ownagreyhound.co.nz 52 Report post Posted April 22, 2020 in light of the 2020 Derby, Oaks and Futurity not being able to be run in the lock down period, it would be a shame if these group1 restricted age races were lost to the racing calendar., afterall the r/a dogs only get one opportunity to compete in this r/a series'. The potential travel restrictions could rob the finals of the best fields, so perhaps the NZGRA could consider reducing the stakes down to $15k (derby & oaks) $10k Futurity and running them regionally. ie. Northern,Central and Southern Derbies, and the same for the Futurity. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
I know 150 Report post Posted April 24, 2020 Do they even have the money to consider group or feature races ? Emotive 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emotive 306 Report post Posted April 24, 2020 The majority of participants are struggling, making it through the next six months their priority and challenge. Stakes cuts loom. Who gives a proverbial about your elite race stakes it benefits very few. You want to put 15K into one race in the current climate. You're delusional. Sacrifices have to be made for the benefit of all. bus stop, Rules For Some and GOM 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flabbergasted 67 Report post Posted April 24, 2020 They're even cancelling major Group races in Australia during these tough times e.g: Golden Easter Egg Emotive 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rules For Some 163 Report post Posted April 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Emotive said: The majority of participants are struggling, making it through the next six months their priority and challenge. Stakes cuts loom. Who gives a proverbial about your elite race stakes it benefits very few. You want to put 15K into one race in the current climate. You're delusional. Sacrifices have to be made for the benefit of all. Especially when there is talk about entry fees. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOM 1,017 Report post Posted April 24, 2020 I wonder if the average participant realizes how dire the circumstances are for all racing in NZ right now Rules For Some, Emotive and bus stop 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
I know 150 Report post Posted April 25, 2020 3 hours ago, Rules For Some said: Especially when there is talk about entry fees. Stakes levels might be going back to those days . I don’t think there is any talk about bringing entry fees back just someone’s stupid idea . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
I know 150 Report post Posted April 25, 2020 3 hours ago, GOM said: I wonder if the average participant realizes how dire the circumstances are for all racing in NZ right now I think they do they are probably all facing the same situation right now . It’s only going to get worse before it gets better no doubt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ownagreyhound.co.nz 52 Report post Posted April 25, 2020 22 hours ago, Emotive said: The majority of participants are struggling, making it through the next six months their priority and challenge. Stakes cuts loom. Who gives a proverbial about your elite race stakes it benefits very few. You want to put 15K into one race in the current climate. You're delusional. Sacrifices have to be made for the benefit of all. You make some good points Emotive - of course there will be a number struggling and I don't want to be dismissive of the battle that they may have ahead, but I would have thought funding for the balance of the season would have already been locked in. To be honest id doubt if I would have a dog capable of competing in those races , so its not about some elitist ideal, it is about presenting an industry that people want to get involved in. if the code simply focusses on survival mode and takes an axe to everything the industry probably wont recover. We need to attract outside investment and something that people want to get involved in. it is an opportunity to strip everything back and look at what is the best model for the sport. id like to see the Reintroduction of tier 2 racing (reduced stakes) - with tab betting. perhaps win 3 before going up a grade. I'm sure there would be some other great suggestions by the participants out there that could help the industry move forward. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emotive 306 Report post Posted April 25, 2020 The world is being forced into a radical rethink and not before time. For once in my lifetime, nature has been allowed to breathe. We are witnessing natural phenomena that humanity has never experienced before. People who never exercised now stroll pollution free streets. Families sit down to dinner cooked from scratch. Gardening has become a thing once more. A new type of hero emerges, they are not the 5 million dollar All Black, the overpaid CEO of Spark. Many positives balance tragedy and hardship. Every aspect of our lives is being examined and re-examined. Nature has hit the reset button. The racing industry was in trouble long before COVID-19 reared its head. The divisions within growing at an alarming rate. We created and promoted monopolies, we adopted a more is better mentality, a corporate culture of saturation. Those at the top believing they are all that and renumerating themselves accordingly, those attached reaping the benefits of that aliance. We now see that model failing across the world. From our lounge sofa, we are watching the world unravel. Nothing will ever be the same again. We somehow believe we are important, that we are untouchable. Big mistake. Fact is we are non-essential. We exist to satisfy the needs of a very small percentage of the population and that is scary. We have the opportunity to make ourselves over. To discard what came before and start anew. Strength comes from supporting each other, not propping up the few. Over the next six months, life will be very challenging and I personally don't believe that our present leadership has what it takes to get us through. They seem hellbent on following an existing prescription, a flawed model. We have the opportunity to make ourselves over, use our time in pain to build a solid industry where all prosper. We don't need 60K or 30K races, we need a healthy industry that satisfies public expectations, that supports participant and canine health. We need to clean up our act if we are to recover and thrive. Saturation will kill us. Well done Adam for looking for solutions, unfortunately, to experience future growth you first need to fix the cracked foundation. Flabbergasted, bus stop, feral and 3 others 2 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOM 1,017 Report post Posted April 25, 2020 Well said Em, nature will always have it's way Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...