Kembla Grange Racecourse
Designing a 1,800m long synthetic training track
New South Wales

The proposed location for the synthetic training track was between the existing B-Grass track and the sand track, and was built over a drainage swale.

Additionally, the brief was to achieve a balanced cut-to-fill earthworks to remove the need for additional material bought to site.

To achieve the balanced earthworks for the project, a borrow pit within the middle of the track was developed. The borrow pit was in fact the widening of an existing low area within the middle of the facility that was used to capture stormwater and redirect to the piped point of discharge. This material was used to form the subgrade for the proposed synthetic training track.

The interface between the new synthetic track and the B-Grass Track required the formation of a drainage swale to prevent the surface and subsurface water entering onto the synthetic track. The swale was discharged in several locations into the now widened low point within the middle of the facility.

After 6-months of design and construction works the track was unveiled in late October 2019.

"It's a fantastic development for the trainers, who can maintain their trackwork when the bad weather closes the grass surface," Illawarra Turf Club racing manager Michael Craig said.

The outstanding performance of the all-weather surface was highlighted in February 2020 when the training track could be utilised despite having received more than 300mm of rainfall over the proceeding days.

The upgrade provides greater flexibility across the whole site and enables the redevelopment of the natural grass course proper track.