Top Queensland trainers have given their cautious approval to Eagle Farm track recommendations despite some continuing reservations over sand-based tracks.
Racing Queensland and the Brisbane Race Club have agreed to recommendations in a report by former Victorian racing official Dale Monteith which will see Eagle Farm closed until April at the earliest.
It has been resolved to remove the existing kikuyu turf and thatch layer before stripping back 50-100mm of existing sand and replacing it with "a more angular type of sand.''
Eagle Farm raced so poorly it was closed during the recent Winter Carnival and one of its biggest critics, trainer and former champion jockey Chris Munce, said he was now hoping for the best.
"At least they are now trying to fix it," Munce said.
"I'm not sure how much this difference this different shaped sand is going to make and whether it is going to totally fix things.
"They won't look too flash if it doesn't work. But all we can do is just hope for the best."
Champion Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan said he was hopeful the sand replacement would be the answer to the track's problems.
"When they appointed a Victorian guy to review the track, I always thought Eagle Farm was going to stay a sand-based track as they have had some success with sand-based tracks in Victoria," Gollan said.
"We probably all have to get behind it now and hope this suggested fix will be the best way for the future of Eagle Farm."
RQ chief executive Eliot Forbes has indicated that race meetings for Eagle Farm up until November have already been allocated to other tracks.
RQ faces a problem because Ipswich, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast already race at capacity in established timeslots.
Monteith's report recommended that when Eagle Farm resumes it must greatly reduce its traffic until the track is properly bedded down.
His recommendation was for as few as 20 Eagle Farm meetings per year and no more than 35 a year for each of the first three years it is back racing.
Through a current media rights deal, the Brisbane Racing Club is currently committed to having more race meetings at Eagle Farm every year than recommended by Monteith's report.
But BRC chairman Neville Bell says the existing agreement can be adjusted through Racing Queensland.
"It is the case of the club having to wear some short-term pain, through having less meetings at Eagle Farm, for the long-term gain and the future prosperity of the track," Bell said.
"It will be sorted out."
Sky Racing has been contacted for comment over the contract involving Eagle Farm.
