Group 1 Brisbane Cup Meeting Postponed

SATURDAY night's showpiece The Q meeting, headlined by the Group 1 Brisbane Cup and Group 1 Queensland Cup, has been postponed.

Concerns over the condition of the track began to escalate after the staging of the first two races on the card.

The meeting was put back a race in a bid to get the track in suitable condition for racing but those efforts proved forlorn.

Following a further track inspection, Queensland Racing & Integrity Commission (QRIC) Stewards were left with no decision but to postpone the card which is the signature night for Queensland greyhound racing.

It's understood the track was hard in some places and very soft in others, making for an unsuitable and unsafe racing surface.

The issues encountered on Saturday night followed some trainers voicing concerns about the condition of the track surface for trials and racing during the week.

Late in the week, Queensland Greyhound Racing Club (QGRC) officials revealed that the track had been “inadvertently overwatered overnight” which saw track staff working feverishly to return the track to a suitable standard.

QRIC and QGRC staff remained confident that the track could return to optimum condition in time for the dual Group 1 card but after two races those hopes were dashed.

In a statement released on Saturday night, Racing Queensland (RQ) announced that the remainder of the Brisbane Cup card, including six feature finals, will now be staged next Saturday (July 12).

“The six feature races – including both the Group 1 Brisbane Cup and Queensland Cup – will be rescheduled to next Saturday night. New fields will be drawn for the remainder of the card,” the statement read.  

“The scheduled meetings for the Q2 Parklands on Monday, July 7 and Thursday, July 10 have also been cancelled.  

“The scheduled meeting on the Q1 Lakeside on Saturday, July 12 will be brought forward to Thursday, July 10 to accommodate the rescheduled feature meeting.”