Mark Hart, the man responsible for ensuring Wagga's racecourse is in good nick, says in his 17 Gold Cups, the turf has never looked better than it does this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Murrumbidgee Turf Club's 2200-metre track covers seven hectares, takes half a day to mow and, ahead of the 2024 Wagga Gold Cup, is considered "the perfect surface".
"I thought 2016 was probably the best track I'd ever presented in my time," the racecourse manager said.
"I think I've got 17 Cups under me belt now ... but I think this one's equal."
Mr Hart said the track is in prime condition due to good levels of rainfall and the lack of frost during April.
It is rated a "good four", which means it has some give in it and is considered the most ideal surface.
"It's not too firm, and not too dense ... we're sitting in the perfect spot," Mr Hart said.
To get the bright green colour, Mr Hart said the trick was using plenty of fertiliser and ambient liquid dye.
"What it [dye] does is it attaches itself to the leaf and it just keeps drawing a bit of heat to the plant to keep it growing," he said.
"It's an old trick bowling green keepers used 20 or 30 years ago."
When frocked-up guests arrive through the gates on Thursday morning for the Town Plate race day, they can expect a bright green track rolled in a perfectly striped pattern.
And after a day of eight races, Mr Hart and his team will quickly work to get the track back into shape ahead of the Gold Cup on Friday, May 3.
"Thursday night, we'll get a light roller and we'll go around and just patch it," Mr Hart said.
"We'll go around with a trailer load of sand and any holes we'll fill in.
"I'm anticipating, with the grass cover, there won't be many holes in it."
A crowd of 10,000 people is expected to come through the gates on Friday, with the feature Gold Cup race set to run at 4.15pm.
"All the winning jockeys might think it [the track] is all right, the ones who come last might not think so," Mr Hart said.