jess

.. ha ha ... and these gamblers - should they participate - go into a draw (a bit like a wee lottery?) to win some prizes! ... 😝

Hmmm. Yes I suspect the rocks were "imported" - & if so, certainly an issue of quality control there. But what did the contract stipulate? Did the sand (or whatever) have to come from a particular source & meet stipulated specs - or were things a little more "loose" (leaving little or no "come-back" on any contractors/suppliers). Is the devil in the detail - maybe the contractors are not the only ones to be found wanting when it comes to rocks in the track (& rocks in some heads too) Chief - I'm no expert but I've seen lots of different types of sand (crushed shell sand, golden beach sand, iron sand, fine river sand etc) - I'm assuming all sand is not created equal & it's a particular kind that's needed for a racetrack? If so - even regardless of the rocks - was this the correct one - from a designated source? I never expected the track to be perfect for the first meeting - and I think we all agree someone yielded to pressure & went too soon on it. But I find it utterly frustrating after all this money - all this time - all this hope! - to be in this parlous situation. And it's even worse to be fed this b.s from Corporate Comms - treated like fools - and to see not an ounce of responsibility (let alone accountability or contrition) from anyone. If no-one's prepared to acknowledge what/how/why it went wrong - we can't expect it now to go right (for the remediation). And while we're on CD tracks - still the promised report on the synthetic is missing in action (I know your views there Chief) - and we continue to be treated like mushrooms over the goings on at Otaki. I try to remain fairly moderate in the way I express my views here but my frustration, despair and yes, anger is starting to rise to the top. I'd like to head to the bar about now but I've got to get back to work - cos it's bloody expensive having horses in work - even when there's nowhere much to race them ... let alone the extra $ it costs to go further afield ... let alone less opportunities to race handy & get some stakes ... I'll settle for putting some tonic in the fridge & check in later on ... J.

My response to this terrible piece of spin-doctoring. If anyone can answer any of the questions - I'd love to hear it - sure as hell won't be holding my breath for answers from Corporate Communications, NZTR. RACE Awapuni Remediation Progressing Under Specialist Oversight New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) and RACE Inc. are continuing the maintenance and remediation work on the RACE Awapuni course proper, with weekly management meetings underway between RACE, NZTR and international racecourse specialists, Callum Brown and Liam O’Keefe. Were these specialists "experts" involved in the development of the track (including the decision it was ready to race on @Anzac) - or have they just been brought in subsequently? As part of this process, alternative machinery is being trialled to address compaction issues identified within the track profile. Why is a brand new track - barely galloped on - experiencing compaction problems? This is particularly important given the presence of stones beneath the surface, which limits the use of certain tines on the verti-drain machine. Are they stones or rocks? Where did they come from? - was the new track laid on top of them - or were they imported with the material used to make the new track? I assume it is the longer tines that now can't be used? - if so - will verti-draining with other tines still be effective? What's being done about the rest of the rocks still lurking under the surface? The course proper at RACE Awapuni requires decompaction through intensive remediation work to ensure it is safe for racing in the long term. As organic material begins to build beneath the surface, the track will become easier to manage, with less frequent and intensive maintenance required. Excuse my ignorance - Chief maybe you can help here - what's the process by which organic matter builds below the surface of this type of track? - a track that apparently we are going to dump more sand onto? This approach is similar to the work at Ellerslie Racecourse, where an extensive verti-drain process is routinely carried out prior to raceday to support surface performance. Similar to Ellerslie" - only Ellerslie presumably doesn't have rogue rocks like Awapuni? NZTR CEO Matt Ballesty commented, “We are treating the RACE Awapuni situation with the seriousness it warrants and working closely with the right people to get the best outcome for our participants, punters and for the future of racing in the Central Districts,” he said. (Corporate Communications wahwah) - and how many of these experts and "right people" are the same ones who helped get us in this mess in the first place? NZTR and RACE Inc. are completing the scheduled work programme and continuing to test different decompaction techniques and machinery, in accordance with advice from Liam O’Keefe and Callum Brown. At this stage, there is still a target to return to RACE Awapuni in late August 2025, with a standardised racing programme expected to follow across the upcoming 2025/26 season. However, both organisations remain committed to proactive decision-making should the track’s progress warrant any adjustments to this plan. “A safe return to racing is our number one priority,” added Ballesty. “We’re closely monitoring how the track responds to the remediation work and will make an early call on the RACE Awapuni programme if any material issues arise before the beginning of the new season.” “Clear communication with participants and Clubs is a priority as we work through this,” Ballesty said. Liam O’Keefe will return to RACE Awapuni on Monday 9 June to carry out further testing and surface assessments. A revised work programme will be agreed upon following this visit and we will inform the next phase of remediation activity. As above - Corporate Comms doing their thing. It leaves me with little confidence - provides few answers - & certainly not the slightest whiff of accountability. And before you jump down my throat Chief - without accountability & an honest analysis of the facts - a genuine understanding of our predicament & how we got here - how on earth can we have faith in the people & plans engaged to get us out of it. Jess Corporate Communications New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Contact: Emma Thompson +64 21 071 2929 nztrcommunications@nztr.co.nz

