Delays again hit Gold Coast upgrade plans

Further delays to the Gold Coast racetrack upgrade are likely to also put on hold any plans for the club to get further metropolitan Saturday meetings in the new season.

The Gold Coast Turf Club is eventually hoping to get as many as 10 metropolitan class Saturday meetings a year.

That would depend on an upgrade of the racing surface and the installation of lights.

The final race dates for next season must be available by the end of the month .

At this stage the Gold Coast appears likely to get no extra Saturday dates and will have four metropolitan meetings.

Queensland racing minister Stirling Hinchliffe this week issued a statement in which he said there was a strong possibility lights would be installed at the Gold Coast in time for the 2022 Magic Millions carnival.

He said it was imperative the right business plan be in place before the work was started.

Hinchliffe put no time line in place for the work to begin and concerns have been raised about funding.

The GCTC has had plans for an upgrade dating back nearly a decade while the suggestion of lights for the Gold Coast was first made in the 1990s.

The Brisbane Race Club will use turnover figures to strengthen its claim for 45 Saturday meetings at Eagle Farm and Doomben.

Central to that will be the Point Of Consumption tax with the BRC saying Brisbane tracks provide the most income and every meeting away from them costs the government money.