Otaki's biggest day is upon us.

[voice of reason 198]

Lady's and Gentlemen the Otaki racing clubs biggest day is here .The time honoured and prestigious Group 1 Mile will be run .By the way it will be run 600km and 7 hrs drive away from Otaki .On a synthetic track that goes in the opposite direction...Honestly you couldnt make this shit up ..Wilcox and Baker do you not see how ridiculous this looks .You could have said no ,we have already stolen Te Aroha's biggest race ,and butchered the racing calender for ever ..You could have at least changed the name of the race ..You know some people say we need to embrace change and change is good ..BULLSHIT !! You two blokes should be wearing clown suits on Saturday ,and get over the fence to the public area for once in your life  ,so we can chant ...SHAME ,SHAME ,SHAME

[stodge 2,497]

Okay, I’ll bite.

There’s an Otaki racecourse which is holding meetings so why isn’t the Otaki Mile being run there? I could understand if the course was out of action like bloody Hastings.

[racingoutsider 368]

18 minutes ago, stodge said:

Okay, I’ll bite.

There’s an Otaki racecourse which is holding meetings so why isn’t the Otaki Mile being run there? I could understand if the course was out of action like bloody Hastings.

It's actually Otaki Māori Stodge, which might have something to do with the colonists' behaviour.

[voice of reason 198]

Exactly ,Otaki are racing on Saturday ,But not their Group 1 ,thats at Ellerslie......Hence the utter embarrassment for all concerned

[We're Doomed 5,908]

I hope Otaki isn't expected to sponsor the race.

[We're Doomed 5,908]

That could just about be called the "beg, borrow and steal" day at Ellerslie. As well as the Otaki Group 1, I see they also have the Avondale Cup and Guineas.

I suppose they realise their 3 "biggest" races can never be group races so they have to steal group races from elsewhere.

[We're Doomed 5,908]

Otaki does have an open mile on their programme. They should do the decent thing and call it the Auckland RC Mile.

[scooby3051 12,940]

Guys you know the rules here, if you cant prove it is true dont post it...some of the points raised in this thread are NOT true...

ATR certainly did not advocate for the Te Aroha G1 or Otaki G1.  In terms of income from those races, ATR are not making a cent out of them.  Sponsorship and nomination and acceptance fees are all going back to Te Aroha and Otaki.  The only additional revenue for ATR is the  oncourse turnover  ATR will make.

You should please just get the full story before going off half cocked. Some of the changes may be good, maybe the Otaki race will get a better field so as to stop it from losing its Group 1 status, the last few runnings even most of you would agree have been small and pretty ordinary fields.

I 100% agree the  programming for the season is totally stuffed but that cannot be blamed on the ATR either...lets stick to facts...cheers.

[We're Doomed 5,908]

7 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

Guys you know the rules here, if you cant prove it is true dont post it...some of the points raised in this thread are NOT true...

ATR certainly did not advocate for the Te Aroha G1 or Otaki G1.  In terms of income from those races, ATR are not making a cent out of them.  Sponsorship and nomination and acceptance fees are all going back to Te Aroha and Otaki.  The only additional revenue for ATR is the  oncourse turnover  ATR will make.

You should please just get the full story before going off half cocked. Some of the changes may be good, maybe the Otaki race will get a better field so as to stop it from losing its Group 1 status, the last few runnings even most of you would agree have been small and pretty ordinary fields.

I 100% agree the  programming for the season is totally stuffed but that cannot be blamed on the ATR either...lets stick to facts...cheers.

Thank you Scooby. I had no idea about those sponsorship and acceptance fees arrangements. Seems quite strange in many respects.

[racingoutsider 368]

If the sponsorship money is going to OMRC, who is putting up the extra 100k of stakes? ATR? I wasn't aware that the race was at any risk of losing its Group 1 status. It was under alert but that was removed in the 22-23 season wasn't it?

[racingoutsider 368]

Th move was agreed to by the OMRC though.

https://www.racingnews.co.nz/otaki-maori-racing-club-group-1-wfa-classic-to-move-to-ellerslie/

It's been noted previously that they added travel subsidies for CD based horses but not for SI ones.

[voice of reason 198]

I apologise to Scooby ..I have obviously got it all wrong ..I guess im just a dinosaur who thinks races starting with Otaki or Te Aroha ,should actually be run at those venues ..at least they wont have that problem when the 1000 and 2000 guineas transfer to Ellerslie also ..wont bother you again ..all the best to you all ,cheers

[scooby3051 12,940]

33 minutes ago, voice of reason said:

I apologise to Scooby ..I have obviously got it all wrong ..I guess im just a dinosaur who thinks races starting with Otaki or Te Aroha ,should actually be run at those venues ..at least they wont have that problem when the 1000 and 2000 guineas transfer to Ellerslie also ..wont bother you again ..all the best to you all ,cheers

No please feel free to post but things sometimes are not always as they seem...I am an old dinosaur too, and sometimes change is hard to take.

I would hope the Guineas do not move that far north but I feel they need to be moved at least to the North island, now lets see me get attacked for that...have a good evening VOR dont be shy to post again.

[Insider 5,167]

19 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

No please feel free to post but things sometimes are not always as they seem...I am an old dinosaur too, and sometimes change is hard to take.

I would hope the Guineas do not move that far north but I feel they need to be moved at least to the North island, now lets see me get attacked for that...have a good evening VOR dont be shy to post again.