Ha! Not only have threads I started disappeared - but where I've contributed to others - my posts have vanished. Jess has been cancelled! Ha ha .... never mind .... bye for now everyone - if this post makes it through ... 🤪 J.

You've alluded in the past, & seem to have some knowledge in this area Chief & even as a layperson in the discipline - it's not hard to make sense of it. So it's a good read. Sounds to me like a truckload of money has been spent to produce inferior versions elsewhere, of what nature had (better) provided in a place like Foxton - requiring from there, simply an effective irrigation system & regular, informed & capable maintenance. (considerations of population base & general infrastructure notwithstanding ...)

Recycling - sustainability - you know, Wingers - all that present-day stuff 😝 "One CEO fits all" - don't have to know what kind of widgets ya makin' - pokies - toothpaste - burgers - a whole nation's TB racing industry - same difference ya know. Pop it on the CV - update your Linked In profile - cash the cheques (ka-ching!) - & move right along. It's the core skills that count. Apparently ....

... & the newly minted ones won't be around long enough to be held accountable for their performance (or lack of) ... `tis the way of the world ....onward & upward to the next executive role - & never a backward glance. From what I can see - CEOs are the ultimate in recycled resources ....

Chief - yes - but you did rather dissect/disembowel the Beau's text .... respect, Chief - just bearing in mind you have the iron hand here - happy to loan you a velvet glove in which to encase it ... Best, Jess

If you have officials referring to this time of year as the "off season" - I think you have all the info you need about the state of things

DB - am enjoying your posts. I wish you & your wife the very best. And success for your horse too - that is a much lesser thing than your wife's health but I know the joy & lift in spirits one's horse racing well can confer - so good luck to all 3 of you. Kind regards, J.

I've been thinking about all the turmoil - the tracks - the abandonments - the increasingly challenging environment for industry participants - starting with the owners. I can't help thinking how stark & "loud" the silence from the leadership is becoming. We get carefully crafted responses to each catastrophe or "incident" signed by "Corporate Communications Team" - but where it the response to what is growing into somewhat of a crisis? Apologies if that's over-dramatic - but I guess I'd just expect more than just one-off, knee-jerk responses every time we lurch from one "oopsie" to the next. Given an organisation of this size - with what's at stake - with the number of people whose employment relies upon it - with the infrastructure owned - the size & salaries of its management - I would have hoped for a more strategic response - encompassing short, medium & long term strategies. J.

Hi Doomed - I left the other channel because it too often descended into toxic nastiness & combined with issues of integrity - ultimately it was no longer something I enjoyed or wanted to be a part of. I suspect I am not alone. But those basic facts aside - I don't feel the need to bag them constantly - I simply withdrew & left them to it - & I'm sure, tbf - they probably barely noticed I'd gone, let alone missed my presence! Now & again even here, ppl can get carried away & inclined to play the man & not the ball (topic). I'm all for robust debate but when it turns into sniping & personal jibes - it turns me off - I abandon the thread - & sometimes the site for a while too! This community could potentially be quite a strong lobbying force - it certainly includes some smart, knowledgeable, experienced & well reasoned people whose opinions & thoughts I enjoy & value (& at times wish the industry "leaders" would tune into). You are right Doomed - the ppl running the channel do put a lot into it & we appreciate that & most of the time, we enjoy participating. It can be a fine line between between censorship & free speech. Like the rest of us - the forum bosses have their own opinions - which of course they are free to air - & sometimes their own allegiances - which they sometimes try to conceal/deny I imagine sometimes it's not easy to balance it all for the good of the forum - especially bearing in mind the boss ultimately has the power (over all of us) - & effectively, the loudest voice in the room. But the culture or vibe of the forums does come largely from the top - so if the forum bosses do descend into the sort of behaviors I've described - one or two may enjoy the bitching that ensues - but for 90%+ of us - we are the losers when things take that turn. J.

