Oamaru Gone

[Leggy 4,076]

27 minutes ago, MrBigStuff said:

Thats what I mean. A Pakenham type facility 

If you want a Pakenham style facility then build it. That might result in other venues shutting down. But shutting down other venues won't build a Pakenham style facility.

[TOM(the other Molloy) 1,774]

3 hours ago, MrBigStuff said:

Don't see Aus race on bottomless bogs week in and week out so why should we?

oh thats right we have rubbish venues and more venues than we need with substandard surfaces. Nothing will change unless the industry changes and downsizes the number of venues we have. 

We need a handful of good venues, good facilities and good quality racing surfaces - not tens of shitholes like we currently have

 

Well Ok lets look at the logical venues you would want 

Ellerslie - Bog for nine months of the year

Trentham - Bog for eight months of the year

Riccarton - Bog for three months a year

So where are we going to race?

 

 

[TOM(the other Molloy) 1,774]

1 hour ago, MrBigStuff said:

You all say that now but its true. Racing will not prosper unless the tough calls are made. 

Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results 

That is NZ racing in a nutshell 

 

Like repeating over and over and over every time there is any sort of hiccup on a track that it should be shut down you mean?

[Jape 344]

This has been an exceptional winter for wet weather. Floods throughout so much of the South Island are not the norm. 

I once had a smallish share in a galloper that needed the sting out of the ground - at the very least.  She went to Oamaru in July and the dust was rising. Still finished fifth and only a length and a half from the winner. 

Oh for a soft 9 that day and maybe a heavy 10.

[Pam Robson 1,547]

7 hours ago, We're Doomed said:

It is still going to rain on the "good" venues. Year in year out Timaru and Oamaru are two of the best winter tracks in the country. I fail to see how eliminating those two tracks and having more racing at Riccarton is going to achieve anything.

Less floating expenses,  would be all.....and looking at the ground around the stables  now ,  'floating'  is a fairly appropriate term..!

Wingatui and Riverton excepted,  south island tracks are generally much drier in the winter - but the great cure-all,  the sand-slitting,  that was supposed to fix the Riccarton pug hasn't apparently achieved its aim.

[Midget 4,489]

Racetracks should be like airports.

Major populations have industry funded international versions.

Lesser populations can have one but it has to meet certain standards to be allowed to operate.

Minor areas can have one if they wish, but they can't operate commercially.

If airports can do it why can't the racing industry.

As for the patch up jobs we've seen at Riccarton, Awapuni, Trentham etc....and arguably what we're about to see at Ellerslie, well it's hard to think of a nice analogy but maybe the Manawatu Gorge springs to mind.

I guess it's a bit like fun in the bedroom, either you do it or you don't do it, and if you do it make sure it's done properly because there's nothing worse than a limp and soft job half done when neither party leaves happy, or wanting to do it again.

To close, NZ has so many unique soil types that mimic or exceed all that a Strathayr offers, the sand belt from Levin to Whanganui, obviously Ruakaka, but the jewel in the crown is Port Waikato to Muriwai, and no club or influential administrator has ever had the vision or appetite to embrace the obvious and utilize what nature gave us and build a world class black sand/native grass track on that beautiful free draining soil/sand.

I guess there's a reason for it of course, that being that the administrators are simply so detached from reality, or so inexperienced and stupid that they don't understand turf, horse health and safety, racing dynamics, or even a bloody good opportunity when it stares them in the face.

As for fixing tracks temporarily by sand slitting...it's like hiring a really good hooker, then just wanting to cuddle...

[Guest 2Admin2]

1 hour ago, Pam Robson said:

Less floating expenses,  would be all.....and looking at the ground around the stables  now ,  'floating'  is a fairly appropriate term..!

Wingatui and Riverton excepted,  south island tracks are generally much drier in the winter - but the great cure-all,  the sand-slitting,  that was supposed to fix the Riccarton pug hasn't apparently achieved its aim.

