Missing Maidens

[Bruce M]

With all the recent talk about the small fields in the North has anyone else noticed that the maiden pacing fields are getting smaller and smaller through the country.

Even Methven had only 8,11 and zero nominations for Sunday...Wyndham has 7 starters and Addington has 8.

I suspect we're really starting to see the impact of the much smaller foal crops coming through. Not many people are breeding apart from the big studs with top pedigree mares.

Our everyday racing racing now depends on the Rating 35-50 veterans turning up to race week after week.I remember maiden races in the 1990's getting fifty or more nominations and trial meetings running lots of qualifying trials.

Unless things change quickly we won't have the numbers to sustain anywhere near the meetings we have today.

[CeeMeNow]

Mares Served;

20/21        2005  -10%

21/22        2037  + 1.6%

22/23       1968   -3.4%

23/24       1769  -11.8%

24/25       1552  -10.7%     Mares served last 5 years down 34%, that's a guaranteed significant drop in numbers in the coming years!

[Nelli]

The Methven fields also demonstrate old thinking when it comes to putting together the fields. Breeders of trotters are hanging in better that those of pacers (last season 30.2% of mares served were trotters compared with 19.8% back in 2013/14). But the program doesn't reflect this shift! Four maiden trotters are balloted out and with the big field and standing start, the programers are guaranteeing many won't get away cleanly and learn how to race in a field. In contrast, the lesser number of maiden pacers are split into two fields, both mobiles. IMO the maiden pacers should had have the standing start and the trotters a mobile/stand option.

[Bruce M]

1 hour ago, Nelli said:

The Methven fields also demonstrate old thinking when it comes to putting together the fields. Breeders of trotters are hanging in better that those of pacers (last season 30.2% of mares served were trotters compared with 19.8% back in 2013/14). But the program doesn't reflect this shift! Four maiden trotters are balloted out and with the big field and standing start, the programers are guaranteeing many won't get away cleanly and learn how to race in a field. In contrast, the lesser number of maiden pacers are split into two fields, both mobiles. IMO the maiden pacers should had have the standing start and the trotters a mobile/stand option.

I agree. In my original post I forgot to mention how well trotting maiden fields are holding up throughout the country.

 Auckland and Cambridge already increasingly rely on trotting races to ensure meetings go forward and the signs are there that Southland and Canterbury are heading the same way.

[Dynamite]

On 9/2/2025 at 4:05 PM, CeeMeNow said:

Mares Served;

20/21        2005  -10%

21/22        2037  + 1.6%

22/23       1968   -3.4%

23/24       1769  -11.8%

24/25       1552  -10.7%     Mares served last 5 years down 34%, that's a guaranteed significant drop in numbers in the coming years!

I read and watch….. Mr B Steele continuously says…. Breeding numbers are positive…. Things are looking good…. NZ looks worse than here…. And NSW numbers are in decline…. 

[Bruce M]

Oamaru on Sunday....4 and 6 nominations for pacer's maidens and 12 for trotters.

On a brighter note two million dollars winners are nominated for the Hannon