Chief Stipe Posted Friday at 05:35 AM Share Posted Friday at 05:35 AM Gold Coast track drama ahead of 2025 Magic Millions www.racenet.com.au Officials are scrambling to find out what has killed off a section of the new Gold Coast track just a day out from the start of the lucrative Magic Millions carnival. Photos reveal a large section of the track at the 500m mark has been damaged by chemicals, with officials taking samples for urgent testing to determine the substance. While it is expected the track will be safe to race on tomorrow, officials are not ruling out foul play by anti-racing campaigners. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! As a result, the Gold Coast Turf Club will employ full-time security to guard the surface in the lead up to Magic Millions day on January 11. The affected area is about 25m x 10m in size and is on the home turn at the Gold Coast. Racing Queensland chief executive Jason Scott confirmed horses would gallop over the area on Friday afternoon, but said the surface was expected to be safe for racing tomorrow. The Gold Coast track had partly recovered by Friday afternoon. Picture: Supplied • EXPERT TIPS: Graeme Carey's race-by-race tips, analysis and quaddie picks for the Gold Coast on Saturday "While the race meeting is safe, Racing Queensland and the Gold Coast Turf Club are concerned about what has happened," Scott said. "We will continue to investigate, including sending samples to the laboratory to see what caused it." The $3m Sunlight slot race and $500,000 Wave to be run at the Gold Coast this Saturday. The mishap is the latest drama for the track, which was put out of action in March for around nine months. In 2023, a "rogue sprinkler" was to blame for the Magic Millions meeting being washed out after 14mm of rainfall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Fish Posted Friday at 07:42 AM Share Posted Friday at 07:42 AM 2 hours ago, Chief Stipe said: a "rogue sprinkler" can be a problem at a track with minimum staff, if the area being watered, is way over on the far side! sometimes! there can be a steady wind and the water doesn't go on evenly... Not good if it was a Attack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted Friday at 09:30 AM Author Share Posted Friday at 09:30 AM Saturday's Gold Coast meeting to launch the Magic Millions Carnival has been moved to the Sunshine Coast. MORE TO COME ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ The start to the rich Magic Millions carnival hangs in the balance, with a high powered meeting taking place to determine the future of Saturday's meeting after a section of the track was poisoned overnight. It can be revealed racing officials are currently meeting on the Gold Coast after two senior Queensland jockeys galloped horses on the course proper on Friday afternoon. In a text sent out to their members, the Queensland Jockeys Association said they "weren't 100% happy" with the damaged section of the track at the 500m mark. "At this stage all parties are meeting currently and will make a decision on whether the meeting proceeds at the Gold Coast," the message reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted Friday at 03:13 PM Share Posted Friday at 03:13 PM (edited) Millions shock: Gold Coast meeting moved to Sunshine Coast after track poisoning The Gold Coast track has suffered a major setback at the 500m mark prior to the Magic Millions. Picture: Supplied By Trenton Akers 06:28pm • 03 January 2025 The start of the Magic Millions carnival has been turned on its head, with Saturday's Gold Coast meeting sensationally moved to the Sunshine Coast after their new track was poisoned. In unprecedented scenes, Queensland racing officials have been forced to move the rich twilight meeting, which includes the $3m Sunlight slot race and $500,000 The Wave after jockeys raised concerns about the state of the track at the 500m point. Officials were left stunned on Friday afternoon when they discovered part of the new track had suffered significant chemical damage. Two senior jockeys galloped on the Gold Coast course proper on Friday afternoon, with the Queensland Jockeys Association saying they "weren't 100 percent happy" with the damaged section. The affected area is about 25m x 10m in size and on the point of the home turn. It's understood representatives from a leading turf farm in New South Wales have been engaged to oversee urgent works next week to ensure next Saturday's bumper Magic Millions meeting can proceed as planned. The Gold Coast track on Friday Picture: Supplied "The advice from turf experts was that next Saturday's Magic Millions meeting will be fine to proceed," Racing Queensland chief executive Jason Scott said. "They believe the track will be able to be fixed up." It was determined it was vital to run the meeting on Saturday sticking to the planned twilight schedule, with the card having significant Magic Millions ramifications, through a pair of two-year-old races that shape as last chance saloon opportunities to get into the Magic Millions 2YO Classic next week. It means participants and horses will need to make the two-hour