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Abandonments - RNZ This Morning

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57 minutes ago, Double R said:

I am in favour of all weather tracks, but this health and safety situation that is presently in force, what will happen when a horse slips on the all weather track? Will it be that the track is unsafe, and racing is flagged away?  It always seems to be the track at fault. Could not just be the horse knuckled over, like we all can do at times. Maybe we need to talk to the Motor Racing people, and get their spin on health and safety. They do not seem to stop all racing for the day if a car spins out because of driver error, car malfunction or substance on the track.

Just a thought.

Cheers.

Robert.

there was a bloody interesting article on Hec Anderton on Facebook a month or so ago.  He reckons a lot of the slipping is to do with the shoes they wear these days.  If you are on facebook try the White Robe Lodge site.

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2 hours ago, barryb said:

To be fair Puha, there is a major meeting 4 days later which will have many thousands at it.

Wait until the AW track is built at Te Rapa and they race every 2 weeks there, will be quieter than a morgue. 

The meeting on Tuesday was very dismal and would have cost the industry money. Open 2100 with 3 horses in it is a waste of time. There was no one there. As for Saturday they still havent sold all there areas as Ken stated that when interviewed. As for the AW I would be surprised if it went to Te Rapa. I reckon it will go to Matamata the biggest training centre in the Waikato

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Why not Cambridge. They are planning a new multi code facility there which could include an allweather track.

But is a track paid for by NZTR or subsidized by govt run by a club or by a new entity.

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The word in the street is that the all weather track will be going to Cambridge. 

It is not going to solve a single raceday problem other than a few racedays will be scheduled there, thus saving a few grass tracks elsewhere. 

What it is going to do though, is allow the Cambridge trainers to get their horses better prepared through the winter thus giving them an advantage over everyone else and everyone else is paying for it!

I disagree with it and feel that the 10 Million (or whatever the cost is) should be put into maintaining the current tracks and bring them up to scratch at this point in time.

 

 

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Another point that occurred to me - in the recent spate of abandonments, there has been on at least some of those occasions,  the opportunity to re-locate somewhere handy.

But the TAB throws its collective hands in the air and can't manage the shift at short notice.

I have to wonder just how many 'abandoned' meetings an allweather will save.  Certainly none on the West Coast,  Southland, Otago - or Canterbury.   Mind you,  Canterbury has an unused track  sitting idle a scant twenty minutes from Riccarton....just saying....

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5 hours ago, Insider said:

The word in the street is that the all weather track will be going to Cambridge. 

It is not going to solve a single raceday problem other than a few racedays will be scheduled there, thus saving a few grass tracks elsewhere. 

What it is going to do though, is allow the Cambridge trainers to get their horses better prepared through the winter thus giving them an advantage over everyone else and everyone else is paying for it!

I disagree with it and feel that the 10 Million (or whatever the cost is) should be put into maintaining the current tracks and bring them up to scratch at this point in time.

 

 

Which is exactly why it will go to Te Rapa, the economic cost will be far more palatable. Facilities already exist, 1/2 way through a modernisation of the grandstand, good long term sponsors. Would be 1/2 the cost of building at Cambridge & ensure that Waikato and Awapuni both get an AW.

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10 hours ago, TOM(the other Molloy) said:

there was a bloody interesting article on Hec Anderton on Facebook a month or so ago.  He reckons a lot of the slipping is to do with the shoes they wear these days.  If you are on facebook try the White Robe Lodge site.

I think I saw it in the ODT.

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4 hours ago, Pam Robson said:

Another point that occurred to me - in the recent spate of abandonments, there has been on at least some of those occasions,  the opportunity to re-locate somewhere handy.

But the TAB throws its collective hands in the air and can't manage the shift at short notice.

I have to wonder just how many 'abandoned' meetings an allweather will save.  Certainly none on the West Coast,  Southland, Otago - or Canterbury.   Mind you,  Canterbury has an unused track  sitting idle a scant twenty minutes from Riccarton....just saying....

TAB was certainly not the issue with Kumara Pam.  They(TAB) were moving to Reefton anyway and would have been happy to shift.  It was the KRC itself that refused the offer.

