Biggest upgrade in four decades signals bright future for Bendigo

Biggest upgrade in four decades signals bright future for Bendigo

Bendigo Harness Racing Club is set for the biggest infrastructure transformation since the 1980s, with almost $3 million worth of projects to modernise the heart of one of Victoria’s busiest racing and training centres.

A $1.8 million LED lighting and technology upgrade and a $1.1 million roofing project for the stabling complex will dramatically improve conditions for horses, participants and patrons, while positioning the club for a bigger role in the future of the sport.

General Manager and CEO Erik Hendrix said the works had been years in the making.

“We’ve been trying to get this project over the line for as long as I’ve been here, which is eight years, and probably before my time, ” Hendrix said.

“We have one of the more heavily utilised facilities in our industry and we’re probably overdue to tick the box and have a roof over the stabling complex to look after industry participants and animal welfare.”

The first stage of the redevelopment will see the club’s ageing lighting system replaced with 190 new LED lights under a $1.8 million project underwritten by a $1.36 million contribution from the Victorian Racing Infrastructure Fund.

“The new LED lighting will make a huge difference – make us more efficient, cut costs and emissions and ensure better visibility for participants and spectators,” Hendrix said.

Equally significant is the $1.1 million roofing project that will provide all-weather protection across the stabling precinct.

Hendrix said the current facilities left both horses and participants exposed to the elements.

“It’s very cold during winter, and wet underfoot, and equally uncomfortable during our 40-degree days in summer, where participants and horses are very exposed.  It will make a huge difference.”

Funded through a partnership between the Victorian Government, Harness Racing Victoria and the Bendigo Harness Racing Club, the project will construct a purpose-built, two-tier roof structure across the stabling area.

The innovative split-level design was developed to work with the natural fall of the land while ensuring the key horse movement areas remain unobstructed.

“There were difficulties in getting the entire stabling area under one roof because of the land contours, but also practically because many of the single-roof designs would have required support columns right where horses enter and leave the track, which just wasn’t practical,” Hendrix said.

The redevelopment also includes substantial fire services compliance works, an important requirement when upgrading older facilities.

“These facilities were built in 1984. They remain compliant until you undertake a major change, and then the fire compliance requirements come into play,” he said.

“With these two major projects, HRV is fully behind us. It’s been a bit of a pattern over recent years that each year one of our clubs has received the LED upgrade. In our case it was about timing and being able to tackle both projects together.”

Hendrix believes the improvements will future-proof the venue and ensure Bendigo is ready to meet the demands of a growing industry.

” It will bring us up to speed from a compliance point of view and, looking ahead, if we’re one of the high-level marquee clubs that will be relied upon more heavily in the future, which I think is likely, then we need to have the facilities to manage that adequately,” he said.

Racing at Bendigo will conclude on July 1, with the lighting upgrade scheduled to commence on July 6 and the roofing project to follow in mid-July.

If construction progresses as planned, the club expects to reopen in mid-October with facilities befitting one of harness racing’s busiest regional strongholds.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink