Racing Victoria (RV) has today announced that the Stawell meeting programmed on Easter Sunday, 20 April will be transferred to Donald.

The meeting, which was headlined by the Stawell Cup, cannot proceed at the Stawell Racecourse with the track unsuitable for racing after a suspected act of vandalism.

RV Manager Racing Operations, Paul Bloodworth, said RV had been working with the Stawell Racing Club (SRC) to find a suitable transfer venue and acknowledged the Donald and District Racing Club (DDRC) for hosting the meeting.

“It’s extremely disappointing that Stawell’s iconic meeting has to be abandoned in these circumstances, however we’re pleased that Donald can assist the industry by hosting the meeting and ensuring opportunities for owners, trainers and jockeys are provided,” Bloodworth said.

In making the announcement, Bloodworth said that RV had noted feedback on the consistency of the Donald track following the Club’s last meeting and that it was working to assist DDRC to present an optimum surface for the Easter Sunday meeting.

“Racing Victoria’s tracks and facilities team has been consulting closely with the track staff and management at Donald since their 31 March meeting and we’ll continue to work with them over the next two weeks to assist in the preparation of the track for the meeting,” Bloodworth said.

”We are confident that the track will be presented with an even racing surface which is why we have transferred the meeting to Donald and thus kept it within the Wimmera region.”

The Open Handicap race programmed as part of the Stawell Cup meeting will still be run at Donald, but prizemoney for the race will be changed from $50,000 to $30,000. Prizemoney for the BM70 will also be changed to from $25,000 to $15,000.

The 20 April meeting will have a number of minor distance changes.