Sand slitting never will alleviate the problem if the soil structure is stuffed and/or the underlying drainage is impaired.  You only have to look at Te Rapa to see that sand slitting has a very short term impact and over time deteriorates to a shifty crap inconsistent surface.  

A Strathayr track is installed as a complete turf system - gravel and pipes laid as a base, a sand zone topped by healthy soil where the structure is artificially maintained by the inclusion of plastic mesh.  Each part of the system is aligned to an engineered camber that provides optimal racing.  Overtime the top layer will deteriorate as do all racing surfaces from impact damage but at a far slower rate than native track surfaces.  Reconditioning a Strathayr track normally only involves the top turf layer.

[final luca 189]

and if your main  track  is not worthy of racing, tracks like oamaru/timaru could be used as a stand by but it comes down to MONEY/CROWDS. doesn't it

look at ellerslie. when they can not race there, they have  Avondale,counties, te rapa, te aroha..  in the old days you even had helensville.  south island can take a leaf out of their book.

 

[uneasy 497]

We need something, it is a long time ago that Riccarton would be as heavy as it is right now

Trentham in July - Greek Meer, Gatcombes Pride, Mr Dan, Mystic Dancer and a few others would be right at home here next week

In saying that the sun is trying to make its presence but more rain predicted mid week

[Fiery Falcon 89]

Hello Midget

I have been waiting for you to make a comment about the upcoming  work on the Ellerslie track after the cup meeting in March next year.

After the number of comments I have read from you about different tracks in NZ why are you not offering Ellerslie your services to be a  consultant so if it all goes wrong we have someone to blame ie you.

[scooby3051 10,869]

11 minutes ago, Fiery Falcon said:

Hello Midget

I have been waiting for you to make a comment about the upcoming  work on the Ellerslie track after the cup meeting in March next year.

After the number of comments I have read from you about different tracks in NZ why are you not offering Ellerslie your services to be a  consultant so if it all goes wrong we have someone to blame ie you.

Are you trolling...again.

[Chris Wood 1,576]

Contribute something that is relevant Falcon, or just don't bother!

[Ohokaman 5,825]

Now Otaki off.....

[Leggy 4,076]

1 hour ago, Fiery Falcon said:

Hello Midget

I have been waiting for you to make a comment about the upcoming  work on the Ellerslie track after the cup meeting in March next year.

After the number of comments I have read from you about different tracks in NZ why are you not offering Ellerslie your services to be a  consultant so if it all goes wrong we have someone to blame ie you.

It's quite clear to most of us that Midget is correct and that a patch up drainage job which might improve things slightly for a year or two will make no contribution to the long term future of NZ racing. ARC is one of the few clubs that could possibly afford to do the job right. Shame really. The Manawatu Gorge analogy resonates.

[tasman man 11 979]

2 hours ago, Chris Wood said:

Contribute something that is relevant Falcon, or just don't bother!

Hopefully Chris , someone from the Trainers Association or from a sizable group of trainers will forward a submission to the Auckland Racing Club with their suggestions as to how they think the track should be remedied best for the future of racing .

The club would be advised to take notice as both futures would seem to be interdependent.

As a followup ,the group could also present at the ARC AGM again with a good argument of the best course of action.

To me this seems obvious......hopefully trainers will not sit back while a half -arse fix is attempted .

 

[Midget 4,489]

3 hours ago, Fiery Falcon said:

Hello Midget

I have been waiting for you to make a comment about the upcoming  work on the Ellerslie track after the cup meeting in March next year.

After the number of comments I have read from you about different tracks in NZ why are you not offering Ellerslie your services to be a  consultant so if it all goes wrong we have someone to blame ie you.

I've made my comments, but to reiterate.

I'm quite proud of the way Ellerslie has accumulated cash, and how well they're set up for the future.

