The South Australian Jockey Club says Morphettville’s long-term use as a training site is clouded, but the A$350 million redevelopment of Adelaide’s urban racecourse will provide certainty about financing the state’s Thoroughbred industry.
The revelation that there are no plans to add to the limited number of club-owned stables at Morphettville, Adelaide’s only urban racecourse, comes as SAJC unveils Villawood Properties and its pension fund Hostplus as joint venture partner to build $350 million AU Residential, Retail, Community and Commercial.
Announced February 27, the multipurpose site will be built on a 7.5-acre vacant lot between Morphettville’s home fork and the Anzac Freeway, with works to begin later in the quarter. one or the beginning of the second quarter of the following year .
Key features of the project include:
- Mixed apartment complex with more than 150 apartments.
- A new community plaza connecting the Anzac Freeway with Morphettville, will be available for events year-round and provide a monumental entrance to the racecourse.
- A new supermarket, boutique, hotel shop, pub The Junction is owned by SAJC and SAJC offices.
- 250 townhouses and low-rise apartments with a height of 2 to 3 floors.
Demand for stables in Morphettville has outstripped supply in recent years, but SAJC chief executive Grant Mayer confirmed to ANZ Bloodstock News on February 27 that there are no plans to build stables. is taking place with abundant financial resources from the “one-time opportunity”. one generation” development.
Mayer, who has ensured training will stay on the city track for at least the next five years, said Marion City Council is working on a rezoning process in and around the racecourse, which is different from the announced date. yesterday, that “started racing at Morphettville and strengthened our relationship with the industry.”
SAJC executives point out that coaches with off-course complexes can choose to sell their properties to developers and then move to other locations, such as provincial racetracks. at Murray Bridge or Gawler, where Racing SA is investing.
“My thinking is, over the next five years, coaches will, like they did interstate, look at alternative locations,” Mayer said.
“We’re not doing anything to change that, but developments inside the racecourse are not something on the radar for us right now.
“We still train about 250 to 300 horses a day and we are comfortable with that. As I said, our view and focus is on working with Racing SA to find a solution to the problem. growing demand (of trainers).
“Capital Adelaide, like metropolitan Melbourne, is becoming more difficult for large training stables to exist in urban spaces.
“Right now, for the next five years, nothing’s going to change, so I don’t want anyone momentarily feeling anxious or worried that this development is going to change that.”
Horses race through the stands at Morphettville Racecourse
Richard Jolly, who works with his daughter Chantelle, is one such trainer, who owns his stable complex adjacent to the Morphettville racecourse.
Jolly, South Australia’s top leader this season with 42 winners, said “it would be a very sad day if they stopped training at Morphettville.”
“It’s fine to say that you have valuable assets, but where do you have to move, if you don’t want to move anywhere else?” he told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“I’m also sitting in a house we’ve lived in for 20 years and those (decisions) are all going in the right direction, I suppose.
“I would probably be on the right track if they built stables, but it doesn’t seem like they want to build them.”
Initially, SAJC intended to build the adjacent Magic Millions complex, which will host the Annual Adelaide Sale on 14-15 March 2023, to form part of the Morphettville redevelopment process. , but owner Gerry Harvey turned down an offer to buy the valuable land.
“It will initially be a nine-acre plot of land, including Gerry’s. Gerry was very, very pleased to be involved in the bid request process and by the time the offer was made we were seated. Go back with Gerry. A good Chinese meal; in the end, he wants to stay and we respect that,” Mayer revealed.
“To be fair, even the developer we contracted today, Villawood, is fully aware and understands that Magic Millions will apply.
“We believe that the market interested in townhouses will be the market for those interested in racing.”
In 2018, the Melbourne Racing Club in conjunction with the state Labor Government announced that Caulfield would no longer be a training centre, with all of its tenants moving elsewhere. mainly to Cranbourne, Pakenham and Ballarat.
Three years after it was announced, Colin Little was the last of 22 boarding coaches to leave the facility, two years ahead of the original five-year plan.
Ellerslie, Auckland’s largest racecourse, has also sold off a plot of land for redevelopment, with the proceeds being used to upgrade the racecourse and increase prize pools, while the Brisbane Racing Club invested in it. on-campus stables while external properties are redeveloped.
For years, plans were drawn up to build stables on the yard, Jolly said, but they never came to fruition.
The coach said, “Where we’ve been practicing since morning, they’ve come up with designs there, and we’ve gone to meetings, and it’s all for a reason.
“They say things are harder to build and the cost of materials goes up, but they’re still going to build a multi-million dollar function center and all these buildings (townhouses). can build them, they can build stables.”
Mayer considers the A$350 million project the most important project in SAJC’s history.
“According to our constitution, we can’t do anything but invest it back in the club, so whatever we get from this development is reinvested back into the dig. build and race,” he said.
“This is the club’s biggest announcement in 150 years and what it does is absolutely underscores and secures the future of motorsport in Morphettville and the industry in South Australia.”
As Adelaide’s last remaining urban track—Cheltenham sold for AU$85 million in 2007 and Victoria Park held its last race meeting in 2010—the Morphettville racetrack is niche and inside The Parks circuit will require reinvestment as will the 45-year-old members’ stands.
“There are new irrigation systems that have to go through (the right process), it’s expensive, and we have to rebuild the maintenance facility for our employees (which has been running for years, so This is a real opportunity to upgrade the facilities for the people and for the industry,” said Mayer.
“Our number one asset is our tracks, and we want to make sure we continue to maintain them the way they deserve to be.”
