NELSON FIELDS POOR

[Thejanitor]

I am disappointed in the terrible fields at Nelson. Many races have small fields and are not worth betting on. The Nelson Cup, a seven horse field with It's Tough, Vessem and Harrison John only class horses in field. All three will pick up valuable stake money because they should finish top three. Again, the race doesn't interest me as a betting proposition. 

How long can clubs like Nelson and Blenheim last? Small fields now the norm up there so betting must be down? Both clubs must be losing money? Are these clubs doomed to fail?

[Ripples]

Not sure that I share your doom and gloom with regard to Harness Rcing  at top of SI, admittedly Friday's Nelson fields are small (albeit with 11 races) but last years grass track meeting at Blenheim had mostly full fields with 12 races Day 1 and 11 on Day 2. I think you will find that the Sunday meeting of both Nelson and Blenheim will have big crowds so from a on course perspective thats a positive.  Where I would have real concerns is CD Harness where they only have 5 races tomorrow, which is a real shame for Palmy. Lets hope the two upcoming days on the grass at Otaki and Hawera see bigger numbers, if not the financial sustainability for Harness in CD is bleak. 

[Taku Umanga]

Blenheim will have full fields with ballots - probably 12 races to boot - grass track racing at its finest!

I think Nelson's programming is the issue - I personally think they shoot themselves in the foot with having mainly mile racing on day 2 - it's a long way to travel to race on the first day only.

[We're Doomed]

Blenheim always get better fields than Nelson. There just seem to be too many meetings and races jammed into a short period.

[Shad]

Yes certainly very light Nelson fields, even the Westport fields were not that great this year, alway hard from a punting point of view, been then in the context of things a lot tougher for the club, real shame, im no fan of the mile racing, basically dictated by draws,the grass track racing certainly a draw card, and marlborough never looked back since they shifted to it, just wondered what the reason was for the change, certainly been for the better.

[mikenz]

When the draft calendar came out Nelson objected to Timaru racing 2 days earlier, HRNZ dismissed it, see the result.....but that mile racing on day 2 don't help their cause. Blenhiem should be fine.

Omakau objected to the Auckland Cup moving back to Dec 31, HRNZ dismissed that too, seems that one has sorted itself out.

[unhinged]

8 hours ago, mikenz said:

When the draft calendar came out Nelson objected to Timaru racing 2 days earlier, HRNZ dismissed it, see the result.....but that mile racing on day 2 don't help their cause. Blenhiem should be fine.

Omakau objected to the Auckland Cup moving back to Dec 31, HRNZ dismissed that too, seems that one has sorted itself out.

I'm picking with the gap the hounds  leave entain will want more product which in turn leaves owners and trainers more choice, if you had the choice would you race locally or travel 5 hours if you weren't on holiday.  Nelson like the coast have their regular trainers and owners traveling there, how many of those trainers raced yesterday at Timaru my guess is not many. Blenheim is a bit different as canterbury horse's and connections can travel up and back the same day unlike Nelson along with a grass track which seems to attract bigger fields. 

[Nelli]

Programming also bad for Manawatu. There are above average stakes available for Waikato horses this Friday and then 3 rare grass track races in a row at Kapiti, Hawera and Stratford. The latter two meetings should attract reasonable fields as just a 4h trip from the Waikato (similar to Canterbury to Blenheim). 

[ivanthegreat12]

The whole NI scene needs RESUSITATING Alex Park fields thru 2025 were disgusting as was Cambridge and now look at Manawatu crikes the punters stand to " looze " more than the club stands to gain by running those races.

HELP

[Thejanitor]

6 hours ago, unhinged said:

I'm picking with the gap the hounds  leave entain will want more product which in turn leaves owners and trainers more choice, if you had the choice would you race locally or travel 5 hours if you weren't on holiday.  Nelson like the coast have their regular trainers and owners traveling there, how many of those trainers raced yesterday at Timaru my guess is not many. Blenheim is a bit different as canterbury horse's and connections can travel up and back the same day unlike Nelson along with a grass track which seems to attract bigger fields. 

It must cost a lot to transport a horse to Nelson? I am surprised that there are few locally trained horses at Nelson? There are no K. Gill trained runners which is unusual. 

[Keneperu]

After watching Mr Guerin interview with the countries leading trainer and the power re buying they have one wonders how long the sport is going to survive. Telfers will probably buy up the best at the upcoming sales leaving the trainers that are left to fight over the lesser quality horses. With stables and very good staff in both islands they are going to truly dominate for the upcoming future. Battlers will be left fighting for crumbs. This happened when Purdon dominated winning everything  worth winning which saw a lot leave the game. It will be interesting when the dogs have go( the sooner the better) to see if harness racing picks up a bit.

