Chief Stipe

Like that on the Thursday and you could still race on the Saturday. How many times did it happen? Freda you are supporting the very thing that is killing the sport. It amazes me how some trainers are willing to race on a rock hard or bottomless heavy dangerous surface when high stakes are available but turn their noses up at decent surfaces at a small track.

Exactly the reason it wouldn't work and the exact reason why racing participation is declining. Centralising the circus eliminates the volunteers, excludes communities and introduces higher costs. You only have to look at Australia to see that maintaining and encouraging bush, country and provincial racing has helped with their success.

Victoria Park for all intents and purposes.

That's why Centralisation is counterproductive to increasing participation in Racing. Both you and I got our introduction to racing via the local racecourse - yours was probably Omoto, mine Hokitika. I'm not sure about you but I went to the races at Hokitika many times before I visited any other racecourse on the Coast. The sink hole on the Coast has always been Kumara - a course that has NO community but has only ever been a holiday attraction, a curiosity, a novelty. It has dragged Coast racing down. Once you centralise you remove communities from direct involvement and their volunteers stop volunteering. Then costs increase because you need to pay people to do work that others in the past had been willing to do "for the club". On the West Coast the show always came to town a bit like the circus and then like gypsies all the floats and hangers on moved to the next town. Nothing wrong with that. Even in recent years there have been many meetings where the number of people oncourse has far outnumbered those on course at some of our so called premier tracks midweek.

Why would have a centralised racecourse worked? Didn't help Harness racing on the Coast.

Oh the joys of running a public forum.

Why not just postpone the Cambridge meeting to the following Thursday? It isn't as if it clashes with Ashburton with regard to horses and those galloping at Cambridge don't seem to be set for turf racing.

Cindy must have caught that NZAF Hercules!!!

I'd settle for them thinking while lying down which they seem to be good at!

Look on the bright side Awapuni's AWT is looking less and less likely!

Well there are cracks in the Government ranks even if they don't need the Greens. I just can't see them bailing the industry out again. They will have to start following the NSW or even the Sweden approach sooner than later which might see racing with no crowds again.

Well the won't get $35m + $35m = $70m to bail them out this time. Will be interesting to see the wage subsidy applications from the industry.

What about this!!! https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-delta-outbreak-mitre-10-awards-dinner-attendees-close-contacts-after-bar-worker-tests-positive/3LRQPXUXNBZRULVC6NSLDBTE5Y/ Almost a thousand people at a corporate awards dinner have been told they're close contacts after a bar worker tested positive for Covid-19. A screenshot of a message sent to attendees at the Mitre 10 2021 Awards ceremony at Spark Arena in downtown Auckland on Thursday last week has been given to the Herald. "Dear awards dinner attendee", the message begins. "We have been informed by Uno Loco, organisers of the Mitre 10 awards dinner, that one of the bar staff working at the event last Thursday, August 12, has tested positive for Covid-19.

Geez we posted that at the same time! Proves you and I aren't the same person!

Breaking News! (Or rumour?) Fronterra Worker in Christchurch has returned a positive Covid-19 test.

Geez you are a hard Judge!

Is it a Bryant?

Yep. Look at those bike wheels!!!

I guess this Topic thread takes the top prize for meandering all over the place!!! I admire @Gammalite's ability to keep thinking about pacing horses!!!

A week won't matter but two weeks will. Under Level 4 you can't fast work!!! Which is bizarre - whoever negotiated that doesn't understand horse training and must have got blindsided by MPI. The South Island might get out of Level 4 next week but I don't see the North Island getting close. A North Island trainer would have to consider shipping their horses south sooner than later.

Must take him an age to put his makeup on in the morning.