Tasracing has confirmed it will not be considering the option which almost certainly would have been vetoed by the jockeys anyway.

There has been industry speculation that Longford could have been used for up to four of the transferred Elwick meetings.

This would have appeased those who prefer to race on grass tracks and don’t want too many of the Elwick meetings moved to Spreyton.

But it would have been an expensive exercise due in part to OH&S requirements and would have resulted in reduced field sizes. 

Tasracing is yet to announce exactly how many of the meetings will go to the synthetic track and how many can be accommodated at Mowbray which already has a heavy workload.

However it’s likely that racing will alternate between the two venues up until the start of July then Spreyton will host its usual winter carnival that could be extended to 10 weeks.

Tasmanian Jockeys Association general manager Kevin Ring said the idea of allocating extra dates to Longford had been discussed at a Thoroughbred Advisory Network meeting.

“I made it clear then that the jockeys would not agree to ride at Longford other than on New Year’s Day,” Ring said.

“We only agree to that meeting out of respect to the late Jim Osborne (the driving force behind the venue) and as a way of supporting the local community.

“We have discussed it again since the TAN meeting and nothing has changed.”

Jockeys do not consider the tight Longford track suitable for regular racing and, on New Year’s Day, fields for most events are restricted to just eight runners.

Leading jockey Siggy Carr has joined the small band of Tasmanian riders to be granted a dual licence.

Carr expects to make her debut as a trainer in Hobart on Sunday when she could have up to three runners.

The 30-year-old said she was ‘extremely excited’ about her new venture.

“I have a wonderful crew of friends and family who have given me the opportunity to train for them and I’m looking forward to what the future holds,” she said.

Carr has progressed from being a star mature-age apprentice to a nationally-recognised senior rider.

Last year, a leading racing web site ranked her the 8^th best female jockey in the country.

Dual licences were reintroduced in Tasmania in 2016.

The jockeys to have trained winners since then have been Yassi Nishitani and Rhonda Mangan.

Michelle Payne is probably Australia’s best known dual licence holder.