barryb 2,062 Report post Posted December 28, 2019 Honestly? racing at Matamata is hardly capitalising on holiday destinations at Xmas time. I went along and it was a pitiful crowd and it was a boring meeting with no atmosphere at all, what a joke waste of an opportunity at this time of the yr. Huey and Baz (NZ) 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig 150 Report post Posted December 28, 2019 Good point. Contrast that with Timaru today, good crowd, track and fields....at a course they want to close.!! Pam Robson, We're Doomed and Huey 2 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruff 2,778 Report post Posted December 28, 2019 1 hour ago, barryb said: Honestly? racing at Matamata is hardly capitalising on holiday destinations at Xmas time. I went along and it was a pitiful crowd and it was a boring meeting with no atmosphere at all, what a joke waste of an opportunity at this time of the yr. Boring meeting? Id suggest very relaxed Bazza, some good racing BYO and Tab operators efficient and friendly. Does the tracks location in relation to holiday ‘hotspots’ restrict opportunity ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryb 2,062 Report post Posted December 28, 2019 4 hours ago, Gruff said: Boring meeting? Id suggest very relaxed Bazza, some good racing BYO and Tab operators efficient and friendly. Does the tracks location in relation to holiday ‘hotspots’ restrict opportunity ? Check out Taupo or Tauranga this week for your answer. JJ Flash 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
puha 2,177 Report post Posted December 28, 2019 6 hours ago, barryb said: Check out Taupo or Tauranga this week for your answer. Or the naki on Saturday . Great oncourse crowd Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruff 2,778 Report post Posted December 28, 2019 Matamatas location great for local Stables but to expect crowds this time of year? It is what it is, as you say some good meetings on the way demographically Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tauhei Notts 1,403 Report post Posted December 28, 2019 Gruff mentioned about the friendly and efficient tote operators at Matamata. They used to have a couple of tote operators who bore a marked resemblance to "broom factory test pilots". Thankfully they have resigned. Gruff, JJ Flash, Baz (NZ) and 2 others 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
von Smallhaussen 3,226 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 Even had their own vehicle parking - Basil brush and Sobeit 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Harrop 226 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 How was the New Plymouth crowd today? Enough to compensate for the loss of the Stratford attendances of years gone by? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
voice of reason 83 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 matamata is a crazy venue for this time of year...i would go so far to say it should be closed as a racing venue and remain a training facility only..spend money on te aroha to make it a main racecourse..i realise rotorua is a tourist town , but it is an awful racetrack ,wouldnt be a drama to say goodbye...give ellerslie's old middle day to tauranga ,ruakaka or back to ellerslie....remember the last day at ellerslie jan 2 ,it was the best day of the carnival ,with all the hangover of jan 1 ...oh for the good old days ,the real auckland cup...who says change is always good or progressive ,bullshit. Baz (NZ) 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coro fan 93 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/118505389/crowds-enjoy-christmas-races-at-timarus-phar-lap-raceway We're Doomed and Ludwig 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz (NZ) 1,719 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 Whoever planned the calendar for this race day should be fired! Sums up the clowns running NZ Racing! Quite unbelievable really! Huey 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoyd 153 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 Rotorua is not just a tourist town, it is a city of 70,000 people. Great crowd and atmosphere at Arawa Park on the 27th and a high proportion of local once a year punters. Closing down their local track will only achieve a further drop in punter numbers. These people will certainly not drive to Matamata or Taupo to go to the races, it will be out to the lakes or a drive over to the beach. VOR the track is now very good since the club spent $0.5M on a full reconstruction a few years ago. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Hogg 320 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 14 hours ago, voice of reason said: matamata is a crazy venue for this time of year...i would go so far to say it should be closed as a racing venue and remain a training facility only..spend money on te aroha to make it a main racecourse..i realise rotorua is a tourist town , but it is an awful racetrack ,wouldnt be a drama to say goodbye...give ellerslie's old middle day to tauranga ,ruakaka or back to ellerslie....remember the last day at ellerslie jan 2 ,it was the best day of the carnival ,with all the hangover of jan 1 ...oh for the good old days ,the real auckland cup...who says change is always good or progressive ,bullshit. V of R Nothing wrong with Rotorua track have spent big money on up grades in the last few seasons . perfectly placed right in town easy walking distance from town and motels .I think they should pull down old public stand and have marquee's and park like settings . If they are stupid enough to take racing away they will have a huge battle trying to sell the land ,good luck with that ,.Cheers BH Huey 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houlahan's Dream 520 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 Agree BH. Might there be a middle way with all this consolidation? Keep the successful holiday venues (Rotorua etc) but only run there sparingly. Have Te Rapa or TA as the main Waikato track, but surely the only real advantage in closing is the $$$$ from Avondale. If they could realise the money locked up there that has got to go a long way to helping the industry. Something has surely got to give. One of our premier sprints is worth $200k (Railway) I believe while on the same day at Flemington their main sprint of the say, Standish, is for $160k AUS. There would have to be 30 Aus sprints worth more than that. If you had a half decent horse how could you afford to keep running it in NZ? The numbers just don't stack up. Boss Hogg 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stables 577 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 I have been to several meetings at Timaru in recent years and if it wasn't for owners and trainers there would be nobody there Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
We're Doomed 4,824 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 23 minutes ago, Stables said: I have been to several meetings at Timaru in recent years and if it wasn't for owners and trainers there would be nobody there I presume Stables that most of those meetings were in the winter months, and they were certainly all industry meetings. It is only fair to compare apples with apples. Compared to a winter, midweek, industry meeting at Riccarton what would the crowd be like? As has been mentioned on here several times, there is no incentive for clubs to attract patrons on course. In fact clubs like Timaru, racing midweek in winter, would probably be better off to close the gates totally to the public. There would be considerable savings in racebooks, white coated men, catering, oncourse announcers, power etc etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig 150 Report post Posted December 29, 2019 42 minutes ago, Stables said: I have been to several meetings at Timaru in recent years and if it wasn't for owners and trainers there would be nobody there That is certainly true. I once sat in the grandstand there and was outnumbered by the birds, feathered variety .But 5000 turning up there two days ago is a very encouraging result. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coro fan 93 Report post Posted December 30, 2019 1 hour ago, Stables said: I have been to several meetings at Timaru in recent years and if it wasn't for owners and trainers there would be nobody there And it doesn’t help when the club is given Wednesday or Friday for a race day, when they used to get Sundays. At least on a Sunday the club stood a chance of getting people on course. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruff 2,778 Report post Posted December 30, 2019 25 minutes ago, Ludwig said: That is certainly true. I once sat in the grandstand there and was outnumbered by the birds, feathered variety .But 5000 turning up there two days ago is a very encouraging result. Hope they cleaned the birdshit off the seats between times Wiggy Little wonder the stands are half empty theyre the only seats without doo on them Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig 150 Report post Posted December 30, 2019 At least at Timaru the seats were nailed down . Unlike at Oamaru where many of them are loose, and you sit on one end of a seat, and the other end shoots up in the air . Gruff 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...