Chief Stipe

So 90% of the Clubs don't trust NZTR and so dont want to fix their own problems that they themselves created? Why keep looking for scapegoats?

Do the sums. The operating cost of every track is the same. Assuming ZERO volunteer labour - most Clubs of any sport struggle to have anyone turn up regularly for a working bee. Hell we even had the President of one club washing the bird shit on the seats of their granstand every year on his own! Eh @Reefton ? So what is the cost of the following just to maintain the track and horse related facilities: Employees x 2 (minimum - no roses to prune) - track work monitoring (honesty boxes don't work); Machinery - tractors x 2, mowers, corer, sprayers etc; Irrigation - equipment maintenance, water use charges etc.; Fertiliser; Running rails; Stables and tie up areas; Training track maintenance; Photo finish and electronic timing equipment; Stewards viewing and TV stand maintenance; and so on. Oh and don't forget putting spare capital away for when the renovations are required. Multiply that by 52 and there isn't much left for stakes is there? Now go back and have a look at the annual accounts for the Clubs and see where any spare cash was spent. Yeah na it wasn't on track maintenance nor the rainy day renovation because the track pasture and soil would go on forever.

The point is @Freda even when they did have the money none of the Clubs spent it on their tracks or core horse focussed racing assets.

Seem to be getting on OK this week. CRANBOURNE Course Proper: Bellatrix Star (B Shinn) galloped over 1000 metres in 1.06.7, last 600 in 36.9. Damask Rose (B Shinn) and Crismera (M Hofmann) galloped over 1000 metres in 1.25.7, last 600 in 36.9. Azazel (L Winks) and Mcwoody (J Melham) galloped over 1600 metres in 1.43.7, final 600 in 37.8. Grass: Geegees Mistruth (L Winks) galloped over 1000 metres in 1.06.2, last 600 in 37.1. Jealous (H Jaggard) and Signoretti (E Wilson) galloped over 1200 metres in 1.26.1, home in 37.4. Koko (C Wilson) and Seven Oceans (H Jaggard) galloped over 1000 metres in 1.09.4, home in 38.2. Our Paramour (M Hofmann) and Lyrics ’N’ Song (L Winks) galloped over 1000 metres in 1.07.1, last 600 in 38.3. Exuberance (L Winks) galloped over 1000 metres in 1.05.6, home in 36.9.

Where disagree is about WHO is accountable. What did you do? Who do you think is accountable? My view is we are ALL accountable. Let's move on and fix it.

Thats great @jess but how often did you talk to your fellow trainers (your competiton) and say the track is fucked (i'm over being PC) and we need to get it sorted?

Not perhaps it's a fact.

Your blaming hasn't achieved what you want. So why keep blaming or looking for accountability? Why not act collaboratively and get real change?

There are no options left. We all backed ourselves into this corner. I didnt hear @nomates , @Special Agent or @Huey complaining 15 years ago that the tracks needed renovation. I did.

Or pour money into to bring it up to modern standards. You can't have a bob each way on this one. Far too late for that.

Well you are not setting a very high bar if you compare them to Trentham!!

Firstly I've been frustrated as well and I'm not in the CD. Have travelled a long distance two years in a row to Te Rapa to watch a horse race only for the meeting to be abandoned two years in a row. Not to mention the 750km trip to the Hawkes Bay Guineas last year to see it abandoned. The poor horse must be thinking - "here we go again today - heading to a dance that aint going to happen. Ho hum!" In terms of accountability - who has done what wrong? This problem has been decades in the making. Blame every Club committee, member and NZRB, NZTR employe for the last 30 years if you will but you can't blame ONE individual. Stop looking for a scapegoat. Stop blaming too much irrigation or not enough. Stop blaming the positioning of the running rail. Stop blaming the length of the grass. Stop blaming track managers past and present. The fact is every single one of us didn't stop to think that we needed to put capital into maintaining our racetracks let alone the buildings and other supporting infrastructure. Until we stop the blaming and accept the fact that we need to invest in the tracks nothing will change!!!!

Seriously Jess it isn't like that at all. Having walked recently in the rarefied air of the misnamed Waikato Racing Bluebloods I know for a fact they are as frustrated as the rest of us with the tracks and the weather. Contrary to the myth they too want diversity in options. One stable in particular is doing that very well. At the moment though the difference in options are would you rather travel to a track 45 minutes down the road and risk and abandonment of travel a day or more and face the same risk?

But it isn't yet is it. Realistically though Woodville isn't a destination and I can only imagine what the facilities are like there for visiting horses. I still have memories of where my first Grp winning horse escaped from the tieups and wandered down the road to the main highway! The track has issues as well.

