Fireworks Display Auckland Racing Club

[Tatura 121]

I see the ARC is having a fireworks display between 9 and 10pm on Sunday. Fireworks and horses don't mix. Is this stupidity or not,and is this a waste of money that could go into stakes?

[tonkatime 323]

The last race is at 19;55 so there is a bit of time for those that are concerned about horse welfare to make arrangements or get their horses away from the display and you would like to think that they club has considered that issue before giving the display the go a head. It's a long weekend in Auckland so why not try something a bit different that may get a few more people along to the races who wouldn't normally go. I'm not sure what the display costs, maybe it is reasonable maybe it is ridiculous I can't comment about that aspect without all the information. In the trotting forum around the New Year there were people saying the Auckland Trotting club use to have a fireworks display and how good it was.  

[Ligerzero 34]

Realistically, the target audience for this meeting (young'in's) are going get bored of the races at some point. To create a social atmosphere where the sport becomes part of the racegoing experience is surely the way to go. A great subtle, strategic move by the club.

 

I’m sure serious consideration went into planning animal welfare etc.

[jess 1,244]

I'm not from that part of the country - so don't know the set-up @ARC - don't they have horses trained at the track?

 

Hope that it has been thought through. 

 

On the face of it though - I'm with Tatura.

[Guest 2Admin2]

Meeting News Important Notice From Auckland RC For Sunday 25 January  

The Auckland Racing Club will be having a fireworks display at Ellerslie on Sunday evening from 9-10pm. The 75 minutes between the time of the last race and the scheduled start of the display should be enough for horses to be clear of the complex but in the interests of safety those with horses in on Sunday are asked to get them away from Ellerslie as quickly as possible after the last race.

[sunlineboy 131]

I'm not from that part of the country - so don't know the set-up @ARC - don't they have horses trained at the track?

 

Hope that it has been thought through. 

 

On the face of it though - I'm with Tatura.

 

 

I don't believe any horses are trained at Ellerslie.

[DC9 203]

I don't believe any horses are trained at Ellerslie.

Not for at least 20 years!

[ivanthegreat 1,123]

I'm past it now but there have always been fireworks after the last race ......its just that you needed to catch a taxi home to experience them. This year probably wont be any different for most of the patrons they are attempting to coerce into further DRINKING.

Dont take any water with you it will be confiscated.

[chevy86 2,704]

Would you expect anything different from the likes of Castles and George who get their "jollies" from perving on the young tarts "tipped-up" full of Lindauer . Not to mention the waste of potential prize-money for the long-suffering owner. None of the tossers there to see the display will EVER put a cent back into the industry. As I told Weaver in a submission when I was a member of the ARC--"are we a racing precinct or party precinct"? They are not mutually exclusive but the core providers need to be looked after ahead of the interlopers.

[meomy 971]

So once more those at the coalface of the industry will have left the course and will miss the fireworks.

It's a shame in some ways,but they probably aren't really into watching fireworks going off as they look after our horses welfare first & foremost.

At a guess, it won't have been a cheap exercise to undertake with health & safety issues to be taken into consideration.

We all know how pedantic those sorts can be.

Not many are around in Auckland over the long weekend & those that are have plenty of options where they choose to spend it.

Let's hope they get great weather & pop along to the races.

[meomy 971]

Credit to Ellerslie for there features in the East & Bays Courier freebie local newspaper about Karaka million night & Danielle Johnson.

Other racing clubs should take a leaf out of there book & make sure such features are in all the suburban newspapers so those across the whole region are well informed the races are on to attend. Hopefully they will partake in the thrills of racing in an ongoing basis in some shape or form.

Racing has a vast choice of careers to choose from & we must encourage people to join our industry.

[chevy86 2,704]

Credit to Ellerslie for there features in the East & Bays Courier freebie local newspaper about Karaka million night & Danielle Johnson.

Other racing clubs should take a leaf out of there book & make sure such features are in all the suburban newspapers so those across the whole region are well informed the races are on to attend. Hopefully they will partake in the thrills of racing in an ongoing basis in some shape or form.

Racing has a vast choice of careers to choose from & we must encourage people to join our industry.

And the "future" of racing reads those rags? Focus on looking after the captive audience you have and they will foster the recruitment--a bit like return business in bars and restaurants. Piss them off and they are gone forever.

[scooby3051 10,880]

<p>Good on them for trying something different races then fireworks... maybe some will stay and get a taste for it... some would whinge if they did nothing ...right???</p>

[Huey 2,037]

Terrible decision , hard to believe!

[barryb 2,064]

<p>Good on them for trying something different races then fireworks... maybe some will stay and get a taste for it... some would whinge if they did nothing ...right???</p>

 

I am taking the family along  (I was going alone) and after reading on here about the fireworks after the races, the tune has changed somewhat.

For certain now they will get another hot dog, chips and drinks out of us.

We are looking forward to it & I guess many others will be also.

[chevy86 2,704]

<p>Good on them for trying something different races then fireworks... maybe some will stay and get a taste for it... some would whinge if they did nothing ...right???</p>

Are you for real? The core business is quality horse racing--leave the pyrotechnics to buffoons like Dotcom and Len Brown. Why not try something really different--a $50 betting voucher for all those owners who have lined a horse up at Ellerslie during the season without getting a stake.

