Huey

No but I rate them as far more important than fancy facilities for owners, not to mention they are integral parts of the sport with regards to getting a return. I may have missed the first part of your post, but I tought you were saying you'd prefer better facilities for owners or consider them more important than the tracks etc?

Don't agree, you'll never get the chance in NZ racing circles unless youre in the club. Best you can hope for is having the hoi pill take your ideas as their own.

For me making sure you're horse is getting the opportunity to perform to the best of its abilities on a safe, unbiased track/surface (nothing worse than lane racing or concerns about the safety of your pride and joy) is absolutely paramount in driving the purchase decision for another horse. Next would be the programming , calendar & handicapping would be of the the utmost importance. All of these(if done right) should also generate wagering on the product surely? If you want the fancy dining etc why don't you take your tablet or laptop and go and watch your horse race while eating out in a Michelin Star restaurant?

What would noms accs be for Doomben Cup? Not to mention cost of having her there. I'd say they'd be dipping into the kitty.

Where did I bag the horse out, nothing but respect for her, but still confused as to what the point of the entire campaign was, I guess by your reply you understand it all?

What's up with Sweeney commenting on the apprentice ride on the 2nd horse? I notice he does this a fair bit when it comes to apprentice riders, but not senior jocks , particularly his own

Seriously what was the point in running her in that race today? She picked up the stragglers only by the looks of it.

Be likely to lose days to the AWT if push came to shove I'd have thought. What you state however is exactly the type of analysis & thinking the industry should have been doing long before the AWT came about. Unfortunately on the racing side we simply do not have the leadership to think outside the square or even listen for that matter.

I'd fix it with a little bit of "vibe"!

At a time when the industry has a really good "vibe" about it , well its just the "vibe" thats all.

Different scenario entirely imo, particularly with the NP M cases having already been identified. One thing I've noticed is the TA situation was kept very quiet in the media , this one no problem being thrown out there , why is that?

Was thinking along the same lines yesterday, its clear the quality animals in Aus don't go to these tracks to race on.

I got the impression yesterday , that they really don't care if they work or not from a punting or financially successful perspective, they intend on selling up the family jewels to do whatever it is they deem to be the right thing no matter what. How long until people are really bored of watching the stuff?

Of course its ok if youre in the club or part of the agenda, the no facilities was only used on clubs they desperately wanted to find a reason to rid the industry of of via the venue plan.

The worst part here will be they will do anything and everything to justify producing those AWT tracks, they gave themselves a huge pat on the back yesterday off the back of holding one race meeting. To me (and also some of the unfounded propaganda) this shows how desperate they are for these to prove their worth, one only had to listen to the gushing praise of Rodley , trainers and jockeys almost rehearsed at times. I just can't get my head around them if the Australians don't rate them, as someone else pointed out on the other site NSW don't have one , thats rather telling imo. Despite what anyone says the punters have got to love them surely, that is for them to work out, despite what anyone else thinks of them. But here is hoping something works in the industry for the people that will be putting the show on (hopefully) in years to come, cause not much appears to be.

I watched it and after a couple of races it was what I expected, very boring racing. I hope it works out for all concerned and if others enjoy it then good luck to them, it needs to work out for the industry sake. The coverage today was like watching an infomercial for NZ racing though, hopefully they cool it a bit on the hype. I hope everyone isn't going early crow too . Here is hoping for all concerned its the racing nirvana its made out to be.

How much are the presenters going out of their way to claim this is the best thing ever!

Because nothing is based on any analytical data its all just guess work and finger in the air. I've often wondered why they couldn't announce before a race meeting which races or that a certain number of races will be split at a meeting if there are X noms. As you say just absolutely clueless. Get ready for the massive PR drive over the next few weeks regarding racing on the exciting new AWT !

Don't worry the PR around it will all be good, that much for certain.

Exactly right Freda and there is no way the big clubs will reciprocate that subsidisation even the ARC , they will want something for it nothing is more certain. Despite the fact many of them are incapable of surviving without subsidisation and when the public work out their fun xmas racing is just some standardised diluted fare instead of the country summer racing they have supported so well over the years, well you'd expect interest in the sport to fall through the floor. Not to mention participation levels which will be negatively impacted by this approach taken by the likes of NZTR. I struggle to see how anything being done is good for the future of racing in this country, like all good businesses the industry should have been stripped down to the levels where is worked financially , instead they have chosen a route to rid the industry of the parts that keep it in motion.

I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of the turf at Awapuni in favour of the AWT, nothing surprises in this industry anymore.

Yes I'm very suspicious of anything the Australians haven't progressed with, they seem to get a lot right in the way they run their industry. But look out we'll show them with some great kiwi ingenuity and outstanding Australian leadership ... not!

Yes our AWT are better than the tracks that have sustained the industry for years, well thats what many would have you believe - I fail to understand why. I've always been an advocate for better planning and better use of existing assets, unfortunately we've never had any decent leadership to enforce this thinking as the parochialism rife in the industry wouldn't allow it .

Exactly the point I've been trying to make to many, we all know how the pyramid scheme will be kept going via the provinces, give them a hiding from a racing perspective then make the argument they are no longer worth keeping going ... Kachingching!!!

I understand that is the premise behind it, but increase interest to the extent they can run ave. $100k races? Seems a bit outlandish to me. and yet we seem to be heading in the opposite direction.