trip from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast to race on Saturday. Betting on the meeting was left in limbo, with different bookmakers having different rules regarding bets already placed. It also throws Channel 7's coverage of the much spruiked twilight meeting into disarray, with the network going to great lengths to broadcast it on free to air TV. It's understood the Brisbane Racing Club offered their services to host the meeting on Saturday at Eagle Farm, however the decision was ultimately made to move it to the Sunshine Coast instead, with the club already hosting a meeting on Sunday. It is the latest drama for the track, which was put out of action after a diabolical meeting in March saw it sidelined until late last year. In 2023, the Magic Millions was washed out after just 14mm of rainfall on race morning, when a rogue sprinkler was to blame for a wet patch on the track. Edited Friday at 03:16 PM by curious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted yesterday at 05:39 AM Share Posted yesterday at 05:39 AM (edited) Gold Coast Magic Millions hinges on 'drop-in pitch' about an hour ago by Trenton Akers The Gold Coast track has deteriorated further Image: Supplied The fate of the 2025 Gold Coast Magic Millions hinges on a radical drop in pitch to replace a section of damaged grass on the new track, as officials face a race against time to get it right for next Saturday. Punters can reveal heavy machinery is being floated in from interstate to dig up the section of turf at the 500m mark that has been severely damaged by chemicals and will be replaced by existing unaffected grass that is already on the Gold Coast track. READ: Sunshine Coast Preview & Tips - Magic Millions Sunlight night The procedure will be similar to how many venues now use drop-in pitches for cricket matches. The 25m x 10m section of grass first started showing signs of deterioration on Wednesday, with the issue coming to a dramatic head on Friday afternoon when stewards stepped in after two horses galloped over the affected turf. Pictures obtained by Punters reveal the track had further deteriorated by Saturday morning after the decision was made to shift Saturday's meeting to the Sunshine Coast. READ: Millions shock: Gold Coast meeting moved to Sunshine Coast after track poisoning The rich meeting, which acts as the kick-off point to the Magic Millions carnival, has the $3m Sunlight slot race and the $500,000 Wave. The Gold Coast Turf Club and Racing Queensland have taken samples of the affected turf to send off to specialists to determine what has caused the area to become so badly damaged in a short period of time. The turf club notified police at 7pm on Friday night of the possibility the track was vandalised. Investigations are ongoing, with Gold Coast police urging witnesses or anyone with relevant information to come forward. Officials began work to take out the huge damaged section of turf on Saturday, with hopes to have the new grass in place as soon as Monday. Any work will be dependent on when the huge equipment is able to be trucked into Queensland. Pictures on Saturday morning reveal the Gold Coast track has further deteriorated. Picture: Supplied Punters understands Gold Coast and Magic Millions officials are confident of racing next Saturday's Magic Millions meeting at the track, however the new section of grass will need to be given the tick of approval by jockeys prior to the meeting. More than $14m in prizemoney will go on the line next Saturday, with the $3m Magic Millions 2YO Classic and $3m Magic Millions 3YO Guineas the highlight races. The club and Magic Millions will work on contingency plans over the weekend and into early next week in the event the Gold Coast track is not able to be brought up to speed. MORE: Gold Coast Magic Millions Carnival - Full Guide With Eagle Farm already racing next Saturday with a secondary meeting, the track is available to host the Magic Millions should it be required. It is the latest in a list of track dramas which has haunted the Gold Coast, after it was put offline for almost nine months after a diabolic meeting in March. The 2023 Magic Millions was also washed out after just two races with 14mm of rain after a rogue sprinkler waterlogged a section of the track. The state government recently spent $63m on redeveloping the track at the Gold Coast and installing lights. Edited yesterday at 05:41 AM by curious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted yesterday at 06:06 AM Author Share Posted yesterday at 06:06 AM Will be interesting to see if the drop in turf works. They must be lifting a really deep section hence the big machinery moving interstate. Love to see the video of the process! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tragedy Beat Posted yesterday at 07:30 AM Share Posted yesterday at 07:30 AM Must be the same lot that attacked the New Plymouth track. However, in doing so, they actually enhanced Pukekura Raceway! