Perth’s Belmont Park track could be reopened for racing before the end of July, depending on the testing of remediation works.
Out of commission since late May because of safety and welfare concerns over a section in the home straight, Belmont’s first serious test since its closure will come on Tuesday.
If senior jockeys are satisfied with the condition of the surface, further testing and constant monitoring of key data by agronomists and the track team at Perth Racing will take place that week, culminating in a set of test gallops on Saturday week.
Another tick of approval will provide the confidence for up to three barrier trials to be staged on July 21 ahead of a potential return for Belmont Classic day on July 26.
But on the advice of the agronomists and other Australian track managers, Perth Racing will limit the load in the initial weeks of returning to racing at Belmont and will therefore be staging Saturday meetings only until at least August 13.
“We appreciate this will cause some further disruption for everyone, but racing twice a week in winter on any track is a challenge and even more so on newly laid turf,” Perth Racing’s James Oldring said.
