Doomed

A bit ironic when you consider their main answer to all the industry's problem is to close lots of tracks.

What is the chute you refer to? I always think of the chute as the 1,200m start. Was there another one as well? Sadly most of the surrounds at Riccarton are now housing. At least that explains why the club is now able to boost all of their stakes for low key meetings: I assume that will happen soon as the money comes in for all of the housing.

I think I asked this before, but can't remember the answer. How close is the Awapuni AWT to being ready? Surely given the circumstances, and several months of winter to go, they could rush it open and fire in a few midweekers. Seems a waste of time opening it in the summer time.

It is very seldom that Trentham abandons in the winter time. Trainers know what to expect when they accept there.

Surely if that was the case it would have been clearly explained much earlier in the piece? I suppose at least it means they could probably manage 8 race meetings.

That is the point some of the extreme AWT advocates don't seem to get. Have AWTs by all means, if we can afford them, but as an extra option rather than replacing existing, perfectly suitable, grass track meetings and virtually forcing trainers to race on them.

The big advantage they have in Australia is the multiple layers of racing and the ability to place horses. It is something we have never mastered in NZ, despite our so called tiered racing. I am always amazed at the number of horses Annabel Neasham has going around in low key Sunday races in Queensland, and of course Waller had two in the Rockhampton Cup. Kevin Myers is happy to travel about with his horses and I always used to be impressed at the way Jamie Richards used to support Wairoa and Gisborne. Sadly, the opportunity for that sort of placement and providing something a bit different for owners and horses doesn't really exist much anymore.

I have a vague idea that Foxton's isolation came about because they didn't want to have anything to do with RACE. Is that correct? If it is correct you would think that everyone would agree they showed more intelligence than most.

I know nothing about the people involved, but from everything I read on here RACE seems to be a disaster and disfunctional. If Levin has been asked to join you can almost guess what their answer might be. The indications to date are that these ad hoc regional groupings as a way of supposedly efficiently running various race clubs don't seem to work. They often involve dominant clubs wanting to close down or take advantage in some fashion of the smaller clubs. Often as a means of disguising the poor performance of those dominant clubs. The Otago Southland example I think was reasonably successful. Does it still exist?

Come in Waverley. This is your time to shine, again. There are 4 jumps races at Trentham on Saturday and a midweeker at Woodville so no real need for a replacement meeting. You might say that the Awapuni AWT can't get going soon enough, but the bigger worry is that once it does get going all the regional tracks like Woodville, Waverly and Hawera will probably be closed down. This weekend has been a real indication in the NI that a lot of horses actually want the heavy tracks. Three NI meetings all on really heavy tracks and hardly any scratchings out of the fields. You do wonder where they will race in coming years.

It might be interesting if Te Rapa gets all the rain predicted for tomorrow. I know it does drain well, but I wonder if they are considering Cambridge as an option. One thing we do know is that the meeting won't be abandoned altogether, which I suppose is a bonus. Afterall, the big justification for the AWTs was to stop meetings like Te Rapa being abandoned. They transfer them all the time in Aussie, Ipswich just yesterday. Its a pity Awapuni isn't ready. We might have had the unique situation of two meetings transferred on the same day.

"If you think I've stuffed up with the Warriors, it's nothing compared with what I've done to NZ Racing. And the Warriors were awful to start with, Racing was a viable industry, a much bigger challenge." I'm sure I saw that quote somewhere in the article.

With the state of NSW racing these days you would think there would be more demand for horses that can plough through the mud than horses that are really good on AWTs.

Interesting to compare Ashburton to HB. 11 races at Ashburton with quality fields in the two open races: a rating 89 top weight in the 11 horse stayers race and a rating 101 top weight in the 13 horse open sprint. HB in comparison, the open sprint scrapped due to lack of interest and just 5 nominated for the open stayers, the best of them a rating 78. Only 5 in the 3yo as well. They will be lucky to manage 7 races. You do wonder whether more of these SI meetings deserve Saturday status. It would help turnovers on the SI meetings and provide a much better product for the betting public. Perhaps we are also seeing the consequences of all the racemeetings that have been stripped out of the South in recent years. It certainly looks as if the AWT meetings should have been additional meetings rather than replacing races at Timaru and Oamaru.