I'm not happy that they've decided to do this half job, but who knows, it might work, then we'll eat humble pie ( as we've done with Counties now they've pretty much sorted their place out ).

I'd prefer they close for a year and do a Strathayr, but I'm not involved with the ARC, and I can only presume they don't have input from horsemen or experts who care about animal welfare, so we're getting a half job.

What more can I say FF....it is what it is....

[Chris Wood 1,576]

Trainers association won't have much input. We don't rock boats these days, and a bit of a conflict of interest with our trainers association and an ARC board member won't help things. Strathayr is the remedy, but not happening, so good luck to the ARC if it comes off, I will be the first to eat humble pie! After all, we are all entitled to an opinion!

 

[dock leaf 142]

While I am also proud of how Ellerslie have accumulated their pile of cash. I'd like to see them spend it on enhancing nz racing. I imagine they intend to at some stage

The team in charge at ARC and the teams prior to them obviously inherited prime real estate to work with in the biggest city that is bursting at the seams. Imagine if they couldn't make money!

In my opinion NZRB and NZTR rightfully hand Ellerslie the best race dates, with the best stakes to attract the best horses. The lump sums to promote their carnivals is a bit much though. The crowds that are attracted on-course predominantly spend their money on catering rather than punting so that money goes into ARC's pocket rather than the industry's. Imagine if they couldn't make money!

While some on this site like to rubbish the smaller clubs and race courses, they still manage to scrape by, despite doubling as training facility's, and getting allocated worse dates, and poorer stakes, and are generally run on modest budgets by volunteers.

In summary I'm glad Ellerslie are sitting pretty, hopefully they have something good planned for racing in the near future. I'm also proud of the smaller clubs that are contributing positively to the industry.

It be interesting to see a report on which clubs financially drain the industry, probably too hard too measure?

Cheers

[Insider 3,947]

41 minutes ago, dock leaf said:

While I am also proud of how Ellerslie have accumulated their pile of cash. I'd like to see them spend it on enhancing nz racing. I imagine they intend to at some stage

The team in charge at ARC and the teams prior to them obviously inherited prime real estate to work with in the biggest city that is bursting at the seams. Imagine if they couldn't make money!

In my opinion NZRB and NZTR rightfully hand Ellerslie the best race dates, with the best stakes to attract the best horses. The lump sums to promote their carnivals is a bit much though. The crowds that are attracted on-course predominantly spend their money on catering rather than punting so that money goes into ARC's pocket rather than the industry's. Imagine if they couldn't make money!

While some on this site like to rubbish the smaller clubs and race courses, they still manage to scrape by, despite doubling as training facility's, and getting allocated worse dates, and poorer stakes, and are generally run on modest budgets by volunteers.

In summary I'm glad Ellerslie are sitting pretty, hopefully they have something good planned for racing in the near future. I'm also proud of the smaller clubs that are contributing positively to the industry.

It be interesting to see a report on which clubs financially drain the industry, probably too hard too measure?

Cheers

Outstanding. 

[Phantom 494]

On 7/27/2017 at 10:33 AM, MrBigStuff said:

You all say that now but its true. Racing will not prosper unless the tough calls are made. 

Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results 

That is NZ racing in a nutshell 

 

One of the many examples of this is the ridiculously monthly change in the distribution of bonus funds which the TAB (possibly illegally) retain from unstruck pools. Last month it was terminating pick sixes, in August it will be distributed via quaddies and a $50,000 guaranteed first four on the feature race every Saturday. They have been mixing it up like this every month for more than two years now without apparently noticing that it is not working, as turnover continues to fall. Punters are generally creatures of habit, and I imagine the TAB would be much better served by seeding the same pools every week regardless of month, for example offering a guaranteed 100k Pick Six every Saturday on the best six races of the day. Whatever they decide, they need to do something DIFFERENT as their current "plan" is clearly not working. Another idea.. how about asking some punters what they think would work? They could do worse. Because rest assured no one at Petone has a fucking clue.