[CeeMeNow]

Nelson  Friday;     11 races, 100 starters, avg F/S  9

2025                      11 races, 94  starters         F/S  8.5,  T/O $1.185m,   GBR $180k,  Funding $185k     

Last years Sunday result for Nelson was terrible, the 10 race program had T/O of $1.018m, 60% favorite winners, and only GBR $23k on funding of $174k   

[Dynamite]

1 hour ago, Keneperu said:

After watching Mr Guerin interview with the countries leading trainer and the power re buying they have one wonders how long the sport is going to survive. Telfers will probably buy up the best at the upcoming sales leaving the trainers that are left to fight over the lesser quality horses. With stables and very good staff in both islands they are going to truly dominate for the upcoming future. Battlers will be left fighting for crumbs. This happened when Purdon dominated winning everything  worth winning which saw a lot leave the game. It will be interesting when the dogs have go( the sooner the better) to see if harness racing picks up a bit.

I do notice…. Stonewall do not win the big races…. A lot at Cambridge…. Invercargill ….. Sundays….. Do not win group races…. Purdon dominated Group races….

[Toblerone]

39 minutes ago, Dynamite said:

I do notice…. Stonewall do not win the big races…. A lot at Cambridge…. Invercargill ….. Sundays….. Do not win group races…. Purdon dominated Group races….

Mark and Nathan won one Group 1 all year (Shezsofast).

Barry and Scott won two (Meant To Be).

 

[Dynamite]

43 minutes ago, Toblerone said:

Mark and Nathan won one Group 1 all year (Shezsofast).

Barry and Scott won two (Meant To Be).

 

I was referring to… When in previous comments…. Purdon’s domination…. When winning premierships…. Looks to me…. Both Purdon’s have cut numbers back…. We do not see Mark here recently…. Barry has been here more recently…. Merlin….

[Keneperu]

All very well but when a stable has over 100 of the best bred ponies going around covering north and South  islands what chance for the little guy who in the past were the backbone of the industry.  

I think you will see more trainers call it a day and hence that is why we are seeing poor numbers lining up each week. Geees I can remember when Nelson used to get 120 plus nominated for a maiden race. Interesting times me thinks

[Pure Steel]

3 hours ago, Keneperu said:

Telfers will probably buy up the best at the upcoming sales leaving the trainers that are left to fight over the lesser quality horses. With stables and very good staff in both islands they are going to truly dominate for the upcoming future. Battlers will be left fighting for crumbs.

Could be right too. They will have Very high hopes this year.

Stonewall bought 6 yearlings at the the yearling sale last year , 2 of them setting a record at $360,000 each. A huge price . that's not just NZ but an Australasian record for yearlings.  I'm sure they expect the Telfers to get them going as 2 year-olds this year. Pressure's ON lol  

[We're Doomed]

1 hour ago, Keneperu said:

All very well but when a stable has over 100 of the best bred ponies going around covering north and South  islands what chance for the little guy who in the past were the backbone of the industry.  

I think you will see more trainers call it a day and hence that is why we are seeing poor numbers lining up each week. Geees I can remember when Nelson used to get 120 plus nominated for a maiden race. Interesting times me thinks

What do you suggest? A cap on how many horses any one trainer/owner can buy at the sales?

[Keneperu]

No not at all. Their money they can do as they like. Just saying trying to compete with them will be a battle. Am sure as with horses the dearest not necessarily going to turn out the best. Good luck to the Stockman/ Telfer team but the thread was about poor Nelson fields I'm trying to work out why and I believe the small player will struggle against the billionaires hence the small players will give up as many have done and hence the drop off in nos.

The whole industry needs a bloody good shake up starting with the sham of standing starts, stewards standards etc etc

[Lamour.2]

14 hours ago, Keneperu said:

All very well but when a stable has over 100 of the best bred ponies going around covering north and South  islands what chance for the little guy who in the past were the backbone of the industry.  

I think you will see more trainers call it a day and hence that is why we are seeing poor numbers lining up each week. Geees I can remember when Nelson used to get 120 plus nominated for a maiden race. Interesting times me thinks

I don’t believe the lower numbers at Nelson are anything to do with Telfers.  The numbers they provide at meetings around the country are a tremendous boost to the industry and we would be poorer without them.  I don’t see any signs trainers are leaving because of them.  Their win rate is probably pretty much in line with the numbers they race.  That’s different from when Allstars were virtually cleaning up every group 1 in the country which may have been a factor influencing Dexter Dunn to go to the USA. 

