army

I have also emailed the club

Went to Riccarton on Saturday as I had a horse in the Guniness what a shame. Firstly I had a horse racing at Tauranga but all the bars upstairs for owners were close because of over crowding so finding a place to watch him race was just impossible. As I said also had a horse in the Guniness so after being at the race pre-drink I headed upstairs to go into grandstand to watch my horse only to be confronted with the glass doors closed and told that due to over crowding I wasnt allowed out into the grandstand. After several times trying to explain that I had a horse in the Group 1 race surely I was able to go out and he just kept on refusing. There were several other people wanting to get out too and thanks to some kind people told the guy to at least let me out to see my horse run. Finally I get out to the stand as the race started. After the race I notice there were a hugh amount of young people up there and I bet they dont even have a share in the horse so how they get up there who knows. Riccarton Jockey Club you need to realise 1. That without owners there are no horses 2. Without horses there are no races 3. No races means not Riccarton racecourse It is about time that you start thinking more about the racing on these days than supply a big booze up for the young who get so intoxicated that they cant stand. They are there for the booze not for the races. You dont see alot of them investing on the tote but I pressume that that doesnt worry you because you make all your money by supply them booze all day. The requirement of the Liquor law is that you do not supply liquor to an intoxicated person but walking round you see drunk people with not 1 can in there hand but 3. How these guys all get owners bands no idea considering you restrict you bands to us as 2 per person for the owner and partner. Horse racing isnt cheap but we particapate for the enjoyment of watching them race and if you are lucky enough to get one in a Group 1 race you make sure you are there to watch it. I travelled down from the North so perhaps you need to consider owners a bit more because 1. That without owners there are no horses 2. Without horses there are no races 3. No races means no Riccarton racecourse If you want to have a teenage booze party have one but not on a big race day

Yes the 30000 has to cover your expenses for the day but the point I was making was if NZTR pays that out plus stakes waht would they have to take on and off course just to cover their costs

For a normal Industry day the payment is $30000 from NZTR to the club. I myself believe that this had not benefitted NZTR because you are assured to get 30000 for your meeting whether ypu have 50 people on course or 200. Clubs now dont really need to get out there to encourage people to come to the races on Industry days becasue they get their payment and dont get a percentage off the on course betting. In some cases the on course turnover is down as low as 5000 but I am not sure what the off course turnover for these meetings are but what would NZTR need the turnover to be to not make a loss on these meetings. It is a hard one because any business that made a loss running events or doing work would not survive so they would either go bankrupt or make radical changes. This is the same for the racing Industry they need to make changes for all thats is involved and if closing the clubs you dont think the answer is then what is it.

We have had a huge amount of rain yesterday and today so they have been moved to Thursday

I agree with what you say about the fixation of wanting a dead 4 track. This is what is causing all the problems because water is being applied to achieve that. In my opinion and yes I am a dairy farmer but a Good 2 track now is not the same as a Good 2 in February because at the moment if you dig down in the soil a little bit you can see there is still moisture which you wont get later on unless we have a wet summer. I know people dont like too hard of tracks for 2 year olds but you have to really take a look at that. Firstly I dont believe is pushing a horse too early becasue their bones are still growing but alot of people have them up and running now. For the 2yr olds that are in work are they not training on a firm surface already. Surely if you are going to trial one you would have to have galloped it on a firm surface not necesserily a dead 4. Perhaps it is time to be looking at the early 2yr old races and deciding whether these need to be rescheduled more for later in the season so that the 2yr olds have time to grow and their bones to harden.

Due to on-going issues with the Dargaville track the northern meeting scheduled for Friday 16 November will now be run at Ruakaka Racecourse with the licence transferred to the Whangarei RC.

