In a week when Greyhound Racing NSW CEO Rob Macaulay told the Western Advocate that Bathurst is “a very, very, very strong competitor” in the competition for the racetrack in the Central West, the old track’s racing manager recalled exactly a year ago when floods first hit Kennerson Park.
The region has not had racing since the floods washed away the Bathurst track in November 2022. Since then, there has been lobbying for both Bathurst and Orange to be the site of a newly built centre of excellence.
Orange has put forward a case for a new track on the site of the old harness racing track, but speaking to the Western Advocate on October 31, Mr Macaulay revealed the Bathurst Regional Council had offered the site of the old drive-in cinema at Mount Panorama which was “absolutely ideal” and “could very much be a game-changer.”
It will be welcome news for the participants in the Central West, including Jason Lyne who still recalled the devastation of last November.
“We had a mini flood come through here this week last year, and while it stopped us from racing, and caused some damage, we were getting the track back ready to go,” Lyne, the club’s racing manager said. “I was with Jeff Mooney our curator down at the Greyhound of the Year awards (in Sydney on November 13) and that day I had spoken with GRNSW about getting up and running for our Soldiers’ Saddle meeting in four weeks’ time. We had contractors coming in to lift the 300m boxes and replace the concrete, it wasn’t a drama.
“Then Jeff got a call from a mate who lives down the river saying the water is a lot higher than last time we could be in a bit of trouble.”
Lyne returned to Bathurst the following morning but with “water everywhere” he couldn’t access the track.
“It wasn’t until the Tuesday we got out on the track and couldn’t believe it. Just devastation. You would not think water can do that much damage to anything. It took us half an hour walking around trying to comprehend it.
“Even now it’s still incomprehensible how bad it was. I honestly didn’t think about how we were going to rebuild it. I had a gut feeling we were in a bit of trouble. You’re always hopeful but when I saw the big 100,000 litre concrete tank had moved off its foundations, I knew we were in trouble.
“The boxes, the fences were all gone so was the concrete where the rail had lifted up. The padding around the track … there is still padding sitting in the trees in the river from 12 months ago.”
Lyne says he is constantly asked what is happening with a new track in the region and while he doesn’t have a definitive answer, he knows having a facility in the Central West - whether it be Orange or Bathurst - is crucial.
“This has for many years been a heartland for the industry. We have some of the biggest breeders and rearers in the State here in the Central West, and a lot used to educate their dogs at Bathurst,” he said.
“We need a track in the region, and hopefully it will happen soon.”
