Swan Hill meeting called off

Harness Racing Victoria has abandoned its scheduled meeting at Swan Hill tonight, due to a power outage in the northwest Victorian city.

It’s understood a car collided with a power pole early this afternoon, resulting in the loss of power to southern areas of the city, including the racing precinct.

Powercor doesn’t expect to be able to restore power until late into the night, forcing the abandonment of the nine-race card that was due to start at 6.07pm.

Club president Noel Watson said it was a unfortunate outcome for the club.

“The main thing is to hope that all those involved in the accident are okay,” Watson said.

“But it is disappointing for the club because we had excellent fields tonight in the nine races and a lot of bookings for our upstairs dining room for meals. We are looking into whether we can be allocated another meeting,” he said.

“We have packaged up the meals and have donated those to a local charity working with disadvantaged groups so they are put to a good use in the community.”

The Charlton club recently ran into an issue with power outages caused by storms, but was able to race on thanks to a three-phase generator sourced locally.

However, Watson said the logistics of powering up for a winter night meeting were considerably more difficult.

“A generator is okay for a day club, or just for lights, but unfortunately not both – and we’re being told it might be midnight before the power is restored, so there was really no other option,” Watson said.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink