Laura Cup-winning jockey Nor Yadi will appreciate the new facilities when he returns in June next year.
JOCKEYS riding at Cape York’s iconic bush meeting will no longer have to get changed in a sweltering shed after the Laura Amateur Turf Club was granted new facilities under the state government’s Country Racing Program.
Club president Graham Love said the male and female jockey rooms would arrive on the back of a truck, ready to install.
“They are donga-type units but they have air conditioning. They are going to be a lot better than the old shed or the shipping container that we have now,” he said.
Mr Love estimated the rooms were worth about $50,000 and said the club would clear the space and do about $30,000 of civil works to have them ready in time for the annual June races in 2023.
“They’ll have to get ticked off by Cook Shire Council but we’re working with them to get the paperwork organised,” he said.
“I think there might also be a space for the stewards as well.”
A total of 48 projects were approved as part of the fifth round of the Country Racing Program.
The economic contribution of the Queensland racing industry has soared to almost $2 billion, with the industry supporting about 14,000 jobs a year.
