Kumara

[Muzzaman 85]

What lovely scenes from Kumara today. No fake smiles, fascinators, champagne or caviar, nor designer clothes. Just real people having genuine fun at the races, with hot dogs and beer. And the powers that be want these days to disappear.

[We're Doomed 5,720]

1 minute ago, Muzzaman said:

What lovely scenes from Kumara today. No fake smiles, fascinators, champagne or caviar, nor designer clothes. Just real people having genuine fun at the races, with hot dogs and beer. And the powers that be want these days to disappear.

I'm sure there will be some champagne and caviar tucked away somewhere. Our Pam's down there.

[nomates 5,273]

It's embarrassing to see the crowd sizes between Kumara and Trentham , WTF is going on at the WRC ?

The Champagne turf ! haha , more like the Fanta dirt .

Seriously how can everybody involved with decision making in NZ racing fuck up this "Carnival" sooo much . 

As home town boy it makes me cry when I think of how massive this 3 day meeting was .

[Palliser 1,173]

Kumara has a great atmosphere, pity George Simons calls are very very average. Then again I don't know if its a difficult track to commentate 

[Insider 4,936]

Just remember one thing. The powers that be wanted to close down Kumara once and if it wasn’t for Robert Muldoon it too would have been gone for all time, such as: Hokitika, Westport, Tapanui, Winton, Beaumont, Waimate, Blenheim, Nelson, Waikouaiti, Opaki, Levin, Marton, Stratford, Wairoa, Gisborne, Waipukurau, Te Teko, Paeroa, Dargaville, Thames etc.

Anyone else can keep adding to the list to show how the “powers that be” have destroyed the grassroots of NZ racing. 

 

[tripple alliance 1,230]

4 minutes ago, Insider said:

Just remember one thing. The powers that be wanted too close down Kumara once and if it wasn’t for Robert Muldoon it too would have been gone for all time such as: Hokitika, Westport, Tapanui, Winton, Beaumont, Waimate, Blenheim, Nelson, Waikouaiti, Opaki, Levin, Marton, Stratford, Wairoa, Gisborne, Waipukurau, Te Teko, Paeroa, Dargaville, Thames etc.

Anyone else can keep adding to the list to show how the “powers that be” gave destroyed the grassroots of NZ racing. 

 

Can't say I've missed any of them , most of these tracks still exist as training centers so not totally lost to racing but just not needed for race days .

[We're Doomed 5,720]

12 minutes ago, Insider said:

Just remember one thing. The powers that be wanted to close down Kumara once and if it wasn’t for Robert Muldoon it too would have been gone for all time, such as: Hokitika, Westport, Tapanui, Winton, Beaumont, Waimate, Blenheim, Nelson, Waikouaiti, Opaki, Levin, Marton, Stratford, Wairoa, Gisborne, Waipukurau, Te Teko, Paeroa, Dargaville, Thames etc.

Anyone else can keep adding to the list to show how the “powers that be” have destroyed the grassroots of NZ racing. 

 

Orari and Rangiora. And of course Foxton

[racingoutsider 300]

5 minutes ago, We're Doomed said:

Orari and Rangiora. And of course Foxton

Motukarara springs to mind. Timaru had a reprieve but is still on the list which will leave 2 tracks north of the Waitaki in the SI aside from the 3 west coast ones used one week a year. How can that work?

[We're Doomed 5,720]

3 minutes ago, tripple alliance said:

Can't say I've missed any of them , most of these tracks still exist as training centers so not totally lost to racing but just not needed for race days .

Actually, no training that I know of at Hokitika, Westport, Nelson, Marlborough, Waimate, Tapanui, Beaumont and Motukarara. I'm no expert on Wairoa and Gisborne, but no superstars that I know of currently trained there.

[We're Doomed 5,720]

By now we should be starting to see significant benefits to the wider industry as a result of all those closures. Nothing really stands out though. I suppose stakes have increased at Ellerslie, but it is hard to attribute that to the closure of Tapanui, Beaumont, Orari and Waimate. The SI does have a white elephant AWT at the provincial Yaldhurst track. I suppose that makes the good people of Hokitika, Waimate etc feel it was all worthwhile.

[Shad 1,654]

1 hour ago, tripple alliance said:

Can't say I've missed any of them , most of these tracks still exist as training centers so not totally lost to racing but just not needed for race days .

Shame you haven't missed the country circuits, that have atmosphere, crowds, and close up racing action, may be trentham with none of the above may obvious appeal to you more.

[We're Doomed 5,720]

32 minutes ago, Shad said:

Shame you haven't missed the country circuits, that have atmosphere, crowds, and close up racing action, may be trentham with none of the above may obvious appeal to you more.

I was lucky enough to see Grey Way have his 50th and 51st wins at Orari and Rangiora.

Triple has obviously never experienced anything like that.

I saw Powley win at Orari. And lots of Bayer Classic winners at Levin.

I suppose if you have never seen that sort of thing you don't miss it.

[Insider 4,936]

I’ll never forget Showgate winning the Timaru Cup the day after winning at Wingatui, if my memory serves me correctly.(Was it the Dunedin Gold Cup)

I don’t care what anyone says, but Showgate was the best that I ever saw and I’ve seen some beauties between NZ and Australia. 

And just add fuel to the fire, I never saw a better horse full stop, than Frankel. 

