No racing at Devonport until October

Greyhound racing returns to Devonport next week and the thoroughbreds will be back later in the month but harness racing enthusiasts face a much longer wait before their code resumes on the North West Coast.

The Devonport Harness Racing Club's first meeting after the shutdown will not be until October.

"At this stage, there's nothing programmed until then," said president Claire Macdonald.

"The only way that might change is if funds became available for an extra meeting – then we would be considered.

"But the money is what it is – everyone's budget is very tight and it would be irresponsible to go over-budget now.

"Even if you can come up with the funding for an extra meeting, you need to have Sky Channel to make it viable."

Devonport lost five meetings during the industry's COVID-19 shutdown.

Its last scheduled meeting was to have been this Sunday featuring the $50,000 finals of the Raider Stakes and Granny Smith.

All Sires Stake heats and finals will now be rescheduled in October or November.

Tasmanian harness racing resumes in Hobart on Sunday. Five meetings are programmed for the rest of June and seven for July.

LADBROKES PUTS IN EXTRA $150,000

Tasracing's official wagering partner Ladbrokes has committed an extra $150,000 to help the industry's recovery.

The money will fund a cash bonus for every runner at the relaunch meetings this weekend – Mowbray gallops ($300 a starter), Hobart harness ($200) and Launceston dogs ($100).

The remainder will be used to increase first prizemoney for every race from June 14 to 25, which takes in six greyhound meetings, three harness meetings and two gallops meetings.

Ladbrokes CEO Dean Shannon said he was confident Tasmanian racing would quickly rebound from the shutdown which he described as "an incredibly stressful period".

10-WEEK BREAK … TRY 21 MONTHS

Racing makes its long-awaited return at Mowbray on Sunday and no-one would love to be there more than jockey Hayley McCarthy.

While the 10-1/2-week shutdown probably seems like an eternity to most participants, to McCarthy, it's only a fraction of the time she has spent on the sidelines.

The jockey hasn't ridden in a race for almost 21 months after breaking her foot in a trackwork accident at Longford.

She made a comeback at the Spreyton trials last week and even rode a couple of winners but is no closer to knowing when, or if, she'll be fit to resume riding in races.

"I broke the talus bone in my foot – probably the worst bone you can break," McCarthy explained.

"The bone has now healed but I get a fair bit of arthritis in my foot which can play havoc. Everything seems OK then it will flare up.

"I hope to eventually return to the races but whether I'll get there is hard to tell."