Silage wrap ravaged at Stratford racecourse

By Leon Gray-Lockhart
ON the morning of Thursday, April 9, trainers arriving early at the Stratford Racecourse were dismayed to find that unscrupulous vandals had attacked wrapped silage bails owned by the Stratford Racing Club.
The wrappers of the roadside bails of silage appeared to have been slashed by a sharp knife that tore through not only the outer plastic, but also the supporting netting underneath and, in a couple of bails, the silage material itself.
"One of the trainers noticed the damage when he came in at 7am," said Stratford Racing Club volunteer, Alan Mason, "so I came straight over."
When he arrived, Alan was disappointed to see that 13 of the racing club's bails had long, deep and wide slash marks in them.
"Without proper protection from the outer wrapping, the silage will get wet and start to rot, which will make it worthless."
"Last year, we were selling our silage at $120 a bail and were using the money raised to support some of our running costs. This is so disappointing."
The silage material was cut from the racecourse over the summer, and each of the 13 damaged bails cost around $45 to wrap, meaning that the club has spent well over $500 that they may not be able to recoup back. Without the revenue generated from the sale of the bails, the club may lose well over $1000 from its general fund.
"We tried to seal them up as best we could, but with the heavy rain we had on Thursday, it was difficult to get the repair tape to stick," said racecourse caretaker, Geoff Heal, "we hope we've managed to keep out the rain enough."
"It makes me bloody angry," said Stratford Racing Club president, Jim Gilbert, "to think that somebody would intentionally damage the bails in this way. When they get found, they need to be sent back here to do some work serve the community and make amends for the trouble they've caused."
The slashing of the bails is the latest in an ongoing list of criminal incidents that have befallen the club over the past few years.
"Someone intentionally sprayed some of the club's shrubs and flowers with weed-killer not long ago," said Geoff, "and somebody who was working in one of the buildings one day came out and found his motorbike had been stolen in broad daylight."
Because of the open nature of the entrance to the racecourse, security is an ongoing issue for the racing club, which puts additional pressure on its small group of workers and volunteers.
"We've had people up here ripping up the lawns in their cars, and in one case, some lawn furniture that was set up for a race meet was bundled into the back of a van and stolen. We don't want to have to close the gates all the time, but we just can't be everywhere at once."
Although the club cannot confirm who they think is responsible for some of the damage being done, there are some who strongly suspect that the perpetrator may be someone who has a vendetta against the club.
"It might be just hooligans, but the cuts in some of the bails are very deep. Some have been repeatedly slashed.
Someone must know how valuable they are to the club," said Jim.
"At this stage, there is nothing to suggest the attack on the bails was a targeted one," said Stratford Police Senior Sergeant, Shaun Keenan, "but it is still a serious random attack."
The police are investigating the matter and both they, and the Stratford Racing Club are appealing to the public for information about the matter.
If you have any information about this incident, or any incident of vandalism at the racecourse, contact the Stratford Police on 765 8860. All information will be treated in the strictest confidence.