curious

It's in the paper. A financial contribution from ATR of $3m to NZTR to reflect and support the adjustments the jumping fraternity would have to make off the back of the redevelopment of the Ellerslie track. This saw a $1.5m injection into prizemoney over 5 years (2022 – 2026) and $1.5m being applied towards the reconstruction of the Te Aroha track in 2021/22 That was well spent wasn't it?

I wonder where the $3m actually went?

A financial contribution from ATR of $3m to NZTR to reflect and support the adjustments the jumping fraternity would have to make off the back of the redevelopment of the Ellerslie track.

Correction $3m.

They paid NZTR $1.5m to support jumps racing while they closed to rebuild their track.

The 2021 Directions Paper referred to - which is why there is no longer jumps racing in the SI and proposing new stakes which haven't changed 5 years later despite the Entain 20m a year. 5. Jumps racing Jumps racing has been an important part of the social fabric of racing and supports our desire to connect racing to different communities around the country. While there are challenges with the sustainability of jumps racing, the Board of NZTR continues to support jumps racing and in this context, has worked with stakeholders in developing a set of initiatives designed to improve its sustainability. Despite stakes increases and enhancements to the jumps racing programme, this part of the industry continues to struggle through:  reduced participant numbers;  reduced horse numbers (particularly in certain parts of the country);  being dependent (to a large degree) on support from key stables in the Central Region; and  a lower level of wagering interest, which translates into reduced revenue returns. Following discussions with Auckland Thoroughbred Racing, representatives of the National Jumps Racing Committee and other key stakeholders about the future of jumps racing, NZTR has formulated a set of focused proposals to better enable the sustainability of jumps racing. They are:  Except for the Grand National Festival of Racing at Riccarton Park in early August, there will be no jumps racing in the South Island.  There will be no more than 90 jumps races each season (depending on horse numbers and programming requirements). This represents a reduction in race numbers roughly equal to the number of South Island jumps races no longer held once jumps racing in the South Island is limited to the Grand National Carnival.  NZTR to target total stakes of $2.83m (up from $2.25m), with the following stakes structure:  Maiden races increasing to $20,000;  Restricted Open races increasing to $30,000;  Prestige races set at $60,000;  All races that currently have stakes of above $60,000 to remain at current levels other than the Great Northern Steeplechase and Hurdle, which will both increase from $125,000 to $150,000. “Jumps racing has been an important part of the social fabric of racing and supports our desire to connect racing to different communities around the country.” 26New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Inc loveracing.nz/nztrNZTR Directions Paper Betting on our racing, our venues and initiatives to improve New Zealand thoroughbred racing  Removal of nomination and acceptance fees for feature jumps races.  Te Aroha will become the Northern Region’s key jumps venue once Ellerslie has been reconstructed. Accordingly, jumps races currently held at Ellerslie (including the KS Browne Hurdle, McGregor Grant Steeplechase, Great Northern Hurdle and Steeplechase, Pakuranga Hunt Cup) will all be held Te Aroha. NZTR acknowledges the significant contribution that Auckland Thoroughbred Racing has made in relation to these initiatives to support jumps racing.

30 heats on a heavy 10 at Te Rapa tomorrow! 240 horses.

https://nztr.co.nz/sites/nztrindustry/files/2024-08/Jumps Consultation Industry 05.08.24.pdf

