Racing: Sand slitting plan on hold

The Auckland Racing Club's project to sand-slit drain the course proper at Ellerslie has been deferred for 12 months.

The much-vaunted success of the sand slitting at Te Rapa was the catalyst for the Auckland Racing Club initially signifying its intention to treat the Ellerslie track in the same fashion. The project was due to commence in March after the club's inaugural Auckland Cup week carnival.

Research information from trials conducted in Queensland and carried out on a number of options for racecourse surfaces will become available in the next nine months. These findings will have a bearing on the direction of future work at Ellerslie.

The improved performance of the Ellerslie track over the past year is seen as the result of a combination of lateral drainage works undertaken last autumn and remedial work on the existing drainage system.