Yogi

Don't know but I'll ask.

Loading Ramp.

I was talking to a local in Havelock North last night at the local and got some more information. There was 10mm of irrigation on top of nearly 3mm of rain on Sunday so basically half an inch of water. The track needed it with the dry weather and the idea was to bring it back a bit as no rain was forecast and they expected the track would improve. It was Soft 7 nomination morning. 15mm rain fell leading up to race day with the track coming back to a Heavy 8 on Withdrawal morning. Between the the 13mm on Sunday another 12mm fell taking the track to a Heavy 8. So an inch of irrigation and rain turned the track heavy. The rain wasn't forecast leading up to raceday and if it hadn't rained the track would have been better than a Soft 7. One comment I thought was interesting was the discussion round the table felt that the penetrometer and moisture meter weren't fit for purpose. The penetrometer is a dog to use and the process is laborious and inaccurate. You can see that in the reading from Wingatui where the track started out as a Heavy 9 and ended up a Heavy 8 after 2mm of rain! With the moisture reading improving!!! Looking on the bright side it is all go now for the August 22 meeting. With 14 weeks to further improve things. Most of locals are really looking forward to it.

Being close to those who put in a lot of hard work to get racing back at HB I find the negativity is well off the mark. But you are right about a general level of disquiet in the community. Often from those who haven't done anything to fix things.

Thanks. I signed up late last year. Was on course when the HB Guineas meeting was abandoned in 2024 and have missed racing in the Bay especially the big race days. Good to see the Club, NZTR and the Flemington adviser have worked to fix the longstanding bend issues at both ends. Only time will tell if it works. The whole track needs renovating but I doubt they will do that if the Greenfields Flaxmere site goes ahead.

I thought yesterdays return to racing at Hastings after 300 days was a positive yet social media has gone crazy complaining. The negativity is depressing and pointless. Sure the track was downgraded to a Heavy 9 but it was already advertised as a Heavy 8 prior to withdrawal time. Seemingly the irrigation was unnecessary although no rain was forecast. So what if the track manager and advisors erred on the side of caution. Imagine the uproar if the meeting was abandoned because a horse slipped because of rain on a dry track. People seem to forget that the work done on the track was limited to fixed the bends where previous incidents occurred and it wasn't a complete makeover. Essentially the track is stuffed and that's why the Greenfields project is proposed. By the by I thought all the critics would be expecting a soft to heavy track this time of year!