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Raceday Attendances

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5 hours ago, Aaron Bidlake said:

I was never a fan of charging entry to race meetings until a couple of years ago when I seen a family I knew at the races sitting there having a picnic in a prime location on course. Asked them if they had made any money only to get the response that they were not betting, only having a competition between themselves picking horses. Why should they get free entry when they would not have spent a cent on track that day? 

Simple loyalty card system so those regular punters and race goer should earn enough points to gain entry for free. 

Exactly Aaron and in Tau case they need to have a punter bet $235 through the windows on course to make the $20 they are out of them off the gate , if that day is an Industry Event day and they are eligible for on course Turnover, the other thing is the punter comes on course and bets on his/her phone all day and the club makes nothing out of the punt from them. A better way is to identify those that are punters and look after them accordingly but thats all info that should be being done by NZTR/NZTAB etc in the first place. 

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3 hours ago, Red Rum said:

When you look at entrance fees for courses , or free entry racing pretty fair in entrance pricing imho , compare it to cinema . I took one of my younger kids a while back said have anything you want mate , big coke big popcorn I don't care in a rare fit of family love and wallet opening  , not sure why I was so reckless  . I later  regretted that.  Piss takers of the highest order and I fell asleep during film .

Yes the cinema does make racing look a super value thing to do in comparison.

Often shite movies, crappy over priced food and drink & then the f--king whack is the car parking cost for the privilege of getting shafted. The cinema does give hope for racing though, it was dead a buried 20 yrs ago, reinvented itself and now is a popular modern day rort.

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This year our Club again ran on course punters comp. It went super well with over 100 participants enjoying the day which included free food and beverage for those who entered.

We also have free admission,  free racebooks and a no charge byo policy fo promote family/friends outings and bbq’s across our 5 racedays.

There is zero incentive for our Club to do this however we have this naive notion that getting people on to a race track to view racing will give them a buzz and have them interested for the longer term.

Dumb we clearly are, to those who distribute the funds to pay the stakes.....

 

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2 hours ago, barryb said:

Yes the cinema does make racing look a super value thing to do in comparison.

Often shite movies, crappy over priced food and drink & then the f--king whack is the car parking cost for the privilege of getting shafted. The cinema does give hope for racing though, it was dead a buried 20 yrs ago, reinvented itself and now is a popular modern day rort.

Then move to Oz Bazza - like Sarge, Bussutin, Waller, MacDonald, etc and enjoy free parking at the Movies! Plus the racing is better! :) 

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6 hours ago, Trump said:

Then move to Oz Bazza - like Sarge, Bussutin, Waller, MacDonald, etc and enjoy free parking at the Movies! Plus the racing is better! :) 

It’s burning to the ground, won’t be anything left soon.

Actually I find Aus racing boring to watch, similar to Harness in that it has no interest to me, if forced solely to watch Aus stuff then I would give up and go fishing instead.

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I have been going to the track for most of my fifty years. Ellerslie mostly. Was a member for 10years or so. The punter experience, compared to betting at home is pretty woeful. 

Unfriendly tote staff, more security than punters, constantly playing  music, can't hear announcementls etc. 

I feel like the punters are treated as an irrelevance....best example is putting corporate tents that Block your view of the track? Like the horses, the spectacle, is unimportant? Whose fkn idea was that??!?

People running TAB and racing just don't get it. 

A small example would be Mr Molloy (who I do not know) being unworried about people coming to HQ and having a brilliant experience, so good they become regular customers. Clearly successful businesses bust their humps trying to get you to spend, and return. You have to constantly be trying to get people to choose to spend their money with you. 

But that is not the sense you get, at a NZ racetrack. 

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23 hours ago, Boss Hogg said:

Hi trump fully agree it should be free entry  ,but a couple of comparisons .Ellerslie $10 entry on line , to see $1,100000 in stakes races and then on thursday we go to Tauherenikau rases $20 entry watching $83000 in total how they get away with it is mind bogeling they say its a family day and we are a poor club "really"  Great picnic meeting but same old food stalls ,not enough tote windows open etc.  Just a bit off track but after Ellerslie pulled the old stand down ,well they had to burn it down because it wouldn"t come down ,and they had the brilliant garden bar behind the old tote , yep they bulldozed that .the crowds never returned ,so sad ,Cheers BH

Went there some years ago. Nothing to impress and, if it hadn't been a social occasion, would not have bothered. Crowds at Tauherenikau, Kurow and Timaru are much to do with most of the population being on holiday, a 'fun' thing to do (once a year), and the sunny weather. If market research of the crowd was done, would be interesting to know how many would have attended if Winx was running there. Suspect that 1 in 10 would be delighted, while 9 in 10 would say, 'Who?'. The quality of the racing is largely irrelevant to many.