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted yesterday at 09:33 AM Share Posted yesterday at 09:33 AM TA have any runners at MM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted yesterday at 10:41 AM Author Share Posted yesterday at 10:41 AM 1 hour ago, Huey said: TA have any runners at MM? Try the searching the internet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted yesterday at 12:13 PM Share Posted yesterday at 12:13 PM 1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said: Try the searching the internet Why search the internet when you have fanboy close by? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted 23 hours ago Author Share Posted 23 hours ago 7 hours ago, Huey said: Why search the internet when you have fanboy close by? Why ask the question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted 23 hours ago Author Share Posted 23 hours ago Anyway back to the Topic. There is chatter online in OZ that it wasn't sabotage but a stuff up by track staff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted 23 hours ago Author Share Posted 23 hours ago Has anyone ever heard of a track staff spraying a chemical to make a track look greener for the TV cameras? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted 22 hours ago Share Posted 22 hours ago 45 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: Has anyone ever heard of a track staff spraying a chemical to make a track look greener for the TV cameras? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted 22 hours ago Share Posted 22 hours ago A friend of mine was taking her little dog for a run on the [ renovated ] track and it came back with green feet and tummy. This was in '98. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted 22 hours ago Share Posted 22 hours ago 44 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: Has anyone ever heard of a track staff spraying a chemical to make a track look greener for the TV cameras? Probably a possibility Chief. A lot of Queensland tracks get 'patchy' because of our weather. In that photo you can see how patchy the inside of the rail is , and some staff were probably trying to get the main tracks to look nothing like that. Looks too neat a job for vandalism ?? and nobody would do that even if they hated racing , surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted 22 hours ago Share Posted 22 hours ago Just now, Gammalite said: Probably a possibility Chief. A lot of Queensland tracks get 'patchy' because of our weather. In that photo you can see how patchy the inside of the rail is , and some staff were probably trying to get the main tracks to look nothing like that. Looks too neat a job for vandalism ?? and nobody would do that even if they hated racing , surely? I did think it looked rather neat and tidy for vandalism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted 22 hours ago Share Posted 22 hours ago 1 minute ago, Freda said: I did think it looked rather neat and tidy for vandalism. Exactly what I thought. An incredibly neat job for someone sneaking in in the middle of the night and doing it with basic equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted 21 hours ago Share Posted 21 hours ago (edited) A nice run with a spray boom and round up or similar instead of weedkiller or fertiliser? Edited 21 hours ago by curious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted 20 hours ago Author Share Posted 20 hours ago 1 hour ago, Freda said: A friend of mine was taking her little dog for a run on the [ renovated ] track and it came back with green feet and tummy. This was in '98. Was it called Schnitzel von Krumm with a very low tummy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted 20 hours ago Author Share Posted 20 hours ago 34 minutes ago, curious said: A nice run with a spray boom and round up or similar instead of weedkiller or fertiliser? Mmmm another rumour is they had fungal disease issues on the whole track. Wasn't that what hindered Te Aroha? I see the Flemington track manager has got the call up to the Gold Coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted 18 hours ago Share Posted 18 hours ago 2 hours ago, Chief Stipe said: Was it called Schnitzel von Krumm with a very low tummy? No, but similar clearance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted 16 hours ago Author Share Posted 16 hours ago Just shows you how misinformation is generated on the web. It would appear the square patch was the first stage of preparation for the repair i.e. the drop in turf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted 16 hours ago Share Posted 16 hours ago It seems a bit odd if that is the case. The square patch was already well browned off when the news was announced and it appears the damaged area extends beyond that in places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted 16 hours ago Author Share Posted 16 hours ago 21 minutes ago, curious said: It seems a bit odd if that is the case. The square patch was already well browned off when the news was announced and it appears the damaged area extends beyond that in places. But there are also patches that haven't browned off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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