Chief Stipe

Sorry I need to be reprogrammed to be kind.

Sale (Vic) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$315,000 - 9 races $35k each including maidens. Tamworth (NSW) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$164,400 - 7 races at $23,520 each including maidens. Devonport Tapeta Synthetic (TAS) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$160,000 - 8 races at $20,000 each including maidens. Sunshine Coast (QLD) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$184,000 - 8 races at $23,000 each including maidens. Swan Hill (VIC) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$175,000 - 7 races at $25,000 each including maidens. Nowra (NSW) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$164,640 - 7 races at $23,520 each including miadens. Naracoote (SA) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$174,400 - 8 races at $21,800 each including maidens. Kalgoorlie (WA) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$144,600 - minimum stakes $16,660 for maidens. TOTAL STAKES: AUD$1,481,800

Just had a thought though after looking at all those tracks. What is the closest track to Auckland that holds race meetings AND is a training track? Most of the Metrop tracks in OZ are training tracks as well as premier race tracks. Perhaps NZ is onto something.....

Lockdown causes us all to do weird and wonderful things. Today I thought I would do a tour of the Thoroughbred Racing Tracks of the Australian state of Victoria on Google Earth. I plotted each of the tracks and you can see from the image they are in serious trouble. They have far too many tracks. Ok you might be saying that some of these tracks are worse than Kumara.....well with Google Earth you can zoom in and have a bit of a close up look. Everyone had a grandstand and stables. Every turf track was green. Some of them were extremely picturesque. Many had very small towns not much bigger than Hokitika. Seems every town had a race track or was close to one and had an Aussie Rules/Cricket ground and a Golf Course.

Saw that but yeah na! Don't like synthetic tracks at all. Just looks all wrong. Prefer the Organic version of racing rather than the Artificial version.

Hell just watched the first from Sale. 5 min interview after the race with Trainer and Jockey of the winner and some decent questions about the horse and the track...... I hope all the NZ presenters are at home watching and learning!!!!

Maybe it is my Catholic upbringing but I kinda feel a little bit of a traitor enjoying their racing...... But in saying that Verry Elleegant, Waller, Atishu, ........ geez even Don Frampton scored a good winner!

Ummmmm er no! But I did enjoy watching ALL the OZ racing. I also enjoyed the informed build-ups and post race interviews and comments. Their presenters leave Tracksides for dead when it come to knowledge and colour.

But it recovers quickly eh? Is Awapuni worse?

Geez @curious I'm trying to put a plug in for Foxton and you post that! Climate change? A 1 in 150 year event?

Well the carpark is normally flooded anyway.

Foxton Stewards - can anyone recognise @curious?

Who in their right mind would want to go watch an AWT race at Awapuni when you good enjoy the turf and character of Foxton?

Precisely - the exact point I've been (trying) making. The Wairoa meeting WAS on my bucket list not having been to the East Coast. I understood that the social side and the seafood buffets were legendary!! Once or twice a year the Circus came to town - remember all the kids that wanted to join the Circus? How many kids make it to Ellerslie?

It isn't TOTALLY different - it is exactly the same except on a smaller scale. You are also not considering the West Coast climate but are fixed into a rigid paradigm of delivery. If the West Coast has four racetracks that cost the industry next to nothing in upkeep (except Kumara who have had their hand out for years and have been given extra from headquarters) then you have four venues that can offer a surface for racing on. Contrary to what many in the cities think the West Coast climate varies considerably over small distances. If you centralised to ONE course you would have increased the odds of ALL meetings on the Coast being abandoned. Now in my opinion a better option would have been to amalgamate the clubs but retain the race courses and then have more flexibility in where you raced on each day that was offered. Why build a high cost model of operation for very few race dates per year and increase the risk of race meeting being abandoned? @Reefton has commented on this approach before where some flexibility between the Coast clubs, the TAB and NZTR would have seen meetings transferred within 24 hours. That model could have applied to the CD as well. Would you rather have a meeting abandoned at Awapuni or transferred to Foxton?

What is your definition of "rundown"? The tracks at Ellerslie, Te Rapa, Awapuni, Riccarton and Trentham have been stuffed for quite some time. Awapuni was the centre of the amalgamation of a number of clubs - didn't improve the racing surface did it? In that regard name ONE club amalgamation that has been successful? In terms of Downside - isn't it blatantly obvious now that removing clubs from communities and shifting to higher cost delivery models has been an absolute failure?

Except when it is the Chineses tapping your phone?

But it is nonsensical. Are our horses different to those in Australia? I realise our Harness horse's are faster than theirs but the Thoroughbreds aren't. So HRNZ haven't really negotiated anything have they? That said are the RIU hiding in hedges to see if a horse is hoppled and goes a quarter faster than 33 seconds? What is the definition of "light work"? Or are HRNZ and RIU relying on the 0800 snitch line?

Are you sure that can happen at Level 3?

