The track at the Jamestown Racing Club has never looked better according to those in the know ahead of the running of the Jamestown Cup on Saturday, October 4.
Historically the Jamestown track has been a hard surface to race on with no real grass coverage but that’s all changed ahead of the Cup this year which marks 150 years of racing at the club.
In consultation with Racing SA Track Manager Ian Ricardo, the club has ploughed and re-sowed the track and laid over 3 kilometres of pipes to allow for consistent watering.
“We were in the middle of a horrific drought last year and the track didn’t come up so we’ve spent a lot of money getting water out to the track and rejuvenating it, so we should have a pretty good surface to run on this year,” said Jamestown Racing Club Chairman Phillip Dibbins.
“It’s been a big commitment for the cub and an ongoing project, and we’ve been in constant dialogue with Ian Ricardo and Haydn (Reid). We’ve also been blessed with a little bit of rain which the track has benefited from.”
The surface will be assessed early next week to provide a solid guide on a track rating by nomination/acceptance time.
“It’s gone from a heavy surface to a soft surface as we saw it last week, and with maturity and consolidation that track is just going to improve and it’s on target to be good for them on Cup Day,” said Racing SA’s Industry Track Manager Ian Ricardo.
“We’d be happy if it even gets to a soft 5 range because as the weather warms up out there, we know the track can get quite firm, but the way it’s tracking at the moment we’re really happy with it so it’s on target to be good for them on Saturday week,” he said.
New jockey rooms will be unveiled on Cup Day, and they’ll look familiar to those who have spent time at the Apprentice Academy SA. Last year the old Academy changerooms at Morphettville were relocated to Jamestown.
A crowd of close to 1500 is expected at the Jamestown Cup, with the club providing free transport to and from the racetrack with pickup points at the three pubs in town and the caravan park.
$4,000 is also up for grabs from Sportsbet for sporting clubs in the area, with a tug-of-war on the finishing straight planned.
There will be a live band, food vans and a BBQ on site, along with Fashions on the Field and a bouncy castle for the kids.
“There’s normally a big contingent who come up from Adelaide for the Jamestown Cup and we attract visitors from right across the state,” said Dibbins.
“Jamestown has a two day show on the Sunday/Monday, so people make a big weekend of it. Jamestown is basically booked out 12 months in advance with families returning to the area to catchup with everybody.
“Our biggest challenge is volunteers because it’s such a busy weekend for everybody to finish at the races and then five minutes later you’ve got to go to the showgrounds to get ready for the Sunday, but it should be a great day to celebrate 150 years of racing at the club,” he said.
The Jamestown Racing Club has a rich history with Bart Cummings’ father James Cummings training his first winner there way back in 1910.
The first official race meeting took place on New Year’s Day in January 1875. A two-day meeting over the Easter Holiday was also held in March of that year.