NZTR to Consult on the Future of Jumps Racing New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing has today released a consultation document to aid in deciding the future of jumps racing in New Zealand. The consultation, which will run through to September 6, presents two main options for the future of jumps racing: continuation with a dedicated strategy and additional investment, or a managed wind-down leading to eventual closure. Bruce Sharrock, NZTR Chief Executive Officer, has asked those involved in jumps racing to carefully consider the document and provide feedback with their preferred option. “Jumps racing in New Zealand is at a crossroads and as an industry we now need to decide what path we should take. Unfortunately, the economic reality means doing nothing is not an option,” said Sharrock. “We are asking participants to carefully read the document, understand the situation we’re currently facing, and ultimately provide feedback on their preferred option.” The consultation document outlines the work that has been done to arrest the decline in the participation of jumps racing as well as the broader contribution jumps racing makes to the thoroughbred racing industry. A number of reasons for the need to consult are laid out, supported by statistical analysis. These include: Decline in Jumps Racing Participation and Races: ● The number of jumps races in New Zealand has decreased from 122 in FY10 to just 61 in FY23. This decline mirrors a reduction in the participant base. Wagering Statistics: ● In the 2022/2023 season, the average turnover for flat races was $162k, significantly higher than the $91k average for jumps races. This disparity highlights a major challenge in the sustainability of jumps racing. Decline in Community Participation: ● The number of trainers participating in jumps racing has dropped from 146 in FY10 to just 54 in FY23. Similarly, the number of jockeys has halved over the same period. Only 22 jockeys were involved in FY23. Challenges in Jumps Racing Infrastructure: ● An audit revealed that the infrastructure supporting jumps racing is, at best, average. Riccarton Park remains the only South Island venue for jumps races. Sharrock emphasised that no decision will be made until 31 October 2024 and called for those responding to the consultation to give feedback on whether there were aspects of jumps racing that the document had not considered. “We encourage all participants and stakeholders to have their say. In particular, we would like to understand if their level of investment or participation is likely to change over the next 12 – 24 months and whether those participants would consider involvement with a dedicated investment strategy,” said Sharrock. “At this stage this is purely a consultation, and no decision has been made. Once the consultation closes, NZTR will spend some time analysing the responses and further working groups will take place before a final decision is made by 31 October 2024.” Those interested in responding to the consultation can download and review the consultation document using the link below. Feedback needs to be submitted by September 6, 2024 Corporate Communications New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Contact: Catlyn Calder +64 27 252 2803 nztrcommunications@nztr.co.nz

Back-scratching or back-handers?

Well where's the evidence for you to conclude that turf tracks can't be beaten? And yes, I consider Strathayrs to be turf i.e. grass, though I'm not clear how that matters.

My point is that when you said "you can't beat a turf track", that's not the case on an equine safety basis. Synthetics are well demonstrated to be safer, especially Tapeta. I still don't understand why they put polytracks in here in preference. That's why the NYRA are installing Tapeta at all their tracks after extensive investigation per the headpost. There is no evidence anywhere that I have seen that turf tracks are safer or more reliable in any way, and you haven't produced any.

I don't see how .42 per 1000 is higher than 1.9 per 1000?

Yeahh sorry. Think it should be .63/1000 and .42/1000 respectively.

Georgopoulos SP, Parkin TD. Risk factors associated with fatal injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses competing in flat racing in the United States and Canada. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2016 Oct 15;249(8):931-939. doi: 10.2460/javma.249.8.931. PMID: 27700272.

New Veterinary Medicine Findings from University of Glasgow Outlined (Risk factors associated with fatal injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses competing in flat racing in the United States and Canada). (2016, October 31). Veterinary Week, 48. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A468461947/AONE?u=anon~6c7c13b2&sid=sitemap&xid=b08f0d6b

Read again. "after about 4,500 starts over Tapeta there have been only two fatalities during races" That's 2, not 22. It's only on the Tapeta. Yes, they do have one of the safest turf tracks but nowhere near as safe as the main Tapeta track.

Incidence of fatalities on racedays (variously defined as racedays only up to 72 hours post racing). As opposed to injuries otherwise from gallops or other work. It's per horse start. So 4500 individual starters in the above data.

When I say that the synthetic data continues to improve due to improvements in surface composition and management, if you look at the Woodbine Tapeta data above from 2017, it shows a fatal injury incidence of .63%, nearly twice as safe as the synthetic average. The 2022 figures from Woodbine show a raceday incidence now of .42%. While horses throughout North America broke down on the dirt at a rate of 1.44 per 1,000 starts in 2023, the rate of breakdowns over the synthetic surface at Woodbine was 0.42. This year, after about 4,500 starts over Tapeta there have been only two fatalities during races. Also, there have been about 14,000 published workouts over Woodbine's synthetic tracks and only two fatalities there.

