Murrumbidgee Turf Club has renewed confidence in the future of its $6.8 million dollar stable complex after meeting with the NSW racing minister.
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The MTC executive of president Geoff Harrison, vice-president Bruce Harris and treasurer Brett Bradley, alongside new chief executive Jason Ferrario, jumped at the opportunity to host Kevin Anderson on Tuesday.
The meeting was organised by Member for Wagga, Dr Joe McGirr, who wrote to Anderson in July after the MTC was a controversial omission from the NSW Government's $67 million investment into country racing.
Ferrario, who only started in the position a fortnight ago, believes the meeting was a brilliant opportunity for the MTC.
"We met up in the member's area and gave the minister a summary of the stable project, what was involved, 125 horses, and discussed the benefits to both racing and the community," Ferrario explained.
"After he got to discuss and ask questions about the project, we took him for a drive to the site and he was quite blown away with the amount of land that is actually there, that is underutilised at the moment and could play a massive part in the future of the race club. So much so that he said you just don't get an appreciation for the amount of land that is there when you're looking at it from the grandstand until you actually go over there.
"He was very interested in the project, thought the project plans looked great and very impressed in what it could do for the future of the Murrumbidgee Turf Club and Wagga and racing in the SDRA."
Anderson asked the MTC to send him a proposal that he can take to parliament.
The project has been shovel ready since earlier in the year.
First earmarked in 2016, the MTC hope to build a stable complex on its north-eastern boundary that could accommodate over 100 horses.
A lack of stabling for horses has been a source of great frustration for Wagga trainers but has also prevented any new arrivals.
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Funding has been the only obstacle from bringing the plans to life but Ferrario is confident the club's dream is closer to becoming a reality after Tuesday's meeting.
"Absolutely. Especially now that he's seen the project and the site," he said.
"The fact that he's seen how good the current Turf Club looks, the great reports he has about the track and the vision that we have for the future given the perfect site we have for the project.
"He was impressed with everything we showed him. From my point of view it was great to be able to show the minster the Turf Club, the facilities that we currently have and our vision for the future.
"He just wants us to put together our proposal, pass the proposal on and he'll run with it."
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