The Camperdown Turf Club is cutting costs at the Camperdown racecourse by using bore water for irrigation.
CAMPERDOWN Turf Club officials are confident a new bore will help the club slash its water bill.
President Laurie Hickey said the club believed it could cut $35,000 — about 50 per cent — from its water bill by using the bore to irrigate Camperdown racecourse.
The decision comes days after the club’s annual meeting, which retained Hickey as club president and Gerard Ryan as vice-president.
Hickey said tests on the bore suggested it produced “good quality” water and enough reserves to help irrigate the course throughout summer.
He said easing the track’s reliance on town water would help ensure the financial sustainability of the club. “We’re still working closely with tradespeople to make sure we get at least a partly-supported irrigation system for the track, to bring that water cost down to a reasonable level,” Hickey said.
“We’re very buoyed by the fact the water that came from the bore is good quality and ran for 24 hours without any sign of the water level diminishing. “Our biggest problem was last year it was a fairly dry summer. We had to water the cores for extended periods for trainers and industry trial days.
“While it was effective, we used a lot of water to make sure the track was in good shape.” Joining Hickey and Ryan on the committee are members Paul Marsland, Ben Nicholls, Ron Cameron, Dennis Mahoney, Ben Gaut, Graeme Bant, Simon Deane and Clint Marshall.
Marshall is the sole new face and is a newly-licensed trainer at Camperdown.
Robyn Cameron has stepped down from the committee due to work commitments which have taken her to Donvale.
Hickey said preparations for the Camperdown Cup, a TAB meeting on January 19, were gaining momentum.
“Marketing sales are going particularly well,” he said.
“Memberships are slowing, so we encourage people with membership letters to get back to the club as soon as they can.”
