Racing Victoria (RV) and the Yarra Valley Racing Inc (YVR) have today announced that extensive remedial work will be undertaken on the Yarra Valley thoroughbred racing track forcing the transfer of race meetings including the Yarra Valley Cup.

The Yarra Valley thoroughbred track was closed for racing and training when a section of the racing surface collapsed during the running of the race meeting on 29 December 2010.

An extensive review of the circumstances surrounding the collapse determined that two floods at the Yarra Valley racecourse late last year had weakened the drainage system underneath the turf track. These floods were also responsible for washing away YVR’s sand training track.

It has been established that the drainage system, owing to the inundation of water, had failed at the 100-metre mark, eroding the ground above and weakening the racing surface.

RV consultants Dalton Engineering are in the process of determining the extent of the remedial work required which will, at a minimum, include a partial replacement of the drainage system through the excavation of a section of the racetrack.

At this time, the thoroughbred tracks will closed for racing and training until at least May with three programmed race meetings to be transferred and another deleted from the calendar.

The Yarra Valley Cup, set down for Sunday, 20 March, will now be run at Cranbourne, as will YVR’s next programmed meeting on Sunday, 23 January.

YRC’s meeting on 20 February has been transferred to Bairnsdale, whilst the meeting scheduled for Anzac Day (25 April) has been abandoned.

"We are still in the process of determining the extent of works required to repair the Yarra Valley track, but with the club’s racing schedule it was important that we made alternate arrangements now for the coming months," RV Chief Strategy Officer, Paul Bittar, said.

"Racing Victoria is working closely with Yarra Valley Racing to rectify the problems caused by two separate floods throughout Spring and return thoroughbred racing to Yarra Valley on a safe and competitive racing surface in a timely manner.

"Unfortunately, the heavy rains experienced throughout the state in the latter part of 2010 were amplified at Yarra Valley with much of the undergrowth in the surrounding hills destroyed by the Black Saturday bushfires which has enhanced the likelihood of flooding at the track.

"With the issues encountered with the drainage system at Yarra Valley and previously Benalla, we have commissioned engineering reviews of the drainage systems at all tracks that have been affected by the State’s abnormally high rainfall as well as those venues where drainage work was previously undertaken to avoid any similar issues.

"The industry can be assured that the safety of our riders and horses remains of the utmost importance to Racing Victoria and we will continue to ensure that our track safety is of the highest possible standard."

With Yarra Valley’s turf and sand training tracks out of commission, RV and YVR have been working with local trainers to facilitate suitable training arrangements at alternate venues.