Omakau gone

[We're Doomed 4,868]

Back to Omakau for a minute, surely this is their Melbourne Cup day. Surely no stone should be left unturned to make sure this meeting goes off smoothly. Is there any guidance at all from the central bodies, does the Racing Board and NZTR send reps around all of these tracks to make sure everything is perfect, or are they only interested in sending the tents for the parties? Does Otago racing help with expertise. It just screams of incompetence and a total inability to learn from previous mistakes.

You can see I am over being speechless.

[Tailedoff 38]

19 minutes ago, N1MUE said:

Don't fancy your chances.  Their rules don't allow it, their software isn't set up to handle it, they wouldn't have thought about how to price it, and even if they could apply some discretion (lol) there'd be nobody around at this time to make that decision.

Good luck with your bet.  I'm rooting against you as I backed Sam Collett early on with a saver on Danielle Johnson.

considering hedging a little on Sam - Danielle is too expensive - plus you never know....Blair might catch Dexter

[Tailedoff 38]

CWJ looks to be riding at Thames, Omakau, Awapuni, and Omoto - big hope if they all happen - if Thames is abandoned then it hurts Sam Collett and Matt Cameron's chances too

 

[rdytdy 5,343]

Omakau is now racing Friday. Same fields.

 

[Tailedoff 38]

Just now, rdytdy said:

Omakau is now racing Friday. Same fields.

 

yes but will it actually happen?

[Phantom 494]

1 minute ago, rdytdy said:

Omakau is now racing Friday. Same fields.

 

Scheduled for Friday

[Chris Wood 1,577]

If it was a sprinkler malfunction as stated, I do feel sorry for the Club. 

What a time for it to happen, bad luck Team!

[TOM(the other Molloy) 1,774]

2 hours ago, We're Doomed said:

Back to Omakau for a minute, surely this is their Melbourne Cup day. Surely no stone should be left unturned to make sure this meeting goes off smoothly. Is there any guidance at all from the central bodies, does the Racing Board and NZTR send reps around all of these tracks to make sure everything is perfect, or are they only interested in sending the tents for the parties? Does Otago racing help with expertise. It just screams of incompetence and a total inability to learn from previous mistakes.

You can see I am over being speechless.

You may remember WD the debacles Wingatui has experienced in recent years.  Asking the ORC to help might nit bw the wisest move.   I imagine that the Omakau bloke is probably from farming stock and there has been a sprinkler malfunction.  Really though this close to race day they should have been watching it carefully. Anyway hope they have a cracker day Friday. What happened in the past is all very well - we are in an era where health and safety is the only consideration.

[Party Poker 167]

TAB need to open a new book - Number of races cancelled for the year.

[Portfolio 728]

Racing getting plenty of mention on stuff, sadly for all the wrong reasons.

Another meeting off: Omakau gallops called off

[Spikecity 749]

The hooves are silent at Omakau on Wednesday because of a wet track.

 

Sprinklers irrigated a section of the Omakau track for 12 hours more than intended, resulting in the abandonment of the Central Otago gallops meeting on Wednesday.

It is an embarrassing third abandonment or partial abandonment of race meetings in as many days, and there is nervousness about the Thames Jockey Club's 150th anniversary meeting taking place on Thursday, with heavy rain forecast.

The Omakau gallops have been rescheduled for Friday, with the club offering free entry to racegoers, but again the weather could have a say, with showers and the chance of thunderstorms forecast for Thursday creating doubt over whether the overwatered section of track will be safe enough for racing.

It's a nightmare for the racing industry, with its summer holiday programme being a major promotion point. It loses revenue on abandoned meetings, but at a far more personal level is the loss of income to trainers, jockeys and owners. If Omakau fails to go ahead on Friday, it means the major southern New Year meetings will both have been lost, following the abandonment of the Waikouaiti meeting on January 1.

The Omakau track was irrigated on Monday evening and stipendiary steward Mark Davidson said the sprinklers for the last 200m section were left on a timer, with a finish time of 8pm.

"Unfortunately, when they got there at 8am on Tuesday they were still going, so they have had 12 hours of extra irrigation in one area," he told Radio Trackside.

The timer had always worked before this incident, he said.

A fellow steward checked the track at 11am and found it in "beautiful" order until the area between the 350m and 250m from the winning post, where the "water was running over his shoes".

Davidson and that steward checked the track on Tuesday evening and were surprised how much moisture had dissipated, but arranged for two horses to gallop on the track early on Wednesday morning.

He said the going for the majority of the track was a Good 3 which is firm, but "you could hear them hitting the wettest patches". While the horses did not slip, stewards decided it would not be safe to put a full field of horses over it, particularly as the area is at a critical time in a race, as horses approach the turn before the home straight. So the decision was made to call the meeting off.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Bernard Saundry told NZ Racing Desk:  "We have asked the Racing Integrity Unit to investigate how a section of the track was over watered that resulted in the meeting not proceeding. This is a very disappointing result for the club, participants, and our customers".

The Omakau meeting is a popular one with holidaymakers, with a harness meeting held there on Tuesday, and many racegoers taking in both meetings.

Central Otago Racing Club president Tony Lepper said he was "gutted" at what had happened.

"Myself and my committee have put a month into this and for something to go wrong on the track was just horrible."

The club is making the Friday meeting free entry as a thank you to its supporters, with a 12.14pm start, Lepper said. 

