After 70 years, harness racing appears lost to the township with the proposed Northern Expressway cutting through racetrack.

Gawler Harness Racing Club president Barry Ewen said the club was hoping for a good crowd to farewell feature racing.

“No final race date has been confirmed but Friday night’s program will be the last time we have feature races at the track,” Ewen said.

Programmed races include the Dominic Virgara Memorial, the Gawler Landscaping Supplies Cup, Light Regional Council Oaks and the SA Reinswomen Pace.

The club is expected to hold it final meeting in either June or July.

The Gawler Harness Racing Club will be paid $3.8million for their facility and a new training track will be installed on the current adjacent gliding club land.

But the club has run out of alternatives to keep harness racing as a sport in the Gawler area.

Mr Ewen said if the club was to continue racing it would have to look at a move to Kapunda or to conduct race meetings at Globe Derby Park.

Noted Australian harness racing track designer Wayne Edgelow inspected land for the proposed new trial track and said it would not be possible to develop it into a racetrack.

He said the money being paid to the club was well short of the $10-$12million which would be needed to replicate their current racetrack.