Track closed: no Port Cup and no races during nine-month reconstruction

That's the end result of yet another track renovation at the race club which is set to commence in late-June which means the Port Cup won't be run on the first Friday in October this year.

It is hoped the work will will fix the ongoing drainage concerns that have plagued the track for years.

Race club chief executive Nardi Beresford said work would start after the Wauchope Cup meeting on June 18 which would mean the track will be unusable until next April.

"There won't be a Port Cup this year; there will be no racing between June and April," she said.

Beresford said the contractors which have been employed to do the job - which will be a Racing NSW project - have lengthy experience rebuilding and renovating tracks. They are preferred by the Australian Turf Club.

"They (the contractors) have worked closely with Racing NSW and other clubs so we're very confident that they do understand what's required," she said.

"They've done some intensive investigations into the matter, done all their research and we're very confident they know what they're doing.

"It was a decision that was taken out of our hands to an extent; Racing NSW have been in litigation in relation to the previous reconstruction and they've worked out when the timing is right."

The contractor which will do the works is a different one to which was used previously.

The Port Macquarie chief executive preferred not to speculate on the financial hit the club would suffer from having no business for nine months.

"You've got to understand we get our income from racing, but there are other avenues we can source that we'll be able to confidently move forward," she said.

"It's not going to be easy, but we'll still be here. We're not going anywhere."

Meetings normally scheduled for Port Macquarie over the nine-month period will be transferred to other tracks on the Mid North Coast - including Kempsey and Taree.

"The timing is right to do it now; we rip up through winter and then you have your good growing periods through the spring and summer months," Beresford said.

The work which will be done will not be a full renovation as done previously with contractors to rip up the surface back to gravel level and then rebuild it from there.

Racing NSW general counsel Peter Sweney said the Port Macquarie course proper is being reconstructed as it is not fit for purpose to provide an appropriate standard of racing and training amenities.

As a result it did not meet the current and future needs of Port Macquarie Race Club and the surrounding region.

"While it is disappointing the course will be out of action for such an extended period, it is critical that the Port Macquarie Race Club has an all-weather turf surface befitting of the club's status," they said.

"Proceedings have been commenced in the NSW Supreme Court against the previous contractor who constructed the current course proper claiming damages for breaches of contract for the defective works.

"In this respect, those works cost in excess of $3 million when constructed and the cost to reconstruct the course will well exceed that amount."

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