Sydney, Australia, Nov 16, 2007 / 09:17 am
A $40 million taxpayer-funded compensation package to the horseracing industry has pushed the costs of Sydney's upcoming World Youth Day close to $100 million, The Australian reports.
The agreement confirms Randwick racecourse as the site of World Youth Day’s overnight vigil and Papal Mass.
Negotiations with Randwick trainers and horse owners over lost race revenues, the stabling of horses, and the necessity of renovating the site for the event were quite heated over the last several months.
However, Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys said the anger had subsided and the vice-president of the NSW Trainers Association, John O'Shea, described the result as "acceptable".