curious

W/e 28 Jan. Much better by Trentham what was run but add the Ellerslie meeting to the unaffordable list.

Might be a mistake? It was advertised for 25k in the programme booklet but 18.5 in the RPG. Definitely a bit odd.

Speaking of feature meetings this weekend, I see there were insufficient noms to run the open 1800 at Riccarton. They didn't even bother to leave the noms open.

It also looks like it has a crest in the centre falling away to the outside rail, not that horses are likely to be racing that far out there

Oh bugger. I'm left handed. It's by the turn OUT of the straight.

Up around the 5/600 from the pics.

It's only 100m x 50m so you might have missed it.

And rightly so it proved. Any sign of the root layer chief?

They are not for dog meetings. Separate system for those according the article above.

Another industry employment case comes to light. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/tribunal-fines-top-horse-trainer-stephen-mckee-10k-for-racist-abuse-of-indian-stablehand/FTB46L25RBHKZPNJDBSEGCRHKQ/

Yes and the farmers of 30 and 40 years ago that had a part in managing racecourses were equally science based and innovative for their time but things have moved on and I don't think anyone is suggesting that 40 year old science should be applied to today's racecourses.

I disagree. I think there are a large number of modern day farmers who would have the capability of managing tracks way better than most seem to be managed at the moment and they would do so in a way similar to the Flemington programme that you cite. That's given they have the resources of appropriate equipment, irrigation systems etc.

BURGIE (T Moseley) - Lost the use of his right iron on jumping, which had come loose after contacting the side of the barrier, with the rider becoming unbalanced and dislodged shortly after, and as a result hampering LORD DARCI. T Mosely was examined by St John paramedics and found to be uninjured.

BOURBON CHIQUE (J Kamaruddin) - Clipped a heel and blundered badly passing the 500 metres, dislodging the rider, who was uninjured. After interviewing riders and reviewing replays, it was established BOURBON CHIQUE was navigating a tight run between runners, lay inwards as the field made the point of the bend, becoming awkwardly placed and clipping the heels of RU BRADAR, dislodging the rider. Stewards were satisfied no rider was at fault and took the matter no further. Lost the two front racing plates during the running.

Good work! Canterbury Racing 27th January 2024 – Race 2 INGLEWOOD STUD AT KARAKA 2024 1200 Metres Due to the malfunction of the starting gates in this race with the cause still undetermined the Canterbury Jockey Club have decided that until Stereline staff can inspect the gates used on this day and conduct a full audit with scheduled maintenance also being done the alternate set of gates the club has available will be used for the next 2 meetings at least

Any updates on these weekly figures Chief?

I shouldn't laugh and I'm glad he's seemingly not hurt. Terry's jumped out of the gates more than most. Hardly likely to just fall off and he was right by the starter if he wasn't ready.

Certainly looks like he lost an iron or broke a leather.

Clipped heels by the look of it. Thought the track looked good.

Open and shut in which direction? Agree that it's surprising there are not more of these cases in the industry from what one hears.

The RIB are responsible for raceday safety matters aren't they? Surely they require assurance that both the track and gates are safe before commencing racedays. Or, have we reverted to the crash test dummy approach to doing that? Recent gate disasters coupled with multiple known (or should have been known) unsafe tracks seem to suggest so.

Hopefully, if the report is correct, there will be some sort of formal reassurance from the club/NZTR/RIB that the gates have been thoroughly checked before we line any more up in them next week or expose starter's assistants to undue risk.

It's everything to do with that according to the report, though irrigation management may have been the cause of the problem.

I'm registered (again). At least it's a free lunch.

It's a mystery to me that the thick layer of roots wasn't evident in the core sampling even if they did that on the Monday, not the day before like they were supposed to? That layer didn't develop in 5 days. Something doesn't add up. And why did that happen? Must be some more fundamental problem if the root zone has amassed so shallowly. Temporary fix may work for now but it's clearly not the panacea track that it was mooted to be.