12:00a.m. 5th January 2009

| By Peter Gardiner

Dazzle: Mick Sullivan. from the Sunshine Coast Turf Club. Photo:Chris McCormack/180205a

Corbuild Park’s premier race day will be a lot more dazzling on Saturday, June 27, with a spectacular day-night format and racing under lights.

Sunshine Coast Turf Club secretary Mick Sullivan yesterday revealed that the club was planning on prolonging everyone’s excitement during the gala event with a planned 12-race program ending about 7.30pm.

This ambitious move has been made possible by the installation of the club’s lighting system worth more than $7 million.

The 40 light towers are now in place with about 1000 light globes providing 2000 watts of illumination that will light up both Corbould Park’s synthetic and grass tracks. Eager punters will not have to wait that long to experience this illuminating experience, with the turf club to be the fill-in host of Toowoomba race meetings from February 21 with races from 3.30pm to 7.30pm.

This is to allow a synthetic track to be built in the City of Flowers.

“We will be the first race track in Australia to race on both grass and synthetic with five races on grass and two on the synthetic at the same meet,” Sullivan said.

“We are the only other track outside of Toowoomba that can host this (day-night) racing as well and we think it is going to be a major success with race goers.

“The trainers – everyone – are onboard and it’s all positive.”

He said the debut twilight meeting will be specially promoted with a band hired to help increase the entertainment value for race goers.

From July the club will also be hosting regular Friday night twilight meetings.

“The race meetings for 2009/2010 have not be finalised yet but we’re hoping to hold them every third Friday,” Sullivan said.

“It will offer another entertainment alternative on the Coast.”

Queensland Racing chairman Bob Bentley saw the new Caloundra formats as a chance to promote the sport to a wider audience.

“We’ve had discussions with Sky Channel and they’re very interested in scheduling some timeslots in Caloundra to coincide with meetings in south-east Asia and Japan,” Mr Bentley said when announcing the night move.

“We see it as a great opportunity for racing in Queensland, not just on the Sunshine Coast.

“Night racing hasn’t worked particularly well in Australia before, but when you’ve got a full program running alongside it (Canterbury, Moonee Valley and internationally) it has appeal.”