Boom times continue for Murray Bridge Racing Club as stables officially open
Gifford Hill is becoming a high-performance centre for South Australia’s horse racing industry.
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A multi-million dollar development at Murray Bridge Racing Club has been officially unveiled on the eve of the Gold Cup.
State Recreation, Sport and Racing Minister Katrine Hildyard formally opened a new stables, equine pool and walker at Gifford Hill on Friday.
Together, she said, they would add more than $13 million to South Australia’s economy over the next five years, and create the equivalent of more than 100 full-time jobs.
“The incorporation of these new stables and the pool has continued the absolute transformation of this Gifford Hill facility into one of Australia’s leading elite horse training and rehabilitation facilities,” she said.
“This upgrade will help Racing SA deliver a full on-course service here at Murray Bridge, give trainers a new option, alleviate the cost of training, and also attract more people to our state.”
Racing club chairman John Leahy said the “world-class” development had made Murray Bridge even more of a centre for the state’s racing industry.
“The fact that we have the stables full, while still attracting interest from interstate and locally, just shows there’s a genuine appetite for the South Australian horse racing product,” he said.
Having horses stabled within walking distance of the pool, walkers, four different training surfaces and the racetrack itself would aid their ability to gain and maintain peak fitness, he said, as well as their mental wellbeing.
Those things had attracted top trainers like Dean and Gary Alexander, he said – and those trainers, in turn, would create “jobs, enjoyment and entertainment”.
Ms Hildyard acknowledged everyone who had contributed to the racing club’s journey over the past decade and more, culminating in its move from the old Maurice Road racecourse to Gifford Hill in 2019.
The state government contributed $5 million towards the cost of the recent developments.