[Lamour.2]

Talking of the USA,  the leading trainer there is Ron Burke who usually wins approximately 3 times as much money as the 2nd leading money winning trainer so Telfers have a long way to go before that happens. 

[Charlie E]

18 hours ago, Keneperu said:

After watching Mr Guerin interview with the countries leading trainer and the power re buying they have one wonders how long the sport is going to survive. Telfers will probably buy up the best at the upcoming sales leaving the trainers that are left to fight over the lesser quality horses. With stables and very good staff in both islands they are going to truly dominate for the upcoming future. Battlers will be left fighting for crumbs. This happened when Purdon dominated winning everything  worth winning which saw a lot leave the game. It will be interesting when the dogs have go( the sooner the better) to see if harness racing picks up a bit.

I agree . All the clubs in the North and the South plus HRNZ should be communicating better . Look at the 40k race tonight for example what a waste of money. Personally I believe a lot of the smaller clubs should be closed and they should concentrate on the bigger clubs . Look at Palmerston North last night ho hum with those fields . They should put more into training facilities so it cuts down on travel etc . These people in charge get paid a lot of money . Lets see them show why that is instead of . "She'll be right mate "

[Nelli]

23 minutes ago, Charlie E said:

I agree . All the clubs in the North and the South plus HRNZ should be communicating better . Look at the 40k race tonight for example what a waste of money. Personally I believe a lot of the smaller clubs should be closed and they should concentrate on the bigger clubs . Look at Palmerston North last night ho hum with those fields . They should put more into training facilities so it cuts down on travel etc . These people in charge get paid a lot of money . Lets see them show why that is instead of . "She'll be right mate "

I agree with your opening sentence. There used to be a nice NI summer carnival for top pacers and trotters which made it worthwhile to send horses north but that has been destroyed by abysmal programming. Why would Southerners come North when they have big races late Dec at Invercargill and lead up races at Addington?  We even have competing feature/Group races  for the top trotting mares on the same day in December at both Auckland and Addington which lessens the quality of fields at both tracks. How stupid!

However, I disagree about centralization. One only has to look at Cambridge to see what can happen. The smaller clubs are run by volunteers and have strong links with local communities (great for sponsorship). It is those clubs that run at a profit, attract families and new participants, keep small breeders and trainers involved and stop us going the way of the dogs (social licence). Just as in Aussie, we need the mix of the big premiere clubs and the smaller "country" clubs.

[Lord Wilf]

1 hour ago, Charlie E said:

I agree . All the clubs in the North and the South plus HRNZ should be communicating better . Look at the 40k race tonight for example what a waste of money. Personally I believe a lot of the smaller clubs should be closed and they should concentrate on the bigger clubs . Look at Palmerston North last night ho hum with those fields . They should put more into training facilities so it cuts down on travel etc . These people in charge get paid a lot of money . Lets see them show why that is instead of . "She'll be right mate "

Can you please be specific? Which of the smaller clubs do you think should close? And which bigger clubs should they concentrate on?

[Steveo13]

I agree with your point about racing losing its traditional appeal as a family day out. Betting has shifted the focus, and if we’re not careful, we’ll lose what made racing special—community, social connection, and accessibility for all ages.

Communication between all clubs—North and South—and HRNZ needs to improve significantly. Decisions feel fragmented, and the $40k race tonight is a prime example of questionable resource allocation. That money could have been used to strengthen the sport long-term.

However, I don’t believe smaller clubs should be closed. They are the backbone of local racing communities and provide access for people who can’t always travel to major venues. Instead of shutting them down, we should support them better through shared resources, coordinated calendars, and improved funding models.

We also need to bring back some of the on-course attractions that made racing an experience, not just a betting event. Why not use technology to recreate the excitement of the past?

• On-course printed tickets for nostalgia old style colour tickets)
• Tote boards that mimic the old manual boards
• Balloon drops instead of a red lift showing tote closure.
  Make it more than racing—make it about what racing was: a day out, a spectacle, a tradition.

At what stage will we end up with five tracks in NZ and racing in a straight line? Is that our future? If we focus purely on profit, we destroy the essence of racing and the community that supports it. Capitalism without culture fails. We must keep racing for the masses—not just invite young people to party at the races, because that novelty will fade. Racing needs to be inclusive, exciting, and family-friendly again.

The people in charge are paid well, and it’s time they show leadership and vision. “She’ll be right” isn’t a strategy. We need a clear plan that modernizes racing while preserving its heritage.