I totally disagree about them moving at all, that is the Guineas races. 
Why shouldn’t all parts of NZ be part of the fabric of top quality racing. 
The proof is already in the pudding with the closure of provincial racing and the falling off of interest nationally. 
Simply look at the “interest” racingoutsider’s filly achieved in Invercargill yesterday. 
There’s been more comment on here, Facebook or anywhere else about that filly’s race performance than all others except for possibly Legarto. 

[MrBigStuff 478]

1 hour ago, voice of reason said:

I apologise to Scooby ..I have obviously got it all wrong ..I guess im just a dinosaur who thinks races starting with Otaki or Te Aroha ,should actually be run at those venues ..at least they wont have that problem when the 1000 and 2000 guineas transfer to Ellerslie also ..wont bother you again ..all the best to you all ,cheers

It is after all the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders…not the Te Aroha breeders stakes

[We're Doomed 5,908]

11 hours ago, racingoutsider said:

If the sponsorship money is going to OMRC, who is putting up the extra 100k of stakes? ATR? I wasn't aware that the race was at any risk of losing its Group 1 status. It was under alert but that was removed in the 22-23 season wasn't it?

NZTR puts up an extra $90,000 for some reason, and the club, presumably ARC, put up an extra $10,000.

All the interesting funding information can be found here.

https://nztr.co.nz/sites/nztrindustry/files/2024-11/No.16 - 14-11-2024 - NZTR Circular FY25 - Funding Policy for NZ Clubs 2024-25.pdf

 

[Nerula 1,541]

What has not been said re Otaki is the Desert Rd is closed.. Floats coming from north now jump off SH1 at Tokoroa go western side Lake Taupo, left and head through Ohakune to Waiouru then back on SH 1. A decent detour on average roads.

Would you be keen on your good horse doing that trip when it much shorter to fly to Sydney or Melbourne.

A smart decision by Otaki to preserve their Group 1 race status - and hopefully it returns next year with the Desert Rd upgrade

[racingoutsider 368]

46 minutes ago, Nerula said:

What has not been said re Otaki is the Desert Rd is closed.. Floats coming from north now jump off SH1 at Tokoroa go western side Lake Taupo, left and head through Ohakune to Waiouru then back on SH 1. A decent detour on average roads.

Would you be keen on your good horse doing that trip when it much shorter to fly to Sydney or Melbourne.

A smart decision by Otaki to preserve their Group 1 race status - and hopefully it returns next year with the Desert Rd upgrade

Same issue for CD horses now having that long trek to Ellerslie isn't it?

[We're Doomed 5,908]

1 hour ago, Nerula said:

What has not been said re Otaki is the Desert Rd is closed.. Floats coming from north now jump off SH1 at Tokoroa go western side Lake Taupo, left and head through Ohakune to Waiouru then back on SH 1. A decent detour on average roads.

Would you be keen on your good horse doing that trip when it much shorter to fly to Sydney or Melbourne.

A smart decision by Otaki to preserve their Group 1 race status - and hopefully it returns next year with the Desert Rd upgrade

I haven't read anywhere that there is any intention for it to ever return to Otaki.

[Nerula 1,541]

Phone and ask them. Then let us know

[We're Doomed 5,908]

22 minutes ago, Nerula said:

Phone and ask them. Then let us know

It doesn't really interest me that much to be honest. You are the one who has come up with this theory that it has only been "loaned" to Auckland for one season.

The race was on it's last legs and should have just been downgraded. Auckland have enough struggling races of their own. If they were desperate for a group 1 mile they should have worked on the Rich Hill or the Easter. 

I actually struggle to think of a traditional Auckland race that has held it place as one of the great races. All of their effort seems to have gone into brand-new races or races they have inherited from elsewhere while their traditional races have gradually faded away. Possibly the Railway their only race that has retained a certain aura.

[bloke 1,332]

16 minutes ago, We're Doomed said:

It doesn't really interest me that much to be honest. You are the one who has come up with this theory that it has only been "loaned" to Auckland for one season.

The race was on it's last legs and should have just been downgraded. Auckland have enough struggling races of their own. If they were desperate for a group 1 mile they should have worked on the Rich Hill or the Easter. 

I actually struggle to think of a traditional Auckland race that has held it place as one of the great races. All of their effort seems to have gone into brand-new races or races they have inherited from elsewhere while their traditional races have gradually faded away. Possibly the Railway their only race that has retained a certain aura.

Exactly. They have screwed up most of their good races The Auckland Cup / Queen Elizabeth/ Easter Handicap and at the same time screwing the racing calendar. Now they are trying to re-invent the wheel.

I can just see it before the running of the Slot race they will encourage the crowd to sing Sweet Caroline. Very Original!

[scooby3051 12,940]

10 minutes ago, bloke said:

Exactly. They have screwed up most of their good races The Auckland Cup / Queen Elizabeth/ Easter Handicap and at the same time screwing the racing calendar. Now they are trying to re-invent the wheel.

I can just see it before the running of the Slot race they will encourage the crowd to sing Sweet Caroline. Very Original!

Who said ATR has screwed the program???Maybe you should check that out too...you might just be wrong.

[racingoutsider 368]

2 hours ago, Nerula said:

A smart decision by Otaki to preserve their Group 1 race status - and hopefully it returns next year with the Desert Rd upgrade

The last two runnings have been at acceptable rating levels to retain G1 status. What do you mean?

[mckenzie 662]

Why do some keep saying the race needed to be moved to keep it's G1 status? On the last pattern committee report it did not have an alert or warning. It's rating of 113.50 was equal highest rated G1 in the country. The field had 8 current or subsequent G1 winners including many of best horses: La Crique, Desert Lightning, El Vencedor, Ladies Man, Belclare. It was one of the top fields of the season.