Chief Stipe

Plan to build 850 apartments on Trentham racecourse scratched Nicholas Boyack October 3, 2024 Share Play Video 0:57 Historic Trentham grandstand is being demolished. VIDEO CREDIT: JUAN ZARAMA A bold plan to build 850 apartments on the Trentham Racecourse has been put on hold. It’s the second major Upper Hutt housing project to suffer a setback in recent weeks, after the Upper Hutt City Council knocked back a plan change that would have potentially opened up land on the hills behind Silverstream. The two projects would have potentially resulted in more than 2300 new homes in Upper Hutt. Malcolm Gillies, the developer behind the Trentham project – which also included retail, hospitality and facilities for the racing club – said that in the current market the development did not stack up. In August 2023, Mayor Wayne Guppy said the Gillies project would “future proof” the racing club and be a major boost to the Wellington economy, saying he hoped to see shovels in the ground in three years. The project, which received $12.4 million from the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, did not have resource consent. Gillies said he still believed the site had potential but with interest rates high and business confidence low, there was no money to be made. “We are in a different market now, times are tough, and everything is now on hold.” The club is currently demolishing the main grandstand, which was classified as earthquake prone. Malcolm Gillies had bold plans for the Trentham Racecourse.SUPPLIED ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISE WITH STUFF Guppy, who is the president of the racing club, said he had not spoken to Gillies but remained optimistic that a development would still go ahead, even if that was “plan B or C”. Guppy said the racing club neededfacilities to continue to operate and he was confident that something would go on the site. The main grandstand at the Trentham racecourse is being demolished.JUAN ZARAMA PERINI / THE POST The club had no choice but to demolish the grandstand, as it was only 8-12% of the New Building Standard and riddled with asbestos. It was an impressive structure with an interesting background but the racing club really only had one option, Guppy said. “The choices were minimal. The fact of the matter is no one wanted to bring it down.” Racing Trentham chief executive Tim Savell said his short-term focus was getting the grandstand down and preparing the site for Wellington Cup day in January. The demolition was going well and in the long term he remained confident the site would be developed. Racing Trentham chief executive Tim Savell says the main grandstand was earthquake prone and had to come down.JUAN ZARAMA PERINI / THE POST Trentham had a good relationship with Gillies, and his company was still the preferred developer. He agreed with Guppy that a way forward would be found. “There are definitely irons in the fire.” ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISE WITH STUFF Previous plans for demolishing the grandstand and developing the site would have required the course to have closed, Savell said. “Doing it this way, we can keep the Wellington Cup here now. We were going to relocate for a couple of years to Palmerston North.” Demolition is expected to be finished by December.JUAN ZARAMA PERINI / THE POST Savell said the original plan had involved Kainga Ora but with the government housing agency withdrawing from many projects, that may have also influenced Gillies’ decision not to proceed. In 2023, Race Trentham said the five to 10-year plan was to “transform the venue into one of the world’s premier racecourses”. A delegation that included architects, developers and racing personnel had toured five Australian racecourses, to gain insights to assist with the planning and delivery of the project. “The basis of the redevelopment is new race day hospitality and operational areas, along with 850 apartments and purpose-built commercial spaces, along with a hotel and associated facilities.” The grandstand was only 8-12% of the New Building Standard.JUAN ZARAMA PERINI / THE POST Gillies hoped the Trentham development would one day proceed but in the current climate, with house prices falling, it was not feasible. A recent development, Back Straight, launched on land next to the racecourse was a tough sell and making money from such developments in the current market was not easy.

Agree 110%!

But Cameron George and Mackenzie (?) sponsored that debacle. It was well on the way to being a stuff up before Sharrock turned up.

The irony of your fixation is that the best AWT track in the country is at Cambridge and the best turf track is at Matamata.

Where else was the meeting going to go if it wasn't staying at Hastings?

What current projects? How much in consultancy fees?

The word I heard was that when Balcombe was CEO of Hawke’s Bay racing he knew about the problem bit didn't do anything to fix it. Ironically he is now instrumental in determining the Livamol meeting be transferred to Te Rapa.

Should be one track one vote.

So basically it is what Ellerslie (ATR) wants?

Obviously the BGP had done their homework. Wasn't it one of their boosted bets?

There is a number of issues with that letter. Why the focus on Awapuni? No mention of Riccarton. The paragraph: The RIB Stewards have officiated at all race and trial meetings held on the Awapuni synthetic surface and I am advised that from their observations the track has generally met performance expectations. What do they mean by "generally"? A bit vague isn't it? Have they walked the tracks and inspected them at any time prior to races and trials? The other paragraph that raises an eyebrow: ...the principal responsibility for the maintenance and preparation of the track rests with respective racing clubs, while New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) has the responsibility to monitor track performance, collect data and work with clubs on maintenance strategies to enhance track performance. Duck shove pass the buck? NZTR are helping to fund the maintenance. You would think they were be across how that was being spent. KPI's? This paragraph and the letter in general focuses on "performance" - isn't the issue "safety"? It all seems a bit slack to me.