Such clubs survive on having 1 or 2 meetings a year, at holiday time. Don't know where Tauherenikau club puts it profits but they, like many others, probably don't have much for capital expenditure. Thus, facilities will decline over time but may be tolerated by the once-a-year crowd. As a business model, it won't work year-round and when there is too much competition for the entertainment dollar. So, don't think of big crowds at this time of year but consider Woodville on a wet and windy Wednesday in July.

A thought - committee members could get out of the Members' Stand and talk to their customers. Explain how to bet on a trifecta. Too radical?

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24 minutes ago, Phar Lap Fan said:

A thought - committee members could get out of the Members' Stand and talk to their customers. Explain how to bet on a trifecta. Too radical?

Agreed there is merit in this. In HK (huge difference I know) they have betting ninjas that go around showing people how to bet.  
 

However till Tab encourage punters to punt on course where is the incentive. Today is a prime example, punt on phone and get money back on first two races at ellerslie and paid up to 4 places from race 3 onwards. Where as those betting on course do not get this. This is beyond crazy.  It’s like super liquor telling people to bring their drinks into peoples pubs. 

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3 hours ago, Phar Lap Fan said:

Went there some years ago. Nothing to impress and, if it hadn't been a social occasion, would not have bothered. Crowds at Tauherenikau, Kurow and Timaru are much to do with most of the population being on holiday, a 'fun' thing to do (once a year), and the sunny weather. If market research of the crowd was done, would be interesting to know how many would have attended if Winx was running there. Suspect that 1 in 10 would be delighted, while 9 in 10 would say, 'Who?'. The quality of the racing is largely irrelevant to many.

Such clubs survive on having 1 or 2 meetings a year, at holiday time. Don't know where Tauherenikau club puts it profits but they, like many others, probably don't have much for capital expenditure. Thus, facilities will decline over time but may be tolerated by the once-a-year crowd. As a business model, it won't work year-round and when there is too much competition for the entertainment dollar. So, don't think of big crowds at this time of year but consider Woodville on a wet and windy Wednesday in July.

A thought - committee members could get out of the Members' Stand and talk to their customers. Explain how to bet on a trifecta. Too radical?

Most of the committee are probably too busy doing jobs to keep the races going or watching a horse they have an interest in,  that sort of thing should  be the domain of NZTR or the TAB. 

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Why go to Tauranga today, 2nd Jan? size of fields clearly indicates to many meetings in the north at this time of year. From memory Tauranga has had this issue before at this meeting? A 3 horse field, really! Good for the connections of those runners, but betting?

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On 12/31/2019 at 12:24 PM, Aaron Bidlake said:

Simple loyalty card system so those regular punters and race goer should earn enough points to gain entry for free. 

Ellerslie had a loyalty card a few years ago but wiped it. They recommended we become members (then shut the course for nearly a year).

Now the choice is easy, pay an entrance fee, get through security, be roped off from most areas, pay exorbitant food and drink prices, be blasted by static/music, OR stay at home with Wi-Fi, fridge and couch. Tough call!

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20 minutes ago, arjay said:

Why go to Tauranga today, 2nd Jan? size of fields clearly indicates to many meetings in the north at this time of year. From memory Tauranga has had this issue before at this meeting? A 3 horse field, really! Good for the connections of those runners, but betting?

January 2 should be a good day for racing...especially this year with generally settled weather .Its a public holiday etc etc . and Tauranga area a boom summer spot.

IMO the race  programming needs constant attention and tweaking,to get better sized fields.

The holidaying public are desperate for something to do ,get out of the camps ,motels and take a spell from the beach.

Hence the success of the "summer festival" promotion which offers 'free' family entertainment . Since that started some years back its been a huge success and helps boost the impressive attendances.

Kurow etc didnt get 5000 + people prior to that and courses certainly not able to charge $10-$15 for adults at the gate.

There is a considerable cost involved with being part of this promotion ,hence the need to charge at gate. Some courses even have the large screen which I read Omakau was applying for funding[$5k alone].

These holiday destinations can and do attract the holiday crowds , but the horses and betting are not top priorities to most who attend.

Pirongia was certainly evidence of that.

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9 hours ago, Phar Lap Fan said:

tasman man11 - went to Pirongia once. Looked as if half the crowd weren't interested enough to actually watch the races but they seemed happy to eat and drink there.

Exactly.....that was my point......Porongia was an iconic event supported by prominent horsemen such as GRogerson and TVince.

One of the first CLUBS in NZ......but had shrunk to next to nothing , didn't even have a Tote license !