I'm not going to shoot you down - you seem to be lying prostrate anyway! All jokes aside. Just to make clear in my opinion the over reliance on sand to fix tracks and to build new ones with has been the biggest mistake. I've been saying that for the last 15 years and you can see my posts on forums for that period of time. My early comments back then were directed at Ellerslie and Te Rapa and I stated it was a band-aid solution to a fundamental problem and that eventually it would fail. I also raised concerns online about the path Ellerslie went down with their modified Strathayr which is now entirely sand based. The same has happened with Awapuni. You don't see good pasture growing on sand dunes nor on a predominatly sand based soil so to think that grass would grow quickly and develop strong root systems on a 100% sand based topsoil threw good agronomy (the science of soil management and crop production) to the winds. Given the track history (pun intended) of ALL clubs in NZ when it came to regular track maintenance and renovation it was inevitable that this cluster stuffup would occur and rapidly. It is akin to the market garden systems collapse of the late 70's early 80's in Pukekohe and the Bombay hills due to the overuse and neglect of the underlying soils. We all got distracted by racing good times and didn't put anything back into the very thing that provides the source of revenue - the track surfaces. I did a survey of the annual reports of many of the large tracks and the amount invested in their racing surfaces was either neglible or well below what it should be. So you can all rant and rave and look for scapegoats but this disaster has been creeping up on the industry for decades. Australia has been through it now it is our turn. The difference is we have stuff all capital to fix the problem. Yes blame the leadership if you want but I actually have a great deal of sympathy for central management as it is they that now have to fund and fix a problem that started at Club level.

‘Leave the bloody thing as is': Gai slams ‘crazy' calls to cut Derby - Racenet www.racenet.com.au https://bitofayarn.com Hall of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse says it would be "crazy" to cut the Victoria Derby distance back to 2000m, insisting it would not only tarnish the race's tradition but also deliver another blow to Australia's dwindling staying ranks. There have been renewed calls from some trainers to change the 2500m distance of the $2m classic, suggesting cutting it back by 500m would attract a better quality field. But Waterhouse, who won the Derby with Nothin' Leica Dane 30 years ago, urged racing officials to "keep the bloody thing the way it is". "It is crazy why people have to tamper with things," Waterhouse said on Tuesday. "It is a Derby and it is a precocious staying horse that races in it. "I think it is magical because it is different. Who wants every race to be 10 furlongs (2000m) or six furlongs (1200m)?" • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Waterhouse said options were already limited for Australian trainers with young staying types, stressing any move to cut the Derby distance back would have an ever greater detrimental effect on those local staying horses. "Everyone wants … a stayer (and to have a Melbourne Cup runner) and we don't have any staying races," she said.https://bitofayarn.com "(The Derby) is wonderful. You know the saddest thing is we have dropped the (clause which allowed) the Derby winner backing up in the Cup. "That was magical. We had Nothin' Leica Dane (win the ‘95 Derby and then run second to Doriemus in the Melbourne Cup three days later) and it caused so much media interest. "It is the local horses that gets people to bet (on the Cup), not the overseas horses because they don't know the form." Gai Waterhouse with Nothin' Leica Dane after winning the 1995 Victoria Derby. • Willo's big Melbourne Cup call: It's down to two This year marks 170 years since the first Victoria Derby – back in 1855 – but some have argued that pushing spring three-year-olds out to the 2500m distance meant the best horses often bypass the race. Master trainer Chris Waller said he respected Waterhouse's viewpoint. But he said racing authorities needed to look at ways to ensure the best fields are assembled for the biggest races in the spring.https://bitofayarn.com Waller has won three editions of the Victoria Derby, including two of the past three (with Riff Rocket in 2023 and Manzoice in 2022). • Dolan's secret weapon for Cup hiding in plain sight this year He will have two runners in Saturday's race – Moonee Valley Vase runner-up Providence ($7) and Savisanta ($26). "She (Waterhouse) is a great ambassador for our sport, she would put more thought into it (the Derby distance) than I would have," Waller said. "Gai would also be a traditionalist. "The thing we have to worry about is getting the best horses racing in the right races. "The Derby needs to be a right race. We have got to find a way to get the best horses running here through Cup Week for these big races, regardless of their distances."