Things are getting desperate. Tracks dropping like flies (for various reasons) - and as the few remaining options do their best to soak up the racing programme - and winter approaches - I expect some of these will fall victim to the increased frequency of racing. There are race-days scheduled for the Awapuni AWT starting this month - will these go ahead? If so, how well patronised will they be? I don't know the answers. It feels like we're playing musical chairs on the Titanic -whilst chairs are being heaved overboard one at a time - and the players are increasingly desperate to find a chair with fewer & fewer available. And a feeling of impending doom pervades the deck, with the fear that the whole ship may shortly succumb to the stormy seas & sink without trace. Something I wondered about in terms of a short term measure - where we have some serviceable & safe tracks currently used for training - could we use these for racing? I don't know enough about all the venues but I imagine it would be a bridge too far to invite the public to attend some of these where the public facilities have long since fallen into disrepair. But would it be possible to accommodate the essential participants(& steeds) at some of these venues - sans public entry? So at least provide racing for the TV audience, the punters, the trainers & the owners. It may not be feasible but don't we have to start at least considering some options? To the executive team & the CEO who tells us he is so "excited" to lead us all into the future - now would be a good time to show some leadership, initiative, innovation - & start earning those handsome salaries doing something other than just talking their talk & issuing spin via the Corporate Communications Team. Much more of this & I reckon a lot of CD owners will start thinking of just cutting their losses & turning their horses out. Cometh the hour - cometh the man? Haven't seen it yet but ever hopeful ....needs to happen soon though ... J

Thanks for posting that Chief - listened to it despite my misgivings about the host. Perhaps an appropriate host though (the in-jokes & innuendo man-to-man, bonding over sexual exploits etc - whatever floats your boat, fellas). And with some considerable effort I was pleased the host finally got his head round why he was called Opie ... Anyway - good luck to OP. Hope he enjoys reflecting on his huge success on the track - his retirement & whatever comes next. J.

I struggled to make sense of of this or follow the logic of the explanations - but it could just be me. Someone please remind me what was the last official word re the "enquiry" into the Awapuni synthetic? If the report is overdue as someone suggested, that doesn't bode well. Maybe bad news to come? - or bad news being spun into not-so-bad news so it "lands" better with the stakeholders ( don't ya hate the corporate bs-speak). Would be a tough pill to swallow to have zero racing options at the track after all this. Poor old Central District. Have a look at the programme & try to chart a course over the next few months for a galloper who's currently in work. The options are not plentiful ....

Prescient comment Special ...

Spot on. Great point re Kate - straight with the camera + microphone in her face immediately after a race when her horse has nearly fallen on the turn. I note the CEO of NZTR had the luxury of several hours & the services of the corporate comms team to craft his response .... and it was in writing (so no questions from the floor - control the narrative & all that ....)

Thx Special. That 100% accords with what I had heard from ppl much closer to the action there on a day to day basis than I am. Yet the CEO said "I trust that, while understandably frustrated, all participants will continue to show respect towards the track staff and club management. A significant amount of effort, resources, and consultation from track management, consultants, and officials has gone into preparing the track for racing, and the recent setback was entirely unforeseen." Please note the last 2 words - "entirely unforseen" Either 1. You & I are making things up, Special about all this talk of track issues - or 2. Ppl have had concerns but no-one has spoken truth to power - or - 3. That press release yesterday is utterly disingenuous. You choose which ...

Special - not sure who you were hanging out with - but being on course - did you hear murmurings before Race 1? Even the hosts were talking about nervousness ... seemed a little unconvinced ... Bevan when he talked about having walked out there said something about how it LOOKS good - with a bit of an emphasis on the "looks" part of the statement - which I wondered at the time whether he was implying it might look better than it actually was ... Just interested because the NZTR Corporate Comms release said it was a real surprise what happened - but was it?

Something I wonder about is how they are always talking about applying "foliar sprays" to keep the grass growing nicely. Track manager mentioned this again in the chat before the day was underway. Wouldn't we want the grass to be getting what it needs from the soil - urging those roots to go down to get the nutrients & water to grow strong & thrive? Or is that not possible when the grass (of a type not naturally adapted & bred to grow at the beach) is largely being asked to grow in sand? - there's not much of anything down there for it so it has to be constantly fed "from the top"? If this is the case - won't