Chief Stipe

Don't two of the named clubs race at the same course?

NZTR Club of the Year Award Finalists Announced New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) is thrilled to announce the finalists of the 2024 Club of the Year Awards, set to be awarded at the 2025 Industry Development Conference on 31 March. Each New Zealand Racing Club was assessed against a performance framework across four categories: Financial, Racing, Marketing and Compliance and Innovation. The selection of finalists and winners will be presented in three distinct categories: Metropolitan, Provincial, and Country Clubs. An overall Club of the Year Award will also be presented from the winners of each category. NZTR Chief Executive Officer Matt Ballesty is pleased to see our Clubs recognised for their performance. "We see our annual NZTR Club Awards as playing a pivotal role in recognising and celebrating the outstanding contributions and achievements of New Zealand’s well-performing racing Clubs," he said. "I look forward to getting to know our Club representatives at the Industry Development Conference and celebrating their collective wins." To reward our high performing Clubs, NZTR will provide a $20k prize fund distributed across the three categories: Metropolitan, Provincial, and Country, with each receiving $5k in prize fund. Additionally, the Overall Club of the Year will be granted $5k in prize fund. The prize fund should be used to invest in an event or on-course initiative and a short form business case will need to be presented to support the initiative by 31 July 2025. NZTR has outlined the finalists for the three categories below. 2024 Finalists (in alphabetical order) Metropolitan Auckland Thoroughbred Racing Canterbury Jockey Club Waikato Thoroughbred Racing Provincial Otago Racing Club Racing Tauranga Taranaki Racing Incorporated Country Central Otago Racing Club Masterton Racing Club Wairarapa Racing Club Congratulations to all the finalist and we look forward to celebrating at the 2025 Industry Development Conference. Corporate Communications New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Contact: Catlyn Calder +64 27 252 2803 nztrcommunications@nztr.co.nz

Racing there tomorrow are they not? Or is it a TAB phantom meeting?

I think you'll find the facts have been twisted to suit a narrative. Which unfortunately is happening across the country and has got worse.

ATC confirms Members vote on April 3rd on the sale of Rosehill 13 March 2025 by Rob Burnet The Australian Turf Club (ATC) issued a statement on Thursday confirming that ATC Members will be asked to vote on Thursday, April 3rd, on the proposal to sell Rosehill Racecourse. The statement said that under the Unsolicited Proposal process, the NSW Government will consider a proposal which provides ATC with minimum sale proceeds for Rosehill Gardens of $5 billion over 15 years. The proposal requires a majority of Members voting to vote in favour at the Extraordinary General Meeting at Randwick on April 3rd. ATC Chairman Peter McGauran said: “This resolution is without any doubt the most important and consequential in the history of our Club and it is vital that every ATC Member votes. “Many Members love Rosehill Gardens and are reluctant to see it go but the truth is it’s an outdated venue with declining crowds and this proposal can rejuvenate and secure the racing industry for many generations to come,’’ he said. The statement said that the proposal will seek proceeds from the NSW Government to be paid in full to the ATC over a 15-year timeframe, with instalments timed to fund several major investments to racecourses and ATC Members facilities. It also said that the ATC would replace Rosehill Gardens with a 'new Group 1 quality racecourse' without saying where that would be in the Sydney Basin and the cost of developing a new track facility including training. It said that Warwick Farm would be redeveloped to a 'Group 1 racecourse' and the the balance of sale proceeds will be invested by the ATC to create a future fund to secure the Club’s financial independence. Group 1 racing used to held at Warwick Farm, including the Chipping Nortion Stakes, until the races were moved to Randwick for higher wagering turnover. The proposal to the NSW Government is currently in Stage 2, with the ATC saying it expects to submit a formal proposal to the NSW Government later this year, depending on the outcome of the vote on April 3rd. When the sale was announced in December, 2023, the figure of $5 billion was mentioned as the sale result for the ATC. This figure has fluctuated and has not yet been confirmed by the NSW Government as the correct and final figure. Whatever the amount, if the figure is paid over 15 years as the ATC statement suggests, the real return to the ATC will be diluted through inflation and rising construction costs over that period. An example of the cost of a new state-of-the-art racecourse with training facilities and grandstands is the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Conghua Racecourse in China with an all up cost of around US$3 billion. Those costs are based on a Chinese land and construction cost base and not a Sydney land and construction cost base. With the cost of finding a suitable new site for a racecourse and training facilities in the Sydney basin, let alone building a course and training facilities, it would remain to be seen how much funding was available to create an ongoing investment fund to future proof the industry in Sydney. If indeed there was any funding left over after building a new racecourse and training facilities. The Winx statue at Rosehill, picture ThoroughbredNEWS

No but we've had Open races that average very low ratings with stuff all starters. Sure the stakes are higher so the losses are bigger but all the other variables are no different.

