I’ve been thinking too…

[Insider]

Honestly after today’s announcement, can Auckland/Ellerslie be given anything else/more?

Who's paying for it?

Answer: The rest of the country, ie the punters.
No one else.

Certainly not the glitzy crowd lead by the Boys get Paid and the Girls get Laid. 

[Idolmite]

I've obviously missed today's announcement. What have they been given this time?

[We're Doomed]

5 minutes ago, Idolmite said:

I've obviously missed today's announcement. What have they been given this time?

Basically, if you win a maiden race at Te Puke and a 1 win race at Ellerslie you win $1m, unless Ellerslie gets abandoned and transferred to Winton, then you win $10m.

[Insider]

Idolmite, Click on this link. Hopefully it works:
https://nztr.co.nz/news/two-bonus-series-add-excitement-new-champions-day

[Phar Lap Fan]

Why does the winner of Bonecrusher N.Z. Stakes get 7 points but other Gr. 1 winners get 5? Why are there there 2 Gr.1 races, over 2,000 m., run at Ellerslie? Why are 7 (is that correct?) of the 12 qualifying races at Ellerslie? One race is restricted to 3 y.o. horses. How often do you see those horses competing in the other races nowadays?

 

Don't expect an answer, from 'officials', as they could be fully occupied growing grass.

 

 

[nomates]

24 minutes ago, Phar Lap Fan said:

Why does the winner of Bonecrusher N.Z. Stakes get 7 points but other Gr. 1 winners get 5? Why are there there 2 Gr.1 races, over 2,000 m., run at Ellerslie? Why are 7 (is that correct?) of the 12 qualifying races at Ellerslie? One race is restricted to 3 y.o. horses. How often do you see those horses competing in the other races nowadays?

 

Don't expect an answer, from 'officials', as they could be fully occupied growing grass.

 

 

They are trying to boost the number of runners in these good races and keep the better horses here instead of crossing the pond , not going to work , the best will always head to Aus the way things are  here , look at the Hastings carnival , some of our best are already looking at heading to Aus . But the big boys don't get it , won't move the Hastings dates to accommodate better tracks , and to be honest the Hastings carnival is so dated IMO ,  but the biggest thing they can do , and it will take a few years to bear fruit , find a way of keeping promising young horses from being sold . This will build up our pool of quality horses for our better races .

[chiknsmack]

5 hours ago, Phar Lap Fan said:

Why does the winner of Bonecrusher N.Z. Stakes get 7 points but other Gr. 1 winners get 5?

 Because the NZ Stakes is the grand final, run on Champions Day. The same reason the Gr. 3 Kings Plate gets the same points as the Gr. 1s in the sprint series.

  

5 hours ago, Phar Lap Fan said:

Why are there there 2 Gr.1 races, over 2,000 m., run at Ellerslie? Why are 7 (is that correct?) of the 12 qualifying races at Ellerslie?

Because Ellerslie is our Flemington while all other tracks are our Benallas or Wodongas (at least in the eyes of our administrators). It makes sense for all our biggest races to be at our Flemington. Our Flemington has two carnivals - Summer and Autumn - with a Gr. 1 2000m race as the main event at each, which makes sense.

  

5 hours ago, Phar Lap Fan said:

One race is restricted to 3 y.o. horses. How often do you see those horses competing in the other races nowadays?

Which race is restricted to 3yos? I suppose 3yos could be induced to run in the other races if connections were convinced that they weren't going to get the 2400m trip of the Derby, though the new Kiwi would be the drawcard for eligible 3yos so maybe not.

[nomates]

41 minutes ago, chiknsmack said:

Because Ellerslie is our Flemington while all other tracks are our Benallas or Wodongas (at least in the eyes of our administrators). It makes sense for all our biggest races to be at our Flemington. Our Flemington has two carnivals - Summer and Autumn - with a Gr. 1 2000m race as the main event at each, which makes sense.

 

I agree , let's hope our "Flemington" is open for business .

[Phar Lap Fan]

Error - Aotearoa Classic is for 4 y.o. horses.

[Phar Lap Fan]

On 7/19/2024 at 1:49 PM, chiknsmack said:

 Because the NZ Stakes is the grand final, run on Champions Day. The same reason the Gr. 3 Kings Plate gets the same points as the Gr. 1s in the sprint series.

  

 

There may be some rationale for that but it isn't rational.

[Phar Lap Fan]

So 8 of the 12 qualifying races for the Super What's-it Bonus series are to be run at Ellerslie, plus repetition of distances? Does Ellerslie attract larger crowds, relative to the population, than other cities? The "National Stadium" of Eden Park has a capacity of 50,000 (unique n N.Z.), which is approx. 3% of the population.