{"id":777040270,"date":"2026-04-09T07:34:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777040270"},"modified":"2026-04-21T12:43:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T15:43:35","slug":"nsw-invests-us23-8m-in-hunter-racing-infrastructure-to-strengthen-regional-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/nsw-invests-us23-8m-in-hunter-racing-infrastructure-to-strengthen-regional-industry","title":{"rendered":"New South Wales Minister for Gaming and Racing opens upgraded facilities at Scone Race Club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The new facilities are part of the Racing for the Regions programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Australia.- New South Wales<\/strong> Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris<\/strong> has opened upgraded facilities at Scone Race Club<\/strong>, a key component of the state\u2019s AU$67m (US$44.3m) Racing for the Regions programme. The initiative allocated AU$20m (US$13.3m) for a Polytrack training surface, new stables and supporting infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eight-metre-wide all-weather Polytrack allows year-round training, reduces water usage and improves horse safety through a more consistent surface. Stage one<\/strong> of the stabling project has already relocated 113 horses into a two-storey complex, with four additional stables planned by the end of 2026. Once completed, the facility will accommodate more than 520 horses<\/strong>, making it the largest regional training centre in New South Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional upgrades across the Hunter region include an AU$4.2m (US$2.8m) grandstand redevelopment at Muswellbrook Race Club, featuring expanded viewing areas, enhanced function spaces and larger female jockey facilities. Meanwhile, Cessnock Race Club is benefiting from AU$11.5m (US$7.6m) in combined investments, including a new sand-based training track, grass track upgrades and stabling infrastructure for up to 160 horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister Harris said: \u201cIt was fantastic to officially open the state-of-the-art new training track and to see the impressive new stabling infrastructure so close to completion at Scone Race Club and other major works virtually completed at Muswellbrook and underway at Cessnock, thanks to the NSW Government\u2019s Racing for the Regions program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCountry racecourses and clubs play a crucial role in developing our champions of tomorrow, and these upgrades will ensure the Hunter and Upper Hunter regions are competitive, grow jobs and offer world-class facilities for both participants and the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hunter region hosts major events such as the Darley Scone Cup Carnival. Over the past five years, the Racing for the Regions program has funded improvements at several other racecourses across New South Wales, including Gosford, Tamworth, Hawkesbury, Sapphire Coast, Moruya and Albury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Greyhound Racing NSW to screen box draws live<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new facilities are part of the Racing for the Regions programme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":777040274,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The New South Wales government has committed AU$67m to its \"Racing for the Regions\" programme, significantly upgrading infrastructure across several regional race clubs, including Scone, Muswellbrook, and Cessnock. These capital investments, featuring new training surfaces and expanded stabling, aim to bolster the racing vertical's operational capacity, enhance participant safety, and drive regional economic development within the Hunter and Upper Hunter regions. This initiative underscores governmental support for traditional gaming verticals and their contribution to local economies.","focusai_entities":"David Harris, Scone Race Club, Muswellbrook Race Club, Cessnock Race Club, NSW Government, Greyhound Racing NSW","focusai_location":"Australia, New South Wales, Scone, Hunter region, Upper Hunter regions, Muswellbrook, Cessnock, Gosford, Tamworth, Hawkesbury, Sapphire Coast, Moruya, Albury","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.85), regulator (0.95), compliance_legal (0.75), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (0.85), gambler_consumer (0.7), supplier_vendor (0.85), journalist_researcher (0.95)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Economic Impact?","query":"What are the projected long-term economic impacts, including job creation and GGR contributions, for the Hunter and Upper Hunter regions resulting from this AU$67m capital injection into racing infrastructure?"},{"label":"Competitive Landscape?","query":"How will these enhanced facilities influence the competitive dynamics among racing operators in New South Wales, particularly regarding participant attraction, event scheduling, and potential NGR growth?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,155],"tags":[289,25204,13820,25205],"class_list":["post-777040270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-sports-betting-news","tag-australia","tag-horseracing","tag-nsw","tag-regulacion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777040270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777040270"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777040270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777040288,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777040270\/revisions\/777040288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777040274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777040270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777040270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777040270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}