Testing is underway to determine the exact cause of turf discolouration that has upended a race meet and puts on one of Queensland's richest horse racing events under a cloud.
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00:00A glittering race meeting turned upside down.
00:05We booked it in a couple of months ago, it's been looking good, until we found out last
00:09night no horses.
00:10Bit of a bugger, but we'll make the most of it.
00:12Racing Queensland made the call to move the first day of the Magic Millions to the Sunshine
00:17Coast after a section of the course was discovered damaged.
00:23Police are investigating whether it was done willfully.
00:26The race meet was moved two hours north up the Bruce Highway to the Caloundra Turf Club,
00:32frustrating many.
00:33Well, it's disgraceful.
00:34I know the police are actively investigating at the moment.
00:36Normally you've got days or weeks to prepare, but this was just a matter of hours to put
00:42all this together.
00:43The carnival reaps in up to $50 million for the region.
00:47Some punters were disappointed, but others turned up for the entertainment.
00:51We're here for my birthday, so when everything got moved we just decided to still come.
00:56I hope, I hope that in a very short period of time the police find who was responsible.
01:02Organisers are confident the track will be fixed by next Saturday's main Magic Millions
01:07race day, one of the richest and most famed race days in the country.
01:12We've already put the wheels in motion to mobilise some expert support out of down south.
01:18That could mean dropping in fresh turf.
01:20I understand it's been done at Flemington before and Caulfields.
01:24At this point in time we're comfortable we've got a good result and we'll be racing here
01:27on Magic Millions Day.
01:29A race to get the carnival back on track.