Glad the trainer decided to go to Te Rapa insted of down there would have been a big cost for nothing. Hope they dont charge us a scratching fee

On facebook has muscle soreness and will be boxed for 6 weeks

You say that it doesnt have to be all or nothing but didnt Winston say except this or you are on your own or something to that affect

Well it may be antique club funding model but the fact is the club get a percentage of on course turnover on Premier days and nothing from off course turnover that goes to the NZ racung for them to probaly up their salaries because it not coming back into the industry

Fair enough to say that but on Premium days the Racing Club receives a percentage of the tote takings so if everyone bet on laptops or phones it just means clubs are missing out. On an Industry day clubs do not get a percentage of the tote so they are not missing out. Its means to a certain extent though you are just putting more money into NZTR hands and the TAB hands rather than if coming to the Clubs and like everyone in the racing Industry whether you are a Trainer Owner or a Club we are all struggling

What a joke. This track had been shut down to do work on it to sort the racing surface out. It is about time that the person or persons overseeing the remedial work on tracks got up skilled or sacked. They could have transferred it to Avondale as they did say they were going to be more pro active around these weather conditions. Once again the poor owners miss out.

Yes the Great Northern is going to be at Te Aroha

As far as BYO is concerned I think it not only depends on the cops but also the council. Te Aroha has BYO on Breeders stakes day and the cops and council are happy with this has we have not had an incidents. A coutesy van is on course that day to drop people off or even pick them up if they wish to have that option. I think it is a case of making sure your patrons have an option and watching that if someone is intoxicated that they dont get behind the wheel of a car. I know Tauranga and Matamata has a BYO too and in the 3 clubs there is a restiction on the amount of alchol that can be taken in.

Thats correct smaller clubs will disappear. I believe they need to have a good look and do some homework though before they put in 3 wet weather tracks. The things they need to consider in my opinion are Number of cancellations in winter. Horse numbers in winter which effects betting as fields are smaller so less in take from TAB If smaller clubs disappear and we all know horse numbers do drop off in winter. How much of lost revenue from sponsorship will disappear because a small town business will not sponsor in a main area (as no gain for them). Will they still get the people on course for smaller industry days or will this decline because travelling and time can be an issue in certain cases. Will people want to race on the track in winter. I dont know much about these all lweathers but does the wet and the dry affect the track or does it stay the same all year round. If it stays the same people arent going to race their horse all year round and what happens to winter gallopers. Its so easy to say move racing the the main areas where the population is but can you be assured that the population will attend all meetings especially if they are on a very regular basis.

Do you really think 3 all weather tracks are warrented. In winter the horse number do drop off and most of the fields are smaller. I know we do have cancelled meeting but are you saying if an all weather track had 130ml of rain the day before racing that it wouldnt be affected. 3 all weather tracks are alot of money and I myself think that perhaps an investment into some of the smaller clubs (that are struggling) to get a better racing surface and more money invested into states would be a better benefit that 3 all weather tracks. Why not start with one and see how it goes. If it is going to take investment from clubs for construction and up keep how is that going to affect the clubs that arent racing on it and not getting a return from the meeting or are they going to get a percentage because they have lsot their race meeting to the all weather. Will our smaller clubs just die away. Going to be very intersting to see what transpires

My understanding is the they lease the land from the car racing and can only have meetings when that is not on. Over the year it is used alot

Settle down. I was just asking a question How can you say I am a complainer because I all I did was ask a question. By the way I am under 73 and have worked the same jobs for 40 years

I heard today that the all weather is going to go to Cambridge is that correct

They dont cater for the rating 75 stayers you have to wait 4 to 5 weeks to get a race in that grade so you have no choice

I think it is not so much moving horses through the grades but not letting them to drop back down a grade. How can you have a horse that is won 8 races in a rating 65 grade. A rating 65 grade cant drop back to madiens so then why do the other grades let the horse drop back. Rating 65 gets drops backs and madiens going up so of course it is top heavy. Once you leave a grade then you should not be able to go back. The 75 85 and opens are often light in numbers so there isnt much of a chance for a horse constintley missing out on a start

Yes I was surprised she went was on the other horse. Mum will do a good job

NZ are suppose to breed stayers but the programme at this time of the year does not cater for the rating 75 stayers. If you look at the current programme and rating 75 last week at Matamata there was a rating 70 staying race over 2000. Wednesday at Waipa there is a staying race rated 75 over 2000 and then there is nothing up the Waikato Auckland area until the 4th June at Avondale. You could send your horse down to Wairarapa or Wellington just a 6 or 7 hour float trip or race them up a grade. When are the programmers going to give the owners of stayers a fair go.

I honestly telling you the truth I am not sure of her Dame. I bred my own but this one I was given half shares. Once I do find out I will let you know