Wangaratta Turf Club saddled up for new era of training

Executive officer Paul Hoysted welcomed $1.9 million in funding from Racing Minister Martin Pakula on Wednesday, which he said would help Wangaratta become a major racing, entertainment and education city.

The money, going towards $5.3m for stage two of the club’s redevelopment, will feature the jewel of on-site accommodation with 20 beds for students at GOTAFE’s National Centre for Equine Education.

It will also provide a new racecourse entrance at the Cruse Street end, an upgraded grandstand with a function centre and more stable blocks to allow trainers to grow their businesses.

Mr Hoysted said most equine workers just received on-the-job training, but the goal was to create a more professional industry with career pathways from track riding to veterinary studies.

“It’s something that the industry has never really done before, to work out how we’re going to start from scratch to provide training to people,” he said.

“We want to have Glen Boss, Damien Oliver come up to Wangaratta and actually provide the training.”

Mr Pakula said the project had racing industry support.

“These are very specialised occupations and if people aren’t trained properly, they can be quite dangerous occupations,” he said.

“You’re talking about people who are handling 550-kilogram beasts.”

The function centre would be aimed at attracting conferences and encouraging people to stay longer to experience North East tourism.

Wangaratta Turf Club also invested $820,000 and Racing Victoria and Wangaratta Council contributed $300,000 each.

But the project needed its National Stronger Regions Fund application to be approved to go ahead, so the heat was turned up on the federal government.

“We’ll now be working harder than ever with all the candidates who are looking to represent Indi at the next federal election and ensure they understand what a significant project this is for the region,” Mr Hoysted said.