To give them credit I do like the way they have split the fields. Makes more sense than heaps of ballots in each race. Gives jockeys and trainers more certainty. I suspect they do have one or two competent people at the actual practical level, it is just that they are poorly led and have to toe an incoherent party line.

I have often asked that question myself. No one has ever been able to explain what level of turnover is needed to make these races self funding and what level of turnover they actually do.

Last track standing Chief. And winter has only just started.

Original entries do get preference, but as you say if they had left entries open it might have attracted a few extra horses who would like to race in a third tier race for $15,000. Wait until something similar happens in the north, they always leave noms open to get the extra race. The big point though is all these horses desperate for a start when they could get an AWT start most weeks. I'm quite surprised NZTR didn't just say f..k off you could have raced on the AWT last week and there's heaps more coming up. NZTR will hate it if they have to run three races, no wonder they didn't leave noms open.

The Riccarton one appears to be a nice enough track - as you would expect for $15m. The problem is that is a "nice enough extra thing to have" for an industry that is booming with cash to burn. It probably wouldn't have been the obvious answer if someone had asked "what would be the best way to spend $15m for SI racing?". It probably wouldn't have even been the obvious answer if someone had asked "what would be the best way to spend $15 at Riccarton?"

It has always been risky being beholden to an A&P association. I think the Waikato trots had similar troubles at Claudelands many years ago.

All the evidence is that the AWTs have been a disaster, especially in the SI where they weren't needed in the first place. Wingatui managed to race on Sunday with a pretty reasonable track, only just heavy, soft in the old terminology. Oamaru last week on a firm track. They struggled to get six races on the AWT. And in the SI they have done everything in their power to force trainers to race on the AWT. It seems to be that horses racing during the winter months actually want the sting out of the track. Who would have thought that. The worst thing though has been the total lack of feedback and interaction from NZTR. They have never revealed turnovers and how they relate to budgets, they have never commented on whether the actual field sizes and numbers are pretty much what they expected. Overall their secret service approach has been very disappointing. They would probably fit in well in Putin's regime.

Yes, they may well run 3 races for that class with two consolations, which is quite interesting. Also interestingly they didn't leave noms open for that race. In the north they usually leave noms open if they are considering splitting a race.

I am intrigued at some of the travel jockeys do for potentially quite small returns. I notice Terry Mosely rode at Riccarton on Thursday, today at Ruakaka with two mounts and then down to Wingatui tomorrow for five mounts. The flight costs to Ruakaka must be horrendous and then off to Dunedin. We all know how much it costs to fly to Dunedin. He has had one miss today with a maiden race still to go. Even if he won both races today his percentages would hardly cover his flight costs. I know he has some connection with the owners of horses up North. Do they cover all of his flight costs? I don't know if jockeys get any special deals from Air NZ, but some of them must certainly clock up a few miles.

Don't worry Chief, the codes don't bother with promotion and marketing. You can tell that by looking at the stands on raceday. So that is one saving.

We have gone beyond expecting. I might seem harsh on NZTR at times, but every indication is that they are incompetent. The only other option is that they are totally in the pocket of certain factions and are eliminating about 70% of the industry to fund the remaining 30%. I don't really subscribe to conspiracy theories though, and you do have to be quite clever to pull off something like that. Every indication is that they aren't that clever, although having said that they are being allowed to do what ever they like because there is virtually no opposition. If NZTR was an incompetent city council (like Tauranga) or a DHB or school board the Govt would sack them and call in a commissioner to run the show, but because the industry as a whole has just laid back and waited to be shafted this is unlikely to happen.