Liz
 

 

 

[Idolmite 3,246]

3 hours ago, Insider said:

Just remember one thing. The powers that be wanted to close down Kumara once and if it wasn’t for Robert Muldoon it too would have been gone for all time, such as: Hokitika, Westport, Tapanui, Winton, Beaumont, Waimate, Blenheim, Nelson, Waikouaiti, Opaki, Levin, Marton, Stratford, Wairoa, Gisborne, Waipukurau, Te Teko, Paeroa, Dargaville, Thames etc.

Anyone else can keep adding to the list to show how the “powers that be” have destroyed the grassroots of NZ racing. 

 

I remember Thames well, annually, from a 2 day meeting to a 1 day meeting to a 0 day meeting. So sad. Paeroa was good too, AND with a great steeplechase track. A few decent horses raced there too. 

[Shad 1,654]

58 minutes ago, We're Doomed said:

I was lucky enough to see Grey Way have his 50th and 51st wins at Orari and Rangiora.

Triple has obviously never experienced anything like that.

I saw Powley win at Orari. And lots of Bayer Classic winners at Levin.

I suppose if you have never seen that sort of thing you don't miss it.

You certainly cherish those moments when you witness those top horses winning, powley was one of my favourites, was absolutely devastated when I heard of her demise, remember seeing loader win at the mot, one day, huge performance coming from near impossible position, also remember Jonny alone winning a jarden mile at huge odds at trentham, oh the memories, never far from my thoughts. 

[We're Doomed 5,720]

52 minutes ago, Insider said:

I’ll never forget Showgate winning the Timaru Cup the day after winning at Wingatui, if my memory serves me correctly.(Was it the Dunedin Gold Cup)

I don’t care what anyone says, but Showgate was the best that I ever saw and I’ve seen some beauties between NZ and Australia. 

And just add fuel to the fire, I never saw a better horse full stop, than Frankel. 

Liz
 

 

 

Yes, I was there that day.. Dunedin Cup, 2,400m one day, Timaru Cup. 1,600m the next day.

[Pam Robson 1,843]

18 hours ago, nomates said:

It's embarrassing to see the crowd sizes between Kumara and Trentham , WTF is going on at the WRC ?

The Champagne turf ! haha , more like the Fanta dirt .

Seriously how can everybody involved with decision making in NZ racing fuck up this "Carnival" sooo much . 

As home town boy it makes me cry when I think of how massive this 3 day meeting was .

 

Before 'they' fuck it all up completely, get yourself and the missus down to the Coast for a summer break.  You'll love it. The sandflies will love you too, but that is a minor issue.  They don't bother the regulars.

[stodge 2,413]

As the clubs don’t seem to be able or want to publish their crowd numbers, we can only guess.

How many at Kumara yesterday paid the $20 admission?

Country racing, I’m sure, has its place but what happens to the likes of Kumara and Omoto the other 364 days of the year? The economics that would apply to a Trentham, Riccarton or Ellerslie don’t apply in the country where you can have sheep grazing for most of the year but the stands and facilities still need to be maintained and whereas the metropolitan courses can derive non-raceday income from commercial activities such as exhibitions and conferences, can the country tracks do the same?

Structures and facilities need constant maintenance and improvement - it looked rudimentary at Kumara and it probably was but that’s a different racegoer experience to a city or town track.
 

[nomates 5,273]

6 hours ago, Pam Robson said:

 

Before 'they' fuck it all up completely, get yourself and the missus down to the Coast for a summer break.  You'll love it. The sandflies will love you too, but that is a minor issue.  They don't bother the regulars.

Geez I don't know Pam , we went to Nelson a few years ago and done a road trip to Westport to catch up with an old Navy mate , it was like going to the wild west . Horrible drive to get there and back , and it felt like we were in a time warp . 

Not sure I want to repeat it , got out with my life last time but not so sure about the next .

[Chitty Chitty Bang 60]

1 hour ago, nomates said:

Geez I don't know Pam , we went to Nelson a few years ago and done a road trip to Westport to catch up with an old Navy mate , it was like going to the wild west . Horrible drive to get there and back , and it felt like we were in a time warp . 

Not sure I want to repeat it , got out with my life last time but not so sure about the next .

More to see and do than a place like Levin.

[Shad 1,654]

2 hours ago, nomates said:

Geez I don't know Pam , we went to Nelson a few years ago and done a road trip to Westport to catch up with an old Navy mate , it was like going to the wild west . Horrible drive to get there and back , and it felt like we were in a time warp . 

Not sure I want to repeat it , got out with my life last time but not so sure about the next .

Hope it was the good ole days, when both clubs raced, can't have been that bad, unless you traveled by horse an cart, roads much better these days, and cars go much faster, on a different note, any thoughts of the ride on sparta, I backed this horse, looked like jockey went to sleep, obviously not a big deal these days, as he only got a severe reprimand, 20 odd years ago, you'd get a month or more holiday, rules these days very weak I feel.

[We're Doomed 5,720]

3 hours ago, nomates said:

Geez I don't know Pam , we went to Nelson a few years ago and done a road trip to Westport to catch up with an old Navy mate , it was like going to the wild west . Horrible drive to get there and back , and it felt like we were in a time warp . 

Not sure I want to repeat it , got out with my life last time but not so sure about the next .

I take it you have never been to Gisborne and Invercargill then?

[nomates 5,273]

7 minutes ago, We're Doomed said:

I take it you have never been to Gisborne and Invercargill then?

Yeah been to Gizzy , just the once mind you , and went to a Wairoa 3 day meeting once . Hope to get up that way again . Never been to Inbredcargill , good Scottish city so will get there someday as well .