curious

Don't know. Just says it was for Rangiora.

I think verti-draining is a pragmatic annual or maybe bi-annual turf management process to support soil structure, root development, drainage and aeration, and this seems to have been pre-scheduled in that vein, not a reaction to current events.

How the hell could that happen. You've got starters, starters' assistants, stipes and jockeys and no-one noticed? Shouldn't those races be annulled?

What would that rate? About a Good 3?

Maybe. When did the rain fall? The idea is to pull the pin BEFORE horses start slipping isn't it?

If it doesn't work for racing here, could you just take the fibre off (if it hasn't already blown away in a nor'wester) and use it for motor racing or something?

That's what used to happen and for the most part still does in Oz. Certainly on the dairy farm next door to me. They also raced on those tracks at times their climate and soil structure etc. was most likely suited to.

No the purpose of deep aeration is to get the necessary root structure developed as you say. And their application needs to be horizontal to the direction of the compaction traffic not just drive them round the track half a dozen times.

Yes I mentioned that earlier. They were there whomever owns the galloping strip. Don't have much problem with ones on the outside. Just the inside ones seem a bit odd when trialling horses pulling up usually move toward the centre of the track approaching the crossing anyway.

This was a Foxton trained horse. May have had nothing to do with it and perhaps they use the traffic cones there now but I've never seen them on the gallop tracks. They always used white marker pegs and that was what they were using the last couple of times I was there in recent weeks and I've ridden quite a few gallops on that track in the last 20 years. If it was regrassed, why not just move the rail out? It was already out 3m wasn't it?

No idea. Not so bad on the outside strip in the straight but many horses would not have seen them before.

I don't know who it was riding the horse that caused the injury but I also feel for them. Hard to not be thinking would've/could've/should've done something different. Also hard to dodge a flying rolling object on a speeding horse. I hope it wasn't and don't know but I don't think the cones on the inside of the track from the finishline are a good or safe idea. That's why they have moveable rail.

What a FUp.

Why is there no irrigation? Groundhogs won't work very well on hard ground, at least mine doesn't, so why would they be doing that now when they have no moisture?

Thanks mate. Just saw this. NZ Herald By: Michael Guerin One of New Zealand's leading jockeys Rosie Myers is in an induced coma in Wellington Hospital after a freak accident at the Foxton trials today. The 33-year-old jockey was airlifted to hospital after being dislodged when her horse veered sideways 150m after winning heat 11 at the trials meeting and it is believed a rival horse following her contacted her head straight after the fall. Paramedics were on the scene to treat Myers who was believed to have been knocked out in the incident. "Rosie has just been moved to the ICU," her husband William Fell told the Herald form Wellington Hospital tonight. "She has been in the induced coma since before she was flown here and hasn't been brought out of that. "The doctors are saying she has some fractures around her face but it looks like there is no fractures in any other parts of her body. "So we have been told to wait to see what happens in the next 12-24 hours but at this stage she doesn't need an operation." The accident was extremely unusual in that it happened after the trial had been run and the horses were slowing down to turn around and return to the stables. Myers's mount ducked sideways, she was dislodged and the horse following her struck her. Trials are conducted under race-like conditions to educate horses or improve their fitness and the Racing Integrity Unit steward in charge of the meeting Neil Goodwin said the incident was minor in how it unfolded but Myers was simply unlucky.

And you don't think that had anything to do with the state of the Riccarton track since 1998?

Any update on her?

As a former member, owner and local trainer there, I was asking the questions 20 years ago. No constructive answers or actions. I wouldn't expect anything different now.

Yes they do and yes they will but who will ask the questions?

Probably because it's easy pickings when many won't risk their horses on that track. There's a fair number of good owners, trainers and horses moved away since they rooted it (or should I say unrooted it?) 20 some years ago.

I saw a lot of Grey Ways wins and most were not on the concrete and dust we saw at Riccarton yesterday.

It's been like that for 30 years. Was pretty decent prior.

Tony, would you mind putting up the business case for how an AWT at Awapuni will improve the sustainability for CD racing please?

I don't know either. Tony, Darryl would be the man to call to answer your questions since he is the course manager. The drainage is a lot better than most courses but when the water table is high which is rare, It doesn't drain and yes that has a tidal aspect. The training tracks also need work. I don't think a mil can fix that anymore than 10mil can fix Awapuni or that either will make any difference to the success of CD racing. The trial cancellations imo have not been because the track was unsafe but that the club needed to preserve and maintain the surface especially given that the course proper is used by trainers for gallops which is why trials are generally run with cones to preserve the outside strip for that while the rest recovers. As far as I am aware the FRC has taken up every offer of assistance from NZTR. That's why they have new plastic running rail, their own modern gates for trials and a refurbished stand and have accepted their position as a training and trial facility. What else do you think the club could have done?