I think you'll find that dozens of studies all show the same thing and confounding variables such as you mention have been investigated in various of those, though we are relying on averages of each track type here and Freda's point about differences between individual tracks can't truly be accounted for. In NZ and Oz there's not enough events per track to get a decent sample size and there is still day to day variation in those. Work has been done though in meta analyses that attempts to account for the multifactorial nature of race track injuries in epidemiological modelling. That includes age and age at first start, sex, race class, first starts, number of starts and number of gallops, cumulative distance worked and raced, track surface type and track condition, race distance, and field size. While there is variance in findings, I know of no studies that show turf to be safer than AWTs and the AWT data continues to improve. Generally, most studies show the opposite and are reported with p-values and confidence intervals. The below is probably typical of contemporary findings.

I don't think so because that was self-funded by the club, at least mostly. Didn't include the Cambridge AWT either as that was already funded and underway. Probably includes the NZTR contribution to the other 2 AWTs. As I read it, this was the budget for the NZTR track renovation spend from then. @TAB For Ever will know.

Not many I knew at the coal face supported it, and it hasn't been implemented anyway. It was supposed to be a six year track reduction plan accompanied by a "required program of renovation at the remaining tracks throughout New Zealand. The cost of this program is calculated at about $190 million and I believe this would be broadly consistent with estimates made by NZTR if only 28 tracks were to be retained." I think part of this has largely gone missing in the implementation to date.

Couldn't be better by the sound of it.

Couldn't find anything wrong with it. Rotorua The Abandonment Review Committee have received reports from the RIB, RTA and NZSTI following the partial abandonment of the Rotorua Raceday held Thursday 25 July. We have also viewed stewards’ footage of the incident which was inconclusive as to whether a racing incident played a significant role in the horse losing its footing. Testing of the area has found no material concerns or abnormalities with the surface in that particular area given the time of year nor was the area significantly different to the rest of the track. The Committee also found no fault in the preparation of the track by the Club. Therefore full funding will be paid on the meeting.

TRACKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE Rotorua The Abandonment Review Committee have received reports from the RIB, RTA and NZSTI following the partial abandonment of the Rotorua Raceday held Thursday 25 July. We have also viewed stewards’ footage of the incident which was inconclusive as to whether a racing incident played a significant role in the horse losing its footing. Testing of the area has found no material concerns or abnormalities with the surface in that particular area given the time of year nor was the area significantly different to the rest of the track. The Committee also found no fault in the preparation of the track by the Club. Therefore full funding will be paid on the meeting. NZTR, RIB, NZJA and Rotorua Racing have agreed the following return to racing protocols prior to racing returning on Sunday 18 August: Machinery has been put through the track post raceday. The whole track has been verti-drained and the corer used where necessary. 8 Horses will Gallop over the affected area to the RIB’s approval, on Monday 12 August. Pukekohe NZTR are working with Northern Raceday Services to investigate options around the delivery of the Starting Gates to mitigate a similar issue occurring in future. In the northern region there are now permanent Starting Gates at Ruakaka, Avondale, Ellerslie, Te Rapa (we are looking at relocating their previous set to possibly Matamata). The redistribution of current permanent & transportable gates is being worked through as the new Industry Funded gates are commissioned across the country. Awapuni The Awapuni project is continuing to progress well, with slit drains (connecting the laterals) and final works planned to commence the first week of September. We are now looking at what the return to racing protocols will look like and the final schedule for Awapuni over those first 6 months which are critical in the long term success of the track. Further information will be provided on the return to Racing timelines once these have been agreed with NZ Sports Turf Institute and the RACE Inc. Ellerslie Six horses galloped at Ellerslie on Monday 15 July, all in attendance were very happy with the progress of the surface, this included Chris Hay (Elwick Racecourse). As per last month’s update the renovation work is on track for a return to racing in September.