All weather Tracks

[Maverick 8]

Please .... No more talk of all weather tracks for gallops. Turf is best. Only excepts are Picnics Beach Races occasionally. Riccarton wasted $ on a wood.bark chip training track years ago. Now they have a track where there is a coarse base done by a roadworks company who sold off all the top soil. The grass on the surface does not have great roots going down, so is very hard. Horses now jar up racing on this road like surface. Look at the numbers racing on it today.

[Pam Robson 1,740]

I was just cruising through the site,  and found your comments.

You're quite right about the hard pan underneath,  a matter that concerns me all the time.  I'm sure some of my owners wonder what I am on about when they see other horses race and apparently suffer no ill-effects....mine, at the moment, all require a bit of 'cut'  and we are just sitting out the dry weather.

The bark chip had the potential to be good....but the installation was sloppy and poorly done.   The ground upon which the bark was to be laid was not prepared in any way, and the material was just dumped on top of an undulating surface.  Result being,  that some portions were deep - and broke down at a different rate to the more shallow areas.

We did a heap of work on it and never had a problem,  but were always careful to not let the horses off the bridle.

The reconstruction done in 1998 was carried out by Laing's....not sure whether you are right about them 'flogging off' the topsoil....seems likely someone did,  but can't point the finger at them.

I rang Duncan Laing some time after,  when there was a bit of controversy about the track.  He was very approachable, athough by then he had sold his company and was doing consultancy work.

He told me that the track was re-laid according to the scope of work given to them by the [ then ]  RIB.    After talking to him, I reckoned that the depth of topsoil laid according to the plan wouldn't have grown decent carrots!

It has not been completely satisfactory,  but I think it is a little unfair to blame the company.  It is not their job to question the scope given to them.

The underlying clay/scoria layers - cambered -  were supposed [ as I understand ]  to create a means to channel water from the subsurface and to the drains on the inner.  They don't work as they were intended,  and subsequent work on the track with vertidrainers,  etc,  has brought the clay up where it becomes like Yaldhurst road when dry,  and a bog when wet.

There has been sanding/coring done,  but, although my knowledge of such matters is sketchy at best,  it seems to me that sanding should be done way more often.

Up the road at Rangiora,  sanding/coring is done very regularly and the surface, once the subject of criticism [ flawed reconstruction also ]  is now very good indeed - even when firm.

[Maverick 8]

Ripped all my front lawn up and after seed applied sand from New Brighton Beach. Result a great green lawn and this all accomplished in 2020.

 

[Patiti 274]

On 3/4/2020 at 6:22 AM, Pam Robson said:

Rangiora,  sanding/coring is done very regularly and the surface, once the subject of criticism [ flawed reconstruction also ]  is now very good indeed - even when firm.

Why not race there again then.

Dual code meetings on Sundays would be great.

[Pam Robson 1,740]

just cruising again....clearly, looking at the policies of Head Office, that won't happen.  Rangiora and many other smaller tracks are to be dispensed with in the bigger plan to 'rejuvenate' racing in NZ.

 

[Insider 4,520]

On 12/16/2020 at 5:42 AM, Pam Robson said:

just cruising again....clearly, looking at the policies of Head Office, that won't happen.  Rangiora and many other smaller tracks are to be dispensed with in the bigger plan to 'rejuvenate' racing in NZ.

 

Only 4 years later and how flawed was the policy to do away with the smaller tracks. 
Thank goodness they failed with some like Oamaru and Timaru. 
Up our way we have trial’s scheduled at Waipukurau in the next month. Thank goodness that track isn’t completely gone like Te Teko. 

[Pam Robson 1,740]

14 minutes ago, Insider said:

Only 4 years later and how flawed was the policy to do away with the smaller tracks. 
Thank goodness they failed with some like Oamaru and Timaru. 
Up our way we have trial’s scheduled at Waipukurau in the next month. Thank goodness that track isn’t completely gone like Te Teko. 

Thank goodness indeed.

[mikenz 1,205]

On 9/27/2024 at 12:18 PM, Insider said:

Only 4 years later and how flawed was the policy to do away with the smaller tracks. 
Thank goodness they failed with some like Oamaru and Timaru. 
Up our way we have trial’s scheduled at Waipukurau in the next month. Thank goodness that track isn’t completely gone like Te Teko. 

Many of those ideas were fine in theory but not in reality, I think the Massara report was flawed when it suggested closing Timaru, Oamaru but keeping Waikouiti open, Waikouiti on New Years day had run its course,  wanting New Plymouth being the only track in Taranaki seems another croc of shit.

Harness racing could easily just race on a few tracks with all weather tracks but if Harness pulled the pin at the likes of Timaru or Oamaru would those tracks be viable, 

[Insider 4,520]

6 hours ago, mikenz said:

Many of those ideas were fine in theory but not in reality, I think the Massara report was flawed when it suggested closing Timaru, Oamaru but keeping Waikouiti open, Waikouiti on New Years day had run its course,  wanting New Plymouth being the only track in Taranaki seems another croc of shit.

Harness racing could easily just race on a few tracks with all weather tracks but if Harness pulled the pin at the likes of Timaru or Oamaru would those tracks be viable, 

And my guess is that the locals support Timaru and Oamaru as well. 

What's not taken into account is that each time they close down a provincial track they seriously dilute the fan base, especially the young ones coming through.