[chevy86 2,704]

I am taking the family along  (I was going alone) and after reading on here about the fireworks after the races, the tune has changed somewhat.

For certain now they will get another hot dog, chips and drinks out of us.

We are looking forward to it & I guess many others will be also.

And selling a few more hot-dogs and chips will balance the books? Unless of course NZB are paying for the display.

[scooby3051 10,880]

chevy86, on 23 Jan 2015 - 5:59 PM, said:

Are you for real? The core business is quality horse racing--leave the pyrotechnics to buffoons like Dotcom and Len Brown. Why not try something really different--a $50 betting voucher for all those owners who have lined a horse up at Ellerslie during the season without getting a stake.

At least they are trying... did I say it was perfect..NO... but it may get a few more there to see the horses run round and have a bet... but who am to question an obvious expert in this area... :rolleyes:

[barryb 2,064]

Not everything has to be about balancing books or creating more numbers through the gate, this is a special celebration race meeting every year which attracts a decent crowd and many overseas guests.

They have an opportunity to do something extra and this is a start.

[Huey 2,037]

What if any horses from a distance away have to stay on course before they leave the next day? Just total dis respect for the participants in the industry. Fireworks are already enough trouble during November/December without having them at the racetrack.

 

Whats next drag racing and burnouts in between races? - so you can get a few more people who aren't interested in racing on course to buy a can of coke and some chips. 

 

Fix the product and they will come!

[N1MUE 1,877]

Hard to believe this thread.  The over-arching sentiment on Racecafe is that the industry is in decline and the powers that be aren't doing anything about it.

 

So here's a racing club trying something different to entice new people to the races, and still people find fault.  

 

Life can't be much fun when the glass is always half empty.

[lecithin 429]

I can't believe the negative comments when a Racing Club tries something a bit different.  Will a few fireworks after the races solve the problems in the racing industry?  Of course not.  However, Ellerslie can hardly be expected to do this at one race meeting.  As barryb has noted this WILL get a few more people to the races.  I am also going (for the racing) with a group that regularly attend and a mate who hasn't come to the track for years got in touch last week and is also coming along - did he decide to come because of the fireworks or advertising in local papers?  I've got no idea, but it may well have been a factor.  Also, most in the group I attend with would normally leave shortly after the last race (to move onto a bar in town) but with the fireworks we may well stay, have another few drinks and bets on Australian racing and watch the fireworks.  And before anyone says that we're just a bunch of drinkers who aren't interested in racing so who cares about us, at least half the group are owners and between us we would easily turn over $10k on a typical race day.

[Huey 2,037]

Just because you're trying something different doesn't make it right.

 

This is a silly initiative for safety reasons and also because its no different to every A&P show across the country or other such events, so to describe as an initiative is far fetched.

 

If youre going to the races to watch a fireworks display youre hardly going to the races to watch the races therein lies the problem.

[Blind Squirrel 315]

I think this thread quite nicely illustrates the difference between those who actually have a clue on how to regenerate and develop their business in today's dynamic and competitive environment and those "traditionalists" who quite rightly love their racing with a passion but who simply live for the days when it was "all about the racing" and that's all there was.

 

There is absoultely nothing wrong with that passion and it is to be commended but seriously folks you need to actually open your eyes to the world around you and see that "the horses" will never again be the sole purpose for maximising crowd numbers - take a look at both rugby and cricket and tell me where they would be today without the changes they made 20 years ago to recognise that future generations aren't completely motivated to attend by the core product alone.

 

I bet the NZRU are rueing the day they decided to stimulate a new audience and therefore crowd numbers by introducing innovations such as music, better food, comfortable seating, half time entertainment (not just oranges for the players), night matches and so on and so on - yeah right!

 

To suggest Ellerslie has foregone animal welfare in this decision is quite simply laughable and it a poor crutch to base your condemnation on - I will bet they have taken every step possible as contrary to those who have an axe to grind with them they do actually have people in power there who know what they're doing.

 

To also somehow suggest the money spent on the entertainment would be better off going to the stakes - again incredibly short sighted and suggests you have no idea on how to provide sustainable stakes by simply channeling every available dollar into one area leaving no other avenue for capital to develop methods to generate greater revenue. I'm sure that any business in the world that simply puts money back into its manufacturing process with no spend on methods designed to actually provide a greater audience for its product will well and truly have gone bust by now.

 

And as a last point - remind me again just who was it that introduced this version of twilight racing to the country with the evening start, short programme, diverse entertainment that has produced crowd numbers and on-course betting figures that now rival all but the major carnival days around the country and in this meeting, also attracts and entertains the massive number of international sales attendees, - oh that's right it was Ellerslie.

[Huey 2,037]

Twilight racing is fine, it was never a NZ initiative it was copied from o'seas, why the round of applause?

 

 I don't believe the fireworks display has the best interests of the key players in racing at heart and thats the horses . Heaven forbid if your horse doesn't swab quickly after the last.

 

Over a million in stakes up and last year Oncourse $424k off course $1.6m , in a city with over a million people, a captive audience from the sales, one of the best facilities in the country not to mention a racing club with full time staff etc and you're happy with that? 

 

It's the prevailing attitude that the horse and racing itself will never be able to attract patrons to the course that is the problem.

Initiative after initiative after initiative has been tried by the same crowd for years its doing nothing positive for the longevity or interest in the sport , fix the product and they will come!