Having said that they(TAB) were the problem a few years back when we gave them five or six days notice that we needed to shift to Greymouth.  They reckoned the Truck driver's hours was the problem - wrong excuse when the Reefton Committee includes two truck drivers and a Transport company owner.

Realistically shifting venues is only an option with a couple of days notice.  You cannot just do it on the morning of the races with the current TAB setup.  Maybe if the totes went to all TAB caravans but there is still the TV's setup, Trackside and staffing to consider.

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The success of some country meetings could be due to; 1/ racing in Summer 2/ much of the population is on holiday 3/ no shopping malls to attract Joe & Jane Public 4/ the comparative rarity of races in the area 5/ an attraction for people away from home, getting a bit bored of holidays.

However, are they profitable enough to improve the facilities to a standard that would be desired for more regular meetings? The West Coast has 4 courses (was 5) but would it be better to have one good sized course, rather than the trotting tracks, and improved facilities? Similar situations in Taranaki and Southland. Marton, Rangitikei, Feilding & Ashhurst-Pohangina Clubs centralized at Awapuni, where facilities are better than the inidividual clubs could afford. Does that model work, where clubs are joint owners? Some clubs may be profitable but are they going anywhere?

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12 minutes ago, Delta Bro said:

  How many full time? Me thinks its one.

Well there is a secretary  manager,   I think Mr. Fitness is there all the time and just presumed he wasn't doing the complete track maintenance without some assistance.  I would have assumed Counties and Avondale were on similar lines but stand to be corrected.

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18 minutes ago, Mr Spyro said:

Well there is a secretary  manager,   I think Mr. Fitness is there all the time and just presumed he wasn't doing the complete track maintenance without some assistance.  I would have assumed Counties and Avondale were on similar lines but stand to be corrected.

No full time secretary manager. Guaranteed.

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But the question was  all volunteer so whatever hours contributed would be paid for.    So throw in one or two track staff.   I did see the figures for last season's wage bill, but can't recall what they were,  I know of course they included tote staff, bar staff race day.

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Okay $ 140,00 paid  in wages  2016 ,  realising many would be race day staff just called in on the day but maybe a couple not volunteers ?  They also now have a paid development manger , although not full time.

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1 hour ago, Phar Lap Fan said:

The success of some country meetings could be due to; 1/ racing in Summer 2/ much of the population is on holiday 3/ no shopping malls to attract Joe & Jane Public 4/ the comparative rarity of races in the area 5/ an attraction for people away from home, getting a bit bored of holidays.

However, are they profitable enough to improve the facilities to a standard that would be desired for more regular meetings? The West Coast has 4 courses (was 5) but would it be better to have one good sized course, rather than the trotting tracks, and improved facilities? Similar situations in Taranaki and Southland. Marton, Rangitikei, Feilding & Ashhurst-Pohangina Clubs centralized at Awapuni, where facilities are better than the inidividual clubs could afford. Does that model work, where clubs are joint owners? Some clubs may be profitable but are they going anywhere?

Putting them all into one venue will standardise the racing and pretty soon everyone will be bored to death with it.  The crowds will fall and it will just be a Riccarton situation with a few hundred diehards in attendance at any meeting.  Kumara would not be Kumara for instance at another venue.  And one venue means paid track staff as well(You are not going to get the same level of enthusiastic volunteers when some other Club is hammering your track)

All good as a dream but unlikely to fly I'm afraid.  Anyway the facilities(not the tracks themselves but he public areas) over here are perfectly adequate for the meetings we run. 

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27 minutes ago, billy connolly said:

Hurinui picnic races are on this Sunday, equalisator only with road cones for a running rail, bush jockeys and no pre/post drug testing but there will be ten times more on course there than at Riccarton on Saturday !

 

Bush jockeys! So are you saying they will just head over from Riccarton?

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32 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

See Sydney racing is now free to air... not sure how long it will take this mob to realize its needed in NZ too.

Good luck with that - will only happen with Sports betting as that is their emphasis and perceived future

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