Grass is greener for our trots

GRASS track harness racing is set to return to Australia for the first time in years and it could be coming to Griffith.

In a major coup for the city, the Griffith Harness Racing Club (GHRC) will install a grass track at Dalton Park if the dates allocated by the state governing body for meets in the 2013-14 season are compliant.

The move is also pending clearance from the Griffith Jockey Club, who owns the track, but GHRC secretary Denis Conroy is confident it will be approved.

The last grass track harness racing meet was in Richmond NSW but securing the next one could be a major moneyspinner for both racing and Griffith in general.

"It's something that will attract sponsorship, a much bigger crowd, and national media coverage," Conroy said.

"We expect this is the kind of thing would see Sky Racing come and give us coverage because it's just something different.

"People who watch Sky Racing would see this happens in New Zealand, where there are two or three grass tracks. But there's not one in Australia anymore and there hasn't been for years."

Conroy expects to hear back from Harness Racing NSW in February on the dates the club will be assigned. There were two meets last season in November and the hope is there will be more next time around.

"I assume we'll have pretty similar timing again, which would allow us to maintain a grass track," he said.

The state governing body is behind the proposal, with CEO Sam Nati suggesting to GHRC powerbrokers that they should consider a grass track.

It is part of Griffith harness racing's rebuilding program, which began in 2010 with the first meet at Dalton Park in seven years.

"Harness Racing NSW have indicated they will fully support it so we're looking at it to see if we could pull it off," Conroy said.

"Some horses will handle a grass track and some won't, but it would give us that modicum of difference that would become a talking point and something to promote."