But crowds turned up for various reasons....it seen as a relaxing fun day out when most of NZ on holiday !

Pirongia district sounds as if it similar size to Waikouaiti in South ,1300 at 2013 census.

Kurow had 321 at that census ,when I worked there some years back it had a Pub , General Store [Rattrays] , a service station ,church ,rugby ground and race track.It had one 'famous' rugby player .short term All Black Phil Gard. Now it has Richie McCaw !

No horses are trained there.....I believe .....most Kiwis don't know where it is !

But at this time of year thousands camp etc in the catchment area.

It has a market day......stalls in the main [ only] street.....they estimate 5 to 6000 attend that as well !

Any other race meeting at any other time of year would struggle to get a quorum.

Waikouati ,and especially Oamaru and Washdyke are also in the approximate area.

That is an overview , maybe the meetings can be held with no horses...just footraces......thousands would still attend , maybe a few races with ponies etc maybe for bags of Kumaras as prizes or something like Pirongia where horses entered and winner takes the entry fees. Fiji has an annual race day around a paw paw orchard ! Central Otago has always had a 'gymkhana' meeting.

No need for TAB staff to attend ,or Trackside and their staff and trucks . 

Of course its the trainers/owners  that decide the fate of these race tracks.......the support of passionate and sizable trainers like Pitman ,Parsons in South and Rogerson and Vince and Myers [ Pirongia] ensures the sustainability of these venues. Why don't the trainers Assoc collaborate with programming suits !

Trouble is , for many year s ,most people in NZ racing see too many declining courses  ....too many don't meet modern standards , yet no one can stomach to close any even though some only used once or twice a year and in some cases they not even training hubs.

Its crazy.......and obviously some of these have the prime dates for oncourse attendance such as the present holiday period.

 

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On 12/31/2019 at 11:18 AM, Boss Hogg said:

Hi trump fully agree it should be free entry  ,but a couple of comparisons .Ellerslie $10 entry on line , to see $1,100000 in stakes races and then on thursday we go to Tauherenikau rases $20 entry watching $83000 in total how they get away with it is mind bogeling they say its a family day and we are a poor club "really"  Great picnic meeting but same old food stalls ,not enough tote windows open etc.  Just a bit off track but after Ellerslie pulled the old stand down ,well they had to burn it down because it wouldn"t come down ,and they had the brilliant garden bar behind the old tote , yep they bulldozed that .the crowds never returned ,so sad ,Cheers BH

I don't recall Tauherenikau declaring that they are a poor club. I have looked up their financial performance on The Company's Office web site. For 2018 year their net profit was $125k and for 2019 $50k. They have about $240k in the bank. 

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Not sure what the issue is with programme where holiday makers are . I could real off a list of countries , courses and regions where holiday crowds catered for with huge success. Kids face painting , ice creams , cold beers , overpriced shaved coloured ice etc etc . It's seems reasonably successful here compared to other parts of industry , keep it as its positive stuff  . Nothing wrong with once a year race goers having buck ew or less . Gets decent amount of people onside in long run even if they not punting everyday.It's not a loss leader iam sure but if it was why not in long run .

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22 minutes ago, bloke said:

I don't recall Tauherenikau declaring that they are a poor club. I have looked up their financial performance on The Company's Office web site. For 2018 year their net profit was $125k and for 2019 $50k. They have about $240k in the bank. 

Might have worded it wrong but "they " i meant owners and club  members , when I asked the committee member at the gate it is the same answer we are a small club who needs the money for the infrastructure and running of the club.  Things have improved this year there was 3 hot dog stands . Cheers BH

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26 minutes ago, Boss Hogg said:

Might have worded it wrong but "they " i meant owners and club  members , when I asked the committee member at the gate it is the same answer we are a small club who needs the money for the infrastructure and running of the club.  Things have improved this year there was 3 hot dog stands . Cheers BH

I agree that they need to look at catering as there needs to be more options than the usual hot dogs / chips etc. Most who attend 2 January take their own picnic lunch and BYO grog. 

It certainly was an impressive crowd

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8 minutes ago, bloke said:

I agree that they need to look at catering as there needs to be more options than the usual hot dogs / chips etc. Most who attend 2 January take their own picnic lunch and BYO grog. 

It certainly was an impressive crowd

Bloke yes your right , we went at 10 and big crowd already although thought it was not as big a crowd as previously years but when we left the car park was full to overflowing . A little point that could be improved at no cost is inbetween the 2 stands they have put the coffee stall and the hotdog  stall if they were moved it would give people more room to see the birdcage  and picnic area but still enjoyed the day, walking back to the car to get more Speights kept me fit .Cheers BH

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