Eight race meetings across Australia today. The first race kicks off at 2:15pm NZLockdownTIme so you will have had plenty of time to send you horse's around the walker. The first is from Sale - a 3yo maiden at set weights. AUD$35,000 - read that and weep! Yes $35k - $19,500 for first = enough to pay @Freda's feed bill for the next two years! Sale (Vic) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$315,000 - 9 races $35k each including maidens. The Sale Turf Club, Greenwattle Racecourse, is situated approximately 2 hours 25 minutes from Melbourne. The race course circumference is 2,040 metres with a straight measuring 353 metres. Sale races are run from 1,000 metres up to 3,200 metres for hurdles and when the rail is true has maximum fields of 16 except for 1,400 metres where the maximum is 14. Tamworth (NSW) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$164,400 - 7 races at $23,520 each including maidens. Devonport Tapeta Synthetic (TAS) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$160,000 - 8 races at $20,000 each including maidens. The Ladbrokes All Weather Spreyton race course was the first Tapeta synthetic race course developed and raced on in Australia. The track surface provides race-goers with the opportunity to enjoy consistent racing in all weather conditions. The DRC’s facilities include a spacious bar, TAB outlet, a bistro-style restaurant with seating for 120 on race days and private functions directly adjacent to the winning post. Sunshine Coast (QLD) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$184,000 - 8 races at $23,000 each including maidens. The Sunshine Coast Turf Club has Corbould Park Racecourse which is a fine thoroughbred racing and training facility. The race track is located just minutes from Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast and less than an hour north of Brisbane. There are three race tracks, grass track proper which is 1967 metres with a straight of 400 metres, the cushion track which is 1760 metres with a straight of 400 metres and the inner track sand track which is rarely used. The RaceClub races every Sunday, and during summer hosts racing on many Friday evenings on the Cushion Track. Swan Hill (VIC) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$175,000 - 7 races at $25,000 each including maidens. Track Circumference: 1900m Track Width: 18m Soil Type: Sand profile Track Type: Grass with pop-up sprinklers Track Characteristics: The track is quite lengthy with tight turns covering a circumference of 1900m, the 475m home straight is slightly uphill. Nowra (NSW) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$164,640 - 7 races at $23,520 each including miadens. Nowra Racecourse has a circumference of 2019 metres and the width being 24 metres. The track has a 400 metre home straight. It has 3 chutes, one at the 1600 metres mark, the 1400 metres mark and the 1200 metres mark. Inside barriers are an advantage at the 900, 1000 and 1100 metre starts. Nearby Racetracks include Kembla Grange, Goulburn Racecourse and Moruya Racecourse. Naracoote (SA) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$174,400 - 8 races at $21,800 each including maidens. Naracoorte Racecourse has a circumference of 1730 metres and the home straight is 270 metres long. Inside barriers have a slight advantage at any distance. The turns on the course are cambered turns into and out of the straight. The actual surface of Naracoorte Racecourse is well grasses and is fully irrigated. Nearby tracks include the Penola Racecourse, Edenhope Racecourse and Bordertown Racecourse. Tamworth (NSW) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$164,640 - 7 races at 23,520 each including maidens. Tamworth Racecourse is operated by the Tamworth Jockey Club Inc. and hosts 29 meetings annually including Prime Television $150,000 3 y.o. Quality HCP and The Tooheys Tamworth Gold Cup $60,000 (open). Facilities at Tamworth Racecourse include Circumference- 1830m, Straight- 360m The turn from the 800 metres is banked to 3%, adding safety and providing outside horses with equal opportunity Fully grassed with kikuyu and some natural grass Undercover betting facilities Dining room Kalgoorlie (WA) - Stakes on offer today: AUD$144,600 - minimum stakes $16,660 for maidens. The Kalgoorlie Racecourse diamond like in shape with four turns throughout the 1934 metres circumference. This distinctive layout makes it important for jockeys to find a good position before they make their way onto the 320 metres home straight. Big advantage to be drawn inside. Long straight runs from the chutes. Feature Races at the Kalgoorlie Racecourse include the Kalgoorlie Gold Cup, the Boulder Cup, the Hannan's Handicap and the Coolgardie Cup.

One case in the South Island will stop the movement to Level 3. At Level 3 can they hold race meetings? Or is it just the ludicrous rule that you can't fast work is dropped? With regard to that rule it is nonsensical and I'd be interested to hear if anyone knows the rationale behind it.

In those days Clubs were run by passionate amateur volunteers who didn't mind painting the odd rail or dunging out a stable. Then amalgamations starting happening and supposedly clubs got bigger so we needed highly paid professionals. Those highly paid professionals became distant from the core business.

As I said in my first post it was the 2nd of March 1974. He won the NZ and Auckland Cup's the preceding year.

Geez what a difference. The woman doing the build-ups to the Ozzie trots at the moment is interesting to listen to, crams a lot in quickly and seems to know her stuff. Mind you I've always had a soft spot for that Ozzie female accent.