News

AJC Unveils $25 million Grand Plan For Warwick Farm

1st Sep 2009

Racing And Sports - Monday, 31 August 2009

More than $25 million will be spent on restoring Warwick Farm as a top class racing venue under a major initiative announced today by the Australian Jockey Club.

Labelled the "The Grand Plan", the project will be partly funded by the sale of more than 20 acres of AJC-owned land adjacent to the racecourse to William Inglis and Son as the new venue for Sydney's major bloodstock sales.

The plans include demolotion of two condmened old grandstands and a refit and remodelling of the stand built in the 1970s.

Major new member, spectator, racing and training facilities will be built to secure Warwick Farm as a major racing and training venue.

Inglis will purchase 9.5 hectares of land from the AJC with plans already drawn for a state of the art sales complex incorporating a sales pavilion, bars, restaurants and stables for up to 1000 horses.

The AJC and Inglis will jointly build a 1000 vehicle sealed car park only metres from the main grandstand.

The AJC will refurbish and glass enclose the main grandstand, cover the betting ring, rebuild the race day stalls and renovate the existing tie up stalls.

The club will also add new tie up stalls to replace those that were removed to make way for the stables built to house horses relocated from Randwick for World Youth Day and now used by Patinack Farm trainers.

Other plans inlcude the building of a new pre-mounting yard parade area with spectator seating, reinstate the B grass training track, revamp the course proper and construct 5km of light training tracks through the area now called the Polo Fields.

The AJC will market low price Warwick Farm-only membership packages to lure new racing fans and draw on its location in the middle of a population base in south west Sydney of more than one million residents.

AJC chairman Ron Finemore said the Grand Plan will be financed by the sale of non core land owned by the club surrounding Warwick Farm.

“The plan revitalises what is the best country style race course in any city of Australia. It is a naturally beautiful racecourse setting,” Finemore said.

“Secondly, it sets out a clear direction for racing and training at Warwick Farm because you must have both to survive.

“Thirdly, we are not just charged with looking after people who live in central Sydney we are charged with looking after the whole of the Sydney region and this is a clear message that the club will support the new growth areas with a revitalised race course in south west Sydney.”

Finemore said that the AJC spend on updated training facilities was relying on the $5 million annual subsidisation of training by the AJC being recognised in the new Intra Code Agreement and the AJC being fully recompensed for this expense.

The sale of land will take one to three years and the full redevelopment will span five years.

During the three years of construction the AJC will introduce special low price Warwick Farm memberships for families of just $25 per annum.

The AJC believes the sale of this land over the next three years will generate income in access of $30 million.

The AJC will return 75 per cent of the funds raised from the Inglis sale into the racecourse development.