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Idolmite

So how would it work, hypothetically, this synthetic track?

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Let's just say it's in the Waikato, which is probably likely, if it happens at all, isn't  it?

There's been untold talk about it, but what does it actually mean for thoroughbred racing?

All North Island winter racing at just the one venue, racing say 4 meetings per week?

But only one meeting per Saturday?

There'll be hurdles and steeples?

Or does it only host meetings abandoned elsewhere?

And everybody has to then float to another venue at only a few hours notice?

If one synthetic track hosts more than its fair share of meetings, even If it only race one meeting per week, how do the clubs losing meetings stay afloat financially?

Or do they only schedule the more important meetings there? But the question above still applies.....

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I would guess one of the main reasons for having an all weather is to provide punters with consistency of product i.e. form at the same venue on the same surface something punters can punt on with a greater degree of confidence. 

I think the abandoned meetings is a side part of having one and I'm not sure how it can work providing cover for meetings that were not scheduled in that local. I mean you can't really nominate your horse for Trentham in July then have that meeting abandoned and expect the fields from that location to hold up on a synthetic surface.

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One has to remember that if one track is to be used week in week out - What is the effect

on the local economy - You can only suck so much money out of locals - Hard enough to get locals

to support meetings now without overloading them. Also do at what stage do they decide to transfer a

meeting onto the all weather -You need a few days notice  to get organised.  Good idea but the logistics of

getting they system up and running need a lot of thought.

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I don’t understand how this hasn’t happened already, but I see a sequence like this. 

All Clubs amalgamate into a single Club with lots of tracks (that way nobody loses any dates and you can have full time staff with full time jobs)

This club considers locations and makes decision about where.  They also make decision on surface (I believe Strathayr is the most expensive but I’m won over every time I see Sha Tin racing in a downpour) 

They probably need to factor in “training strips” of the same surface at one or two major training centres as well. (May not be possible with surface having to be raised above surrounding ground level)

The cost will dictate the rate of use, you don’t buy a harvester and keep it in the shed while the boys go out with scythes.

Now comes how to pay, Winston can’t foot the entire bill but he’s the only politician who would commit some govt funds, so a united industry making speedy decisions would allow us to find out how much from him.

Be good if this could be achieved by say next Friday.  (Of course you’re now immediately thinking of how this could NOT happen, rather than thinking about solutions)

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2 hours ago, Scotch Thistle said:

If it is an all weather track why wouldn't it be used year round? 

Yes, agree, but I imagine it'd be of more use during winter when so many meetings are abandoned. Right? 

Thst still doesn't answer ANY of my questions....

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1 hour ago, Huey said:

I would guess one of the main reasons for having an all weather is to provide punters with consistency of product i.e. form at the same venue on the same surface something punters can punt on with a greater degree of confidence. 

I think the abandoned meetings is a side part of having one and I'm not sure how it can work providing cover for meetings that were not scheduled in that local. I mean you can't really nominate your horse for Trentham in July then have that meeting abandoned and expect the fields from that location to hold up on a synthetic surface.

That's why I'm asking the question Huey. In that case, under your Trentham scenario, what'd be the point in spending millions and millions of dollars and have it sitting while meetings still get abandoned?

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1 hour ago, ardeea said:

One has to remember that if one track is to be used week in week out - What is the effect

on the local economy - You can only suck so much money out of locals - Hard enough to get locals

to support meetings now without overloading them. Also do at what stage do they decide to transfer a

meeting onto the all weather -You need a few days notice  to get organised.  Good idea but the logistics of

getting they system up and running need a lot of thought.

Can't agree more. I'm only asking because I don't understand how it will work. It seems I'm not alone. 

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54 minutes ago, Pickel said:

I don’t understand how this hasn’t happened already, but I see a sequence like this. 

All Clubs amalgamate into a single Club with lots of tracks (that way nobody loses any dates and you can have full time staff with full time jobs)

This club considers locations and makes decision about where.  They also make decision on surface (I believe Strathayr is the most expensive but I’m won over every time I see Sha Tin racing in a downpour) 

They probably need to factor in “training strips” of the same surface at one or two major training centres as well. (May not be possible with surface having to be raised above surrounding ground level)

The cost will dictate the rate of use, you don’t buy a harvester and keep it in the shed while the boys go out with scythes.

Now comes how to pay, Winston can’t foot the entire bill but he’s the only politician who would commit some govt funds, so a united industry making speedy decisions would allow us to find out how much from him.

Be good if this could be achieved by say next Friday.  (Of course you’re now immediately thinking of how this could NOT happen, rather than thinking about solutions)

At least you've had a bit of a stab at answering a small part of the equation. So are we saying Winnie has pledged all this money for an all weather track with no consideration to whether it's a workable project for the racing industry, or not? While many wihin the industry itself jump up and down with gay abandon, singing "we want it, we need it, we got it" but probably have little idea what to do with it. 

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4 hours ago, Idolmite said:

At least you've had a bit of a stab at answering a small part of the equation. So are we saying Winnie has pledged all this money for an all weather track with no consideration to whether it's a workable project for the racing industry, or not? While many wihin the industry itself jump up and down with gay abandon, singing "we want it, we need it, we got it" but probably have little idea what to do with it. 

I'm not saying Winston Peters has pledged all this money for an all weather track.  As far as I can see he hasn't pledged a cent.

He warbled on at Karaka in January about a further priority for the government being an all weather track, subject to this year's government budget process.  So what came out of the budget process as to an all weather track?  Nothing! 

 

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4 hours ago, Idolmite said:

Can't agree more. I'm only asking because I don't understand how it will work. It seems I'm not alone. 

Basically Idol what will happen is that reasonably regular racing would be scheduled on this track throughout the year, much as they do at Pakenham and Geelong. They don't stop racing at Caulfield and Flemington during the winter just because they have those synthetic tracks, and I can't recall a metropolitan Melbourne meeting ever being transferred to Geelong or elsewhere. During the winter it would provide a reasonably consistent surface just like Ruakaka does, although hopefully a fairer surface and more centrally located. It won't be some super track that means summer type horses can continue to race all year round. And I don't imagine it would be a Shatin type surface located at Ellerslie.

So in short it won't actually solve a lot of Racing's problems. It certainly won't be the great saviour that some people expect. It would just provide one tiny improvement in a currently disfunctional racing structure.

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