If you haven't noticed it's been like that for the last ten years.

How was he "trying to lose" on Grey Area? What was the motivation? I've seen a worse Kennedy ride that cost a Group 1 win.

Just had a quick squiz of the CJC Annual Report 2024. Certainly a lack of detail around costs centres. In my opinion the accounts do not meet the new accounting standards for Incorporated Societies. So the next accounts will be interesting. CJC_Financial_statements_2024_Final_audited.pdf

No racing there. Don't believe that. So if you can't differentiate those costs centres how can you manage them? However the AWT's will be doubling any loss! Which contribute to fixed costs. If you hire a track manager and a couple of other full time grounds staff and the only revenue source is raceday then the chances of recouping operational costs are minimal. A cost accountant would argue you get rid of the training facilities and only have 0.8 FTE Track Manager. Of course the Club Members no longer look after the flower gardens which is an added cost that adds no revenue.

That should be a source of net revenue if managed correctly. However the AWT limits options and sucks up revenue. Or did you mean Mills-tone?

There is no "tight five". As many would attest I don't give anyone any favours when it comes to expressing my opinions. I've never been an obsequious fawn like some site managers who run with the hares and hunt with the hounds. However your perception of favouritism is no doubt coloured by the fact that my responses to your posts are sometimes cutting. Why? Another one of my pet hates is industry led propaganda that flies in the face of fact. You repeatedly roll out this stuff and refuse to acknowledge that some of the underlying assumptions are wrong and are based on dubious facts. Yes preach positividdy for as long as you want but the best marketers know that you can only sell the sizzle for so long if the sausage tastes foul or is burnt.

As normal your 🌹 tinted 👓 prevent you from actually comprehending what I wrote. The economics of running a Metro track WITHOUT the additional revenue from a fulltime training centre just don't add up. So Ellerslie, Trentham and Te Rapa are severely constrained. Awapuni and Riccarton now have the operational cost millstones of white elephant AWT's.

Actually you can't blame @TAB For Ever for all the inaccuracies. His Messiah, Messara had a litany of them in his report.

That's because unfortunately envy winds its way through all parts of the industry. New Zealanders are quicker to cut the tall poppy down than applaud their success.

No you have an opinion and that's OK. I've recently had the good fortune to be close to someone who has owned their first horse with Te Akau. They have been very very lucky winning a number of Group races as well as a Group 1. I've been privy to all the communications between Te Akau and that person. I've been impressed. I've seen the contract and indeed have explained to that person what the small print means. I've also had the experience of meeting past syndicate owners from other horses who have the pip with Te Akau for reasons that I can only put down to unrealistic expectations and denial about what they signed up to.

Sam Bergerson and Nicole Shailer are as good as any and both have top pedigrees.

Yes and I've met people who were syndicate owners who feel disenfranchised. I've listened to many of these types of people and invariably there view is based on ignorance.

Get any large group of people together and you have differences of opinion. However when you sign up to any syndicate contract the terms and conditions are clear. If you don't like that then buy and race a horse 100% on your own.

Wrong. Wrong again.

Did they have any more experience than the Te Akau trainers?

Interesting though that Tuxedo ran the same sectional time for the first 400m.

The one's I've heard are not based on any correct facts and are embellished. That's sad to hear. What is the reason for being an anti-fan? Can't be based of performance.

It is a mistake in my opinion. Sand offers no buffer capacity and has very a low water retention rate. Basically Ellerslie is a hydroponic system requiring constant watering which is expensive. The only way they can achieve a forgiving surface for horses is by mechanical intervention. Would be a shame to see Awapuni go the same way. Ellerslie is an artificial track with grass growing on it. Surely with all the money spent and the supposed science behind this customised Strathayr at Ellerslie there would be some repeatable method of measuring the track hardness?

No I'm not suggesting anything regarding the rating of the track. The Soft 5 rating is artificial and is not correlated to any measuring device. Essentially it is nothing more than a finger in the air. As for the times the sectionals don't seem to be consistent. The horses just don't seem able to get get going on it. Of course there are other factors affecting speed. The track remained at a Soft 5 for the whole day even though the weather was fine and there was a breeze. Surely you would have expected the track to improve. A number of trainers have described the track as hard even when the official rating has been a Soft 5.