Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) has scheduled an additional meeting next Tuesday morning (April 7) at Shepparton to largely provide racing opportunities for horses that have been balloted out of other programs.
The eight-race card, scheduled to kick off at 9.55am, will comprise $4500 races and will be drawn on field selection points from the bottom up, catering for the horses who have not gained a run at other meetings due to restricted field sizes.
The Victorian Trainers and Drivers Association has welcomed the move.
Stephen Bell, HRV’s General Manager of Racing, said the racing office was “pulling out all stops” to get as many horses a run as possible during difficult times.
“We are receiving an enormous number of nominations. Lots of people want to race their horses, which is a good thing, but unfortunately right now we can’t accommodate them all due to the restrictions,” Bell said.
“It is pleasing to have secured an extra morning slot for an additional race meeting as this will accommodate a number of horses in the North-East region that have been getting balloted out.
“We do understand that a number of horses in all regions are still getting balloted out and my message to industry is that we’ll keep doing everything we can to get as many horses to the races in all regions as possible.”
Nominations close for this meeting at 12pm tomorrow.