Davidson said he would be monitoring the track over the next day or so, with fine, hot weather on Wednesday giving the affected strip a good chance of recovery. However, significant rain could change that - and there is the possibility of heavy rain and thunderstorms in the forecast.

Omakau is the third meeting to be affected this year, as the last race at the big Ellerslie meeting was canned on New Year's Day as well as seven of the eight Waikouaiti scheduled races that afternoon.

Northern stipendiary steward Alan Coles said the Thames track was in a good state on Wednesday, but with the storm forecast he would assess the situation again first thing on Thursday morning.

[jayar 114]

Was at Omakau Tuesday, and the sprinklers were going down by the home turn. We arrived just before 12 noon and was about 1pm( give or take a bit)They were then shifted.Later Matt Cross and Sam Wynne walked down the straight to home turn and were looking as though there was a problem,and further on in afternoon some others were inspecting the same area.Mate who was with me at the time said "look they have got the irrigation going,that will stuff it up,water will just lie under the grass and become slippery on a bone dry track".  How long the water was going or leaky pipes if any,i do not know.

Apart from that, the grass track looked in good order.They had a sulky race for the families in front of stands

If the meeting is called off(which i hope does not) serious answers need to be addressed.............

           ......  added from post on "WAIKOUAITI" forumn...........

       Alarm bells should of been ringing when Matt Cross and Sam Wynne came back after inspecting it.

Why was the discs not run through the grass several times to open up the ground? With the hot sun of 30-35deg it would of soon helped to dry up the underneath.Even with that amount of water opening it up would help, then roller used to compact it..

So.. from 8am nothing was done to improve it.as still going at 12noon. Questions need to be answered.

[von Smallhaussen 3,226]

I am a simple man and I do not understand ..... does it take 4+ hours to turn a sprinkler off?

The Omakau track was irrigated on Monday evening and stipendiary steward Mark Davidson said the sprinklers for the last 200m section were left on a timer, with a finish time of 8pm.

"Unfortunately, when they got there at 8am on Tuesday they were still going, so they have had 12 hours of extra irrigation in one area," he told Radio Trackside.

A fellow steward checked the track at 11am and found it in "beautiful" order until the area between the 350m and 250m 

 

Was at Omakau Tuesday, and the sprinklers were going down by the home turn. We arrived just before 12 noon 

 

 

 

[We're Doomed 4,868]

I bet on Melbourne Cup day someone pops in to have a quick look and make sure everything is ok between 8pm the night before and 8am in the morning. Remember it is light until about 11pm at night down there at this time of year. And wasn't it harness morning the day the watering happened? They must have spashed through it ok.

[Phantom 494]

Couldn't make this stuff up could you? Can't call it a Mickey Mouse operation cos he'd probably do a better job. Nice work all concerned.

[TOM(the other Molloy) 1,774]

1 hour ago, We're Doomed said:

I bet on Melbourne Cup day someone pops in to have a quick look and make sure everything is ok between 8pm the night before and 8am in the morning. Remember it is light until about 11pm at night down there at this time of year. And wasn't it harness morning the day the watering happened? They must have spashed through it ok.

Without wanting to argue the point WD the Victoria  Racing Club would probably have a few more quid to spend on track staff than the Central Otago Racing Club. And they are not immune to criticism themselves about track bias, over watering etc etc.  Using big Clubs as an example of how to do it is not a great idea whether it be here or there.  Bottom line is if you are not getting natural irrigation then you have a definite potential problem.  In this case there was a little bit of misadventure but hey 'let he who is without sin ....'

[Tauhei Notts 1,413]

The Central Otago vintners say;

Let he who is without sin amongst you.........cask the first wine.

[We're Doomed 4,868]

37 minutes ago, TOM(the other Molloy) said:

Without wanting to argue the point WD the Victoria  Racing Club would probably have a few more quid to spend on track staff than the Central Otago Racing Club. And they are not immune to criticism themselves about track bias, over watering etc etc.  Using big Clubs as an example of how to do it is not a great idea whether it be here or there.  Bottom line is if you are not getting natural irrigation then you have a definite potential problem.  In this case there was a little bit of misadventure but hey 'let he who is without sin ....'

I agree totally Tom. What I was referring to was the fact it was their biggest day of the year. I guarantee Reefton has someone pop in to check on things before their big day after all that has gone on over the last few days.

[von Smallhaussen 3,226]

2 hours ago, TOM(the other Molloy) said:

Without wanting to argue the point WD the Victoria  Racing Club would probably have a few more quid to spend on track staff than the Central Otago Racing Club. 

TOM - I don't think anyone is pointing the finger at the Central Otago Racing Club for their misfortune - more like the bullshit that is coming out of NZTR and the RIU who between them make Michael Mouse look like a saint.

[TOM(the other Molloy) 1,774]

2 hours ago, We're Doomed said:

I agree totally Tom. What I was referring to was the fact it was their biggest day of the year. I guarantee Reefton has someone pop in to check on things before their big day after all that has gone on over the last few days.

Moisture levels have not been a problem for Reefton for the last few years but it is a situation being carefully watched this time. And I really can't finger the RIU or NZTR on this - our entire lives are dictated by Health & Safety.  Even Bernie Monk (Pike River) in an address last year said 'we made a bad mistake getting the new OSH law - it is now impossible under current legislation to enter that mine'. (It will be interesting how  Labour plans to re enter without a law change).

Tis the world we live in