2025 Melbourne Cup: Buckaroo to run, punter eyes $732k win www.racenet.com.au A $732,000 dream is alive for one New Zealand punter with the news that Cox Plate runner-up Buckaroo will contest next week's Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington. Trainer Chris Waller was leaning towards saving the seven-year-old for the Group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m) on the final day of the Flemington carnival but after deliberating with connections, has elected to return for a second Melbourne Cup tilt. He finished ninth in the race last year.https://bitofayarn.com • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The decision will be music to the ears for one particular punter in New Zealand who is sweating on Buckaroo to run a place in the Melbourne Cup for a potential NZ$732,216 windfall. Back on January 30, the punter placed $7.41 on a 12-leg multi with the NZ TAB at odds of 98,814/1.https://bitofayarn.com With the first 11-legs of the multi already successful, all that stands between the punter and a life altering payday is Buckaroo placing in the top three in the race that stops the nation at Flemington next week. Buckaroo finishing a narrow second to Via Sistina in Saturday's Cox Plate Picture: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images • Beadman eyes Coolmore glory at Flemingtonhttps://bitofayarn.com The first 11 legs ranged far and wide, including a number of winning results at Ellerslie, Te Rapa and New Plymouth, while Ka Ying Rising's The Everest success and Via Sistina's nailbiting Cox Plate defence were also included. Buckaroo's appearance in the Melbourne Cup will add some weight-for-age firepower to the two-mile showpiece. The son of Fastnet Rock last won in September last year when annexing the Group 1 Underwood Stakes. But he showed in Saturday's Cox Plate, where he gave defending champion and stablemate Via Sistina the fright of her life, that he's racing right up to a peak performance in the Melbourne Cup. News that Buckaroo – understood to be having his compulsory veterinary scans today – will take his place in the Melbourne Cup comes ahead of the third acceptances for the lucrative event being released later on Monday. THE PUNTER'S LIVE MULTI Bet placed January 30, 2025 | $7.41 on a 12-leg multi • Ellerslie Race 3 Return To Conquer @ $1.40 (win) • Ellerslie Race 4 Let Fly @ $2.25 (top 3) • Ellerslie Race 6 Willydoit @ $2 (win) • Ellerslie Race 7 Merchant Queen @ $3.30 (top 3) • New Plymouth Race 6 Hinekaha @ $1.70 (win, 15c deductions) • New Plymouth Race 7 Loch In Ora @ $2.05 (top 3) • Te Rapa Race 5 Sabrina Hall @ $3.62 (win, 7c deductions) • Rosehill Race 8 Iowna Merc @ $1.85 (top 4) • Rosehill Race 10 Sandpaper @ $2.09 (top 4) • The Everest Ka Ying Rising @ $3.20 (win) • Ladbrokes Cox Plate Via Sistina @ $4.20 (win) • Melbourne Cup Buckaroo @ $7.25 (top 3) https://bitofayarn.com ORIGINAL ODDS: 134,832.46 ODDS POST DEDUCTIONS: 98,814.60 COLLECT: NZ$732,216.21 if Buckaroo places top 3 in the Melbourne Cup

What opinion do you classify as "archaic"? One that you've accepted for the last 50 years until recently?

When did NZTR say "Woodville was a gone burger"? Surely you are not suggesting that Awapuni should be abandoned? Where would you put a training and racing centre in the CD if not at Awapuni?

Too much sand in my opinion. Plus over caution. Return to racing has been delayed because the grass isn’t developing as it should. I'm not aware of any slipping at the trials. Grass doesn't grow that well on pure sand so it will take time and perfect conditions.

Spreading the load is only deferring the inevitable. The time to get on and get the rationalisation done is now.

But isn't it the best use of resources for the industry? As I said in another post name a racetrack that isn't on borrowed time because of a lack of maintenance investment?

NZTR, in conjunction with the Racing Integrity Board, has today confirmed that all trials and race meetings at the RACE Awapuni track will cease for the remainder of 2025. No images? Click here Racing at RACE Awapuni Paused as Long-Term Track Plan Progresses New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), in conjunction with the Racing Integrity Board (RIB), has today confirmed that all trials and race meetings at the RACE Awapuni track will cease for the remainder of 2025, as RACE Inc. and NZTR work towards a long-term plan for the sustainability of the track. NZTR Chief Executive Officer Matt Ballesty said the decision followed extensive efforts to restore the track and careful consideration of its impact on participants. “NZTR acknowledges that the remediation process for the RACE Awapuni surface has placed a significant strain on our Central Districts participants and the wider industry. This is not a decision we have taken lightly, with horse and rider safety being paramount.” “Our team, the RIB, and the Club, with the support of independent experts and international advisors, have worked tirelessly in recent months, and we share the disappointment felt by many. “Despite these efforts, the surface has not consistently met the standard required to confidently host full race meetings during what is an incredibly busy period for our sport,” Ballesty said. Track consultant Liam O’Keeffe said the decision followed careful assessment of the track during recent trials and gallops. “Following recent trials and gallops at Awapuni, it’s evident that further, more aggressive renovation work is required to bring the surface up to the standard the industry needs. At the same time, we’re progressing a wider investigation into the track’s long-term suitability,” O’Keeffe said. As a result, the trials originally scheduled for Thursday 30 October at RACE Awapuni have been cancelled, with a replacement trial meeting set to be held at Woodville Racecourse on Monday 3 November. Nominations will close at 12 pm on Friday 31 October. NZTR acknowledges there will be date and programming changes as a result of the pause in racing at RACE Awapuni, including a revised racing programme to find new locations for the meetings scheduled for 14 November, 20 December, and 26 December. These changes will be communicated in due course. Corporate Communications New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing nztrcommunications@nztr.co.nz New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing 18 Dick Street, Cambridge 3434 Email: office@nztr.co.nz Tel: 0800 946 637 NZTR.CO.NZ Unsubscribe

Nearly all the tracks have issues of some description or other.

Whats the problem?