed-odds betting and a wide variety of betting options. Luxbet.com is also committed to paying any race fields fees set by the racing industry, along with an intention to provide a discretionary payment to each of the NSW and Victorian racing industries of profits from Luxbet.com. For further information please contact: David Horsburgh - WRC Stephen Brassel - Luxbet
LETTER TO MINISTER (SEP 08) 10 September 2008 Gavin Jennings Dear Sir Werribee Racing Club - Lease of Crown Land The Werribee Racing Club (WRC) has raced in its present location for 147 years. In the year1861, His Excellency the Governor in Council reserved the present land in the township of Wyndham for a racecourse. The land was gifted by the Chirnside family for this purpose. In 1912, the Wyndham Race-course Act 1912 was passed, which provided for racing at the present site. On 30 September 1914, the Committee of Management of the site for racing passed regulations for the preservation of good order and decency for the reserve known as “Werribee Racecourse”. By virtue of the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978, the Committee of Management of the Werribee Racecourse was incorporated. The Committee of Management has granted a lease of the racecourse site to the WRC. That lease expires in 10 years. WRC has not held a race meeting since November of last year. A new track is required to be constructed. Racing Victoria Limited will not fund the reconstruction. The WRC must fund the reconstruction itself. WRC is in a position to fund the reconstruction, so long as its tenure of the site is guaranteed for a further (at least) 60 years. To obtain a lease for a further period of 60 years requires authorization by you as Minister. To not grant a long term lease of the site, is in effect, a decision by the Government to end racing at WRC. There is strong support for the Club to continue its 147year history, rather then see the land converted to a housing estate. The Club formally requests a direct answer to the following: Will the government grant a long term lease to WRC of the crown land upon which it conducts a racecourse, in the order of 2 x 30 year terms? The WRC is currently in negotiations with an interested party who will fund the track reconstruction. The Club requires an answer within 14 days. Yours faithfully,
Alan Harvey
cc. Rob Hulls MP
PRESS RELEASE (SEP 08) Once the football finals finish people’s attention then focus on the Spring Carnival. The Werribee Cup is a big part of the Spring Carnival albeit this year at a different venue – the Geelong Racecourse. Werribee Racecourse Chief Executive David Horsburgh states this is a historical day for the Werribee Racing club as it conducts its first Cup away from the racecourse since the running of the first Cup in 1916. Although the Club is bitterly disappointed in not running the Werribee Cup at Werribee we thank the Geelong Racing Club for their assistance in allowing us to use their first class facility. Werribee Cup Day at Geelong will feature all the ingredients that make the Spring Carnival including:
For those people who are unable to travel to Geelong the Club will host a luncheon in the Werribee Racecourse Function Centre. The luncheon includes:
For further details on Werribee Cup Day please call the Club on:
PRESS RELEASE (JULY 29th 08) The Werribee Racing Club would like to clarify its position on the future of racing in Werribee. Contrary to a newspaper report in The Herald Sun (July 29 -‘Scandalous option’) the racecourse is not about to become privatised. In the article, trainer Lee Freedman admitted that “The best result for the Victorian Racing Industry would be to enhance and the utilise the facilities.” The Werribee Racing Club agrees one hundred percent. With that ideal in mind, the club is holding preliminary talks with a leading racing identity next week. The Werribee Racing Club will hold any lease on the land and then on-lease it to the relevant party. The Werribee Racing Club would continue to control racing at the track and is simply maximising the use of the facility and guaranteeing the future, not only of racing at Werribee, but also the open land and facilities for the use of the local community. Werribee Racing Club is keen to work with Racing Victoria Ltd. to ensure the best possible outcome for the racing industry, the club and its members and the people of the City of Wyndham. The Club will meet with Racing Victoria soon to update it on its progress. Kevin Hillier PRESS RELEASE (JULY 08) The Committee of the Werribee Racing Club wishes to advise after a meeting on Monday July 21st the Club has resolved the following issues in regards to the future direction of the Racing Club. The Committee unanimously voted to reject relocation and will pursue all options to reconstruct its current track and continue racing at its present location. The Committee also will pursue an expression of interest from a leading racing identity to establish training facilities at the Werribee Racing Club with part of that agreement to be the reconstruction of the current track.
Club spokesman Vice Chairmen Chris Byrne said “The Committee is acting in the best interests of its members and the Community who have overwhelmingly expressed their desire for racing and the racing club to continue at the current location. The Club has been around for 147 years and that makes it an important part of the fabric of the City of Wyndham. We have the total support of the Community and we are determined to continue.
The reconstruction of the track and establishment of a training facility will bring enormous economic benefits to the City Of Wyndham. It will create jobs and allow the continued use of the facility by community groups and maintain the area as open space rather than some people’s vision of another housing estate”.
Kevin Hillier
Due to the Werribee Racecourse being out of action for this year's Cup the Werribee Racing Club will stage its Werribee Cup meeting at the Geelong Racecourse. David Horsburgh FURTHER INFORMATION: The Werribee Racing Club (WRC) will speak to key racing industry bodies regarding financing of a total track reconstruction following the release of a comprehensive agronomy report and a full feature survey on the current condition of the Werribee Racecourse. The key findings of the report were that the current track had the following characteristics:
WRC Chief Executive David Horsburgh said "Given the recent drought, poor water quality, over racing on the track and twenty four years since the track was upgraded, this report comes as no surprise." He said the Club was committed to continue to race at Werribee and will now speak to all racing industry bodies to source financing for a total reconstruction of the track. "A new track would allow the Club to hold between 18-20 racemeetings per year. Our vision is to hold a number of Friday twilight meetings. Given our proximity to the metropolitan area and our location in one of the fastest growing municipalities in Victoria, the Club has a huge market it can tap into throughout the week and particularly Fridays," Mr Horsburgh said. In the meantime racing has been suspended at Werribee Racecourse.
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