Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders joined the club's general manger Vince Gordon and president Chris Davis to officially open the new complex on Tuesday.

The facility was constructed at the eastern end of the existing stabling thanks to $318,000 of COVID-19 stimulus funding.

Mr Saunders credited the Dubbo Turf Club and racing as a whole after a difficult 2020, even with racing less affected than other sports by the pandemic.

"Racing was one of the sports that managed to keep going through the absolute worst of the pandemic, and that was because of the strict bio security protocols that were followed by participants," Mr Saunders said.

"The sport has been thriving in our region and while that is great for trainers and jockeys, that also means great things for vets, farriers, trackwork riders, strappers, stockfeed suppliers and so many others in our community.

"More stables at the club means more horses that can be in work, and more business for those involved in the industry."

READ ALSO:

Dubbo Turf Club general manager said prominent local trainer Kody Nestor will utilise the new facilities, and said the investment was a boost for the club.

"Having more horses trained on track allows us to continue our ongoing development as not only a spectacular racing track, but also a significant training centre," Mr Gordon said.

"We had over 2000 trained starters last year, and that helps the whole region because if we didn't have horses being trained out of Dubbo, places like Coonamble, Warren, Narromine and Wellington wouldn't have the same population to draw from.

"Those towns are all going very well and racing is really thriving, and that comes from the level of investment we've seen from the NSW Government and Racing NSW."

The stables can house up to 18 horses at one time and Mr Gordon says as soon as they receive approval horses would be moved straight in.

Mr Gordon also expressed his interest in expanding the number of races held in Dubbo per year but insisted that it could take a while.

"Wagga currently have 22 and we (Dubbo) have 18 but I think their is no point having more races until we can get 18 high quality and successful meetings, once we can do that then we may look at having more."

Nestor-trained horses are set to feature prominently in the Country Championships qualifier to be held in Coonamble on March 14. The top two finishers from this race go on to the final to be held at Randwick on April 3.

Dubbo's next meeting is set for Friday March 5.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: