Some might say that given its historical and political background, Australia's capital city displays a number of "conservative" overtones.

Not so, according to a report in yesterday's Canberra Times that details Canberra Racing Club's rather novel decision to shift two races of Sunday's Canberra Cup card to Thoroughbred Park's unraced synthetic track "after spits of rain and jockey complaints of a "greasy" surface forced stewards to declare the track unfit for the final two races of the day.

Race bosses then took what they believed was a world-first measure, changing from the venue's grass surface to the unraced synthetic track - named the Acton track and running inside the main course - for the seventh and eighth races".

Canberra Racing Club officials labeled the innovative decision as "exciting".

No-one can say the local racing industry hasn't adopted a progressive approach to reforming Canberra's more traditional image!