A man accused of setting fire to a heritage-listed racecourse grandstand will remain behind bars after facing court.

Travis Bird, 51, appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday after being charged with nine offences – four counts of arson, two of trespass and one each of burglary, criminal damage and theft.

The alleged firebug was arrested at Mordialloc train station, in Melbourne’s southern bayside suburbs, on Tuesday after a major blaze tore through Caulfield Racecourse’s Norman Robinson stand earlier that morning.

The fire likely caused millions of dollars of damage and disrupted racing fixtures. A meet scheduled for Wednesday has been moved to Mornington.

Bird is accused of lighting a blaze on grounds and another three grassfires at nearby Attenborough Park.

He faced court wearing a grey T-shirt on Wednesday morning, flanked by custody officers. He did not apply for bail.

His defence lawyer said Bird had a diagnosis of schizophrenia and asked for custody nurses to examine him and give him his medication.

“I would ask that his mental health be monitored whilst he’s in custody,” she told the court.

Magistrate Vincenzo Caltabiano remanded Bird in custody to appear back in court on April 1.

Police on Tuesday said Bird once lived in the area of the fires but it was many years ago. He has no known links to the racecourse or racing industry.

Fire Rescue Victoria incident controller Dennis Smith said the fire caused significant damage to the stand and originated in a bar on the first level.

“I’m not a builder, but from what I’ve seen this morning the damage will be in the millions,” he said.

Gutted pic.twitter.com/iGD0bsSk0M

— Kanga (@johnkanga) January 7, 2025

Melbourne Racing Club chairman John Kanga posted several images of the fire-damaged grandstand on social media, each accompanied by the word “gutted”. He assured members the grandstand would be rebuilt, although the full extent of the damage is yet to be determined.

The racecourse is in the middle of a $300 million redevelopment, announced in 2019. It includes works to the Norman Robinson stand.

In December, the MRC agreed to sell a $195 million parcel of land at the site to Mount Scopus Memorial College for the school to build a new campus.

Melbourne Football Club also plans to build a training and administrative base at the racecourse by 2028.

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-with AAP