Matamata Abondoned today

[Pottsie 58]

Races abandoned to day. Jockeys went out early this morning and advised track unsafe with further rain possible.

[TurnyTom 1,543]

I am not getting this, why cant they transfer to the synthetic ... thought the synthetics were the back up?

Clearly I am missing something

[mr_gee 417]

Because nztr has no back up plans the track manager would of known Monday they couldn't race lol and he's a track manager supervisor for nztr says a lot doesn't it

[nomates 3,620]

This shows what a con the A/W's are , the perfect opportunity to xfer the Matamata to Cambridge , the very reason used in the con of getting them built .

They would have been shit scared and known that if they did xfer the meeting that the fields would have been decimated .

The whole thing is a white elephant .

 

[TurnyTom 1,543]

I am reading it the same way you are nomates.

Agree, very much white elephant country, what a ridiculous waste of funds.

Dont think the tracks will be around in 5 years once the annual maintenance bills kick in

[nomates 3,620]

Fuck me , the races might be off but if your keen you can still place a tote bet with the TAB , they are a bunch of clowns . We wonder why we are so poorly funded .

[Demophon 29]

To NZ Racings credit at least they called the meeting off at 6am and did not abandon after race 1 when all the costs of transporting horses  to the course  had been incurred.

 

If a trainer had entered a horse at Matamata, they would have expected a heavy track.  If they abandoned the meeting and transferred to the AWT most of the fields would have been scratched as the AWT would not have been a suitable surface.

 

In my view correct decision following abandonment of Matamata to not consider the AWT.

[Blue 1,099]

With the forecast fine-ish but cool one would imagine there won't be much drying so Rotorua tomorrow will be like glue and could even trip up a number of wet-trackers.  Winter racing at it's best.

[TurnyTom 1,543]

37 minutes ago, Demophon said:

To NZ Racings credit at least they called the meeting off at 6am and did not abandon after race 1 when all the costs of transporting horses  to the course  had been incurred.

 

If a trainer had entered a horse at Matamata, they would have expected a heavy track.  If they abandoned the meeting and transferred to the AWT most of the fields would have been scratched as the AWT would not have been a suitable surface.

 

In my view correct decision following abandonment of Matamata to not consider the AWT.

So your view is Synthetic tracks not the back up plan as they touted they would be to avoid todays Matamata abandonment.

Interesting twist

[mikenz 1,095]

Moved to Sunday.

[rdytdy 5,343]

Matamata Rescheduled to Sunday

 

The Matamata meeting abandoned today (Friday) has been rescheduled to Sunday 14 May. Please note there will be change of race times from the original schedule with Race 1 at approximately midday. Confirmed times will be added in later this morning. All scratchings have been reinstated. There will be no scratching fees incurred for this meeting.

 

[mikenz 1,095]

Ascot Park race Sunday, long intervals between races why, the downtime probably only drives people away, if anyone' was going anyhow.

Ascot Park in May can be bleak.

[shaneMcAlister 1,425]

Well played NZTR re Matamata

[Gruff 2,808]

5 hours ago, Pottsie said:

Races abandoned to day. Jockeys went out early this morning and advised track unsafe with further rain possible.

One of the only jobs in.the world where the workers can call a day off 

We didn't call this on this forum earlier in the week albeit foreseeable so we are just as guilty, but let's face it the powers that be dropped the ball , fair call Demophon

[Hi Ho Silver 787]

Everything written on this thread is spot on.  Everyone knew exactly what was going to play out with these all weather tracks except those in charge of New Zealand racing.  The only decent call so far was to avoid further costs by acting early with the Matamata abandonment, and not transfer to Cambridge.

I notice the deafening silence following the Awapuni races on synthetic.  That was hardly a quality product, right up there with the races that beam in from Korea.

[mikenz 1,095]

When Cambridge had its opening day the trackside crew and others I might add were raving about the new track being this and that, I think people just need to see them for what they are, in many situations  its poor racing but it's better than nothing.

Only 6 races I note at Awapuni, you will probably only race on them if you have no other choice which is something northerners have unlike those in the South.

[stodge 1,953]

From the other side of the world, where we've had racing on synthetic surfaces for more than 30 years, this all sounds very curious.

As far as abandoning and rescheduling meetings is concerned, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) tends to adopt a flexible approach. We've had two recent examples of different approaches to abandoned meetings.

First, the Sandown card on Friday April 28th which was lost due to waterlogging. Of the three Group races, two were moved to Newmarket the following weekend and one (the Group 3 Classic Trial) wasn't. What was the thinking? First, and let's be under no illusions, Newmarket isn't Sandown - it's about as different as it gets. It's owned by Jockey Club Racecourses so it was their race so running it on one of their courses was important. It also needed television coverage which running at Newmarket on the first day of the Guineas meeting guaranteed. It also has a valuable place in the calendar being the first Group 2 and the first Mile race of the pattern which heads to the Lockinge and the Queen Anne. 

The Group 3 Gordon Richards was also saved because it's a useful introduction for the older horses over 2000m and there was nothing equivalent in the programme - it didn't get television coverage but it was run. The Classic Trial wasn't because at this time of year there are plenty of 3-y-o "trial" races at 1800-2000m.

We now have Lingfield which was due to stage the Oaks and Derby Trials over the 2400m trip - in addition, for whose who know it, Lingfield is about as close to Epsom as it gets with a downhill left-handed turn into the straight similar to Tattenham Corner. However, the turf track was waterlogged so the races were switched to the synthetic surface - they'll still be run but as trials for Epsom they are diminished.

Ireland tends to re-schedule whole meetings but they son't have the fixture congestion we have in Britain so a recently abandoned Roscommon meeting was rescheduled to a blank day. 

I'm of the view races should be run as far as possible on tracks similar to the one intended but if that's not possible in the time frame, run them somewhere. That said, while I accept the need to rescue Group 1 and Group 2 races, I'm more ambivalent after that - there's plenty of duplication and redundancy in the programme so there'll be another similar race in 2-3 weeks.

The BHA bumps up racecourse ownership where racecourse groups want to keep a race within their orbit rather than giving it to another group and when Bath was rendered unuseable last summer, the fixtures were split among the Sky Sports Racing courses rather than be transferred to Salisbury or a more convenient Racing UK track.

[Pak Star 716]

Fairly decent card of runners at Cambridge today.

Whether they were reluctantly nominated or not is probably another matter..

[mikenz 1,095]

10 races at Riccarton too.

[nomates 3,620]

The vast majority are good trackers trying for an extra couple of races or slow horses being given a last chance .

[mckenzie 608]

On 5/13/2023 at 2:16 AM, Hi Ho Silver said:

I notice the deafening silence following the Awapuni races on synthetic.  That was hardly a quality product, right up there with the races that beam in from Korea.

Our racing has never been a quality product from May until the Spring though. The good horses are all spelling.