The Hastings problem appears to be just a small part of the track - not much more than 100m of it. In my opinion the directives that the NZTR "experts" have given to remedy the problem are wrong. One of their recommendations is grass length - it is clear from yesterday that the grass length is far too long.

Who's to say that those two tracks don't have issues as well?

So how does comment relate to yesterday's debacle?

MEETING NEWS Update Re North Island Race Meetings The remainder of the meeting that was abandoned today at Hastings will be run by the Matamata RC at Matamata on Wednesday 2 October. New nominations will be required for all races aside from The Arrowfield which was an early entry race. This race will be transferred to Wednesday. Preference will be given to horses that were originally accepted for the Hawke’s Bay meeting. Nominations for this new meeting will close on Monday 30 September at 9am with withdrawals closing at midday also on Monday. The Cambridge meeting which was scheduled for Wednesday will now run on Thursday 3 October, Nominations remain open for this meeting until 9am Monday. The Matamata meeting scheduled for Saturday 5 October will now be a Tauranga meeting at Tauranga. The programme for this meeting will need to be revised, This programme will be provided either on Sunday or early Monday morning.

Confirmed remaining races from today have been moved to Matamata Wednesday 2 October 2024.

NZTR have sent an email out to 700 people WITHOUT blind copying the email addresses.

Why bother racing a horse? LOL they'll probably shift it to Ellerslie.

You should try Google although it does require a bit of intelligence to not fall down some rabbit hole. So I'll save you the time. The Cobalt levels recorded will have had no deleterious effect on the dog. It may have even made the dog feel better. SUNT.

RV announces jumps racing review www.racing.com Racing Victoria has announced it will conduct a full-scale review into the jumps racing industry. Led by the newly-formed Jumps Review Group, the review started this week and will take a broad-scale look into a variety of aspects of the sport, including the future viability of jumps racing. Former Supreme Court Judge and former Victorian Racing Integrity Board Chair Justice Jack Forrest will join the JRG as an independent member, with the Group chaired by RV's Executive General Manager - Integrity Jamie Stier. The JRG will pass its recommendations to the RV executive by the end of November, and the RV executive will then provide the report and recommendations to the RV board for a decision by the end of December. RV said the JRG will also take submissions from all parties as part of the process. The wide-ranging review will see the JRG investigate and consider the following: Findings of the Jumps Review Panel from the 2024 season; Applicability of any broader equine welfare research, findings or data to inform jumps fatalities and jumps injuries to participants and horses: Analysis of trends relating to starters, field sizes, wagering and industry participation rates; Review of club and track infrastructure, including analysis on future durability of racecourses and availability of racecourses (including transfer of meetings) for jumps racing; Analysis of optimum track rating and achievable track rating; Analysis of horse engagement and longevity, and additional career opportunities provided by jumps racing; Analysis of the contribution to track riding ranks of jumps jockeys; Analysis of the financial performance of the jumps industry for participants. clubs and the Victorian Thoroughbred Racing Industry (VTRI); Analysis of community participation and attendance at jumps racing events and broader economic benefit of jumps racing: Analysis of available research or reporting on the level of community acceptance of jumps racing and its impact on the broader appeal of thoroughbred racing; and Any analysis, research, resources that the JRG considers necessary to complete its report and recommendations. RV chairman Tim Eddy described the safety record across the 2024 jumps season as 'unacceptable'. "The events of the final meeting at Ballarat were heartbreaking for all involved in the Victorian jumps racing community," Eddy said. "Many people have worked incredibly hard to make the sport as safe as it can be and had achieved marked improvement across the 14 years prior to this season when we took a backwards step. "To that end, in addition to the work done annually by the Jumps Review Panel, the Board has commissioned a wider review to be led by Jamie Stier that will take a detailed look at all elements of jumps racing in Victoria. "The Jumps Review Group has been asked to consider, among other things, participation rates, industry support, community attitudes, financial returns, the safety record of the sport and the measures in place to promote safe racing. "This thorough review has commenced this week and its outcomes will be informed by the process with no outcome off the table at this time." Any parties wishing to make a submission for the JRG to consider as part of its review, must do so by Thursday, 24 October via jumpsreviewsubmission@racingvictoria.net.au.

That's a given. My original estimate was $260k+ a year. I don't see that in the accounts.

Clue @JJ Flash Wightman has 4 going around at Riccarton on Saturday. Enjoy your homework on finding out who trains them.

Well I may very well be a simpleton but all you need to do is pick up a Raceform or if you are capable look at the online full form and you'll easily find who trains Wightmans horses.

Surely it would appear in the accounts? I can't see any increase in cost or revenue.