Racing will return to Canberra's synthetic Acton track next winter regardless of what happens at Tuesday's briefing on a potential Super Track between the ACT government and the ACT's racing bodies.
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Deloitte has completed a report into the potential co-location of all three racing codes – thoroughbred, harness and greyhound – onto one site and Canberra Racing chief executive Peter Stubbs will get his first peek at it at the briefing, where the stakeholders will provide input before the study is finalised and given to the ACT Cabinet.
The Acton track needs a renovation and has laid dormant this winter, with racing switching to the grass track, which is normally only used from spring to autumn.
But Canberra Racing has decided to push ahead with renovating it regardless of what's in the feasibility study.
It's yet to be decided if it will undergo a full renovation or just a partial one.
One option is to source material from Warrnambool, which also has works planned, but delays at the Victorian track might mean that option doesn't suit Canberra's timeframe.
Stubbs said the decision to return to the Acton track next year had nothing to do with the current state of the grass track, which has been rated heavy or slow its last three meets.
"Regardless of the outcome of the feasibility study, we're going to do works on the Acton track so that it will be raced on next winter just to continue with what we've done in previous years," he said.
"We feel that's the best outcome for our climate ... which is not conducive to a quick turf regrowth through the winter period."
The co-location study isn't the only thing Canberra Racing is waiting on – there's also the proposed ACTTAB sale, as well as whether the listed Black Opal Stakes (1200 metres) will get upgraded to group 3 status.
The Australian Pattern Committee will meet on August 22 to decide the fate of Thoroughbred Park's $275,000 feature race.
