Huey

Youre probably not making some other venue look bad though.

Point is , it wouldn't matter . Woodville are clearly not part of the "progress" these gurus are bringing forth to finally sink the industry.

Doesn't seem like the type of guy who likes posh people?

They seem very risk averse at any venue that doe not fit onto their farcical venue plan simple as that really. See Woodville for an example, used to be ok to have meetings at these venues but they are most certainly not allowed to be successful or popular 😉

Wow that really is hard to believe and completely ridiculous , as many already know the calendar is an utter farce. All the same , plenty of AWT racing programmed in the SI to keep racing fans on the edge of their seats I presume?

So does anyone know if "Fairy Flash" was able to get to an internet cafe on Stewart Island to submit his RIB report?

Clearly the plan is to race for big stakes at Mega Clubs, but NZ racing being what it is those in charge don't seem to understand that there needs to be a platform there for that sort of thing to happen. You can't just anniliate the base and expect things to continue as they have in the past , it doesn't and won't work like that. For every action there is a reaction and thats something our industry leaders are incapable of understanding. Watch what happens when Mr Greenshoots begins his rationalisation program , then you'll really get to see the strength or lack thereof the industry. One only has to look at the ATC for a preview of what is to come.

Venture to say it sums up a large % of the nz training scene, not just the SI.

Especially given who the poster is - Fairy Flash !

Lets make a list of those trainers(2022 onwards) etc who haven't heard about the benefits AWT racing, a new licensing regime , Super Club mergers and asset rationalisation amongst a plethora of other initiatives (green shoots) being rolled out in NZ to take this sport to the next level ! (that level may go up or down and is subject to change without notice), any I've missed to date? J. Richards Taplins E & D Browne Colletts

Could NZ racing get big enough noms for an 8 race card on the AWT of this?

Isn't Bernard now well on his way home? We have a new CEO now & he is gonna try and finish what Bernard started!

Surely it falls firmly into the hands of the stipes on the day to make sure it all works, lack of staff obviously an issue but that's where some adjustments may need to be made. Lack of experienced gate staff going to become an issue like the riders are in the industry, these sorts of things always going to become an issue with or without the influence of covid , this happens when you have an industry fixated on the trivial and incapable of delivering anything of substance in the actual operational side of things.

Appears to me and many others I've spoken with the only thing he is going to bring to the job is the theft of community assets.

You gotta love how they are always saying its an alternative option for trainers if the weather and track surfaces get too bad, I bet no trainers will start there horses on it if they don't like it no matter what. I didn't think it possible but the new CEO speaks more Corporate style BS than all his predessors put together.

Just in case anyone missed out on the Cambridge style hoopla(PR) for Riccarton AWT well here it is ... and remember its just a "Tool"

One thing for certain you can bet on in the NZ racing industry, the calendar will be worse than the year before .

One gets the feeling they'll run out of tracks at some point, using Otaki will put more pressure on that track which will lead to the ineviatable.

I realise how lucky we were to have what we had prior to covid destroying Radio Sport which was great & trackside.

Not only that the spread of horse from the turn to the finish line is an awful look. Don't know about anyone else but the racing just looks wrong and a tad cruel on the AWT (witness several horses under a ride a long way out). It just looks homogenised and it has that greyhouds look to it.

61 starters at the point whereby enthusiasm should be at its highest, as I've said before simply cannot see it doing anything positive for the industry & in effect it'll largely drive people out of the industry at an accelerated rate. I'm gonna say it now , I find it an awful watch.

Perhaps not, but such is the depth of racing in NZ that every race meeting should be. Particularly when they are taking away meetings from better locations. We will get to stage and I think it won't take long in the SI , where meetings are scheduled at the AWT and noms are very low with trainers holding off for the more established venues particularly on the grass and then owners/trainers will just give up having horses in work sitting around doing nothing. What the powers that be don't seem to realise is that opinions on the AWTs are polarizing , if a horse has a poor run on the surface they are unlikely to support them running on that surface again or reduce participation all together ( as you say goal achieved).

It actually makes my tiny brain hurt just to think how stupid an idea it is to have an AWT in the SI.

All one can do now is sit back and enjoy the watching the trainwreck or pretend everything is great like plenty do.

Wise move... yeah right! A wise move would be to find another venue.