curious

A Club is encouraged to arrange track gallops on the course 48 hours prior to the race meeting. A Club must arrange for a track gallop on the course on the morning of the race meeting to reconfirm the declared track rating, unless this is not practical

That seems extremely odd to me when the data in the report was clearly sourced from an audit of the Riccarton track, not Awapuni, though I understand that is to come.

Not unless they do so via a member club. They can't put forward there own motion directly. On any question put to the vote at a General Meeting of Thoroughbred Racing, the number of votes which the Representative of each Club shall be entitled to exercise (if such Club is entitled to vote on such question) shall be one vote for each Race Date which the Club has been allocated in the Racing Year in which the vote is occurring

Effectively, the members of each. They do not have voting rights at the NZTR AGM though, only member clubs do.

The problem is they've done one part of the Messara recommendations without a large part of the other, which was the investment in the remaining tracks during the 6 years over which the closures were to occur. That was to be staggered over that time to allow the wqrk on those tracks to be completed. 1. Reduce the number of existing thoroughbred racing venues in New Zealand over the next 6 years by 20, from 48 to 28 venues, and establish Cambridge as a new synthetic track racing and training venue within 1 year, so making a total of 29 venues. Sell all freehold racecourse land of the closed venues with the proceeds to accrue to NZTR. Maintain racecourses in all regions of New Zealand where racing is currently conducted. Not require any Race Clubs to close but encourage them to race at another venue or merge with another Club. 2. Significantly improve the racing and facilities infrastructure at all remaining tracks over the next 6 years and build 3 synthetic racing and training tracks (including Cambridge) over the next 3 years, at an estimated total cost of about $190 million.

No. An owners Fed rep is there because it is the legislated (Racing Act) rep of the owners, along with the TA and JA.

The problem with that is that the Owners' Federation has less than 500 members of the 15,000 owners and are significantly funded by NZTR ($30,000 per year I think).

Certainly. When we have the head honcho of NZTR saying he doesn't know anything about wagering and that it's Entain's problem, there's not much hope.

What a great interview from both parties. Pity we don't see that quality of journalism on Trackside and elsewhere in the industry.

They'd be at least very brave, if not stupid to go out there again.

It's history. Another botched up patch up job.

Hopefully Flash got a quid on the first at Riccarton after doing his homework.

Looks like a quick strip down the outside rail!

Faster or slower?

I make her my top equal chance with Poetic Champion but cant back either at the current prices.

Unless the subsidy is still insufficient to complete the necessary maintenance.

It could do if the likes of the SPCA and other animal welfare organisations become involved. As of today, he had no reply from authorities according to a facebook post. It's only a W if and when the tracks get fixed.

Firefox

Mine never refreshes unless I do so manually.

It tells us that the fatality rate at Cambridge is .52 but the overall synthetic fatality rate is .81 which suggests that Colin is right and that the Riccarton and/or Awapuni tracks are much less safe as reported by NZTR at the roadshows. It also tells us that the topfill is supposed to be 150mms across the track at all 3 tracks which it clearly is not at Riccarton.

No it doesn't and if you look at your PMs, you'll see that I've asked you about that on more than one occasion but not got an answer Though they may have been posted simultaneously in this case?

https://nztr.co.nz/sites/nztrindustry/files/2024-09/Synthetic surface Review 2021-24.pdf

Synthetic Surface Review Released As we near the end of the 2023/2024 synthetic track season, it is timely to update the industry on the performance of the respective tracks given the Cambridge synthetic track has now raced for three consecutive seasons. The below Synthetic Surface Review includes injury and fatality statistics, as provided by Massey University, and gives further insight into the make-up of all three tracks and the necessary maintenance involved to consistently deliver the highest quality surface. NZTR has a strong focus on animal welfare and, in view of the industry’s significant investment in the three synthetic tracks at Cambridge, Awapuni and Riccarton, has monitored the performance of the tracks from an animal welfare perspective. NZTR constantly reviews the way we operate when it comes to the preparation of tracks, including the three synthetic tracks, and are always looking at how we can improve in this area. In relation to the synthetic tracks, this includes working closely with Martin Collins and importantly utilising the experience gained by Cambridge over the past four years in managing the surface. The lessons learned at Cambridge are conveyed to the other venues to assist with their track preparation techniques. We will continue to monitor data to ensure our venues remain among the safest in the world. We are also improving the transparency and communication of information about the synthetic tracks by moving to publish the Clegg hammer readings prior to raceday for all synthetic track meetings. Clegg hammers record the level of compaction of the synthetic profile. The publication of these readings will give comfort that the tracks are where they need to be and avoid speculation and misinformation filling the void. Corporate Communications New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Contact: Catlyn Calder +64 27 252 2803 nztrcommunications@nztr.co.nz

He's not hard to find if you need to know. Colin Wightman RD 7, Rangiora 7477 C.wightman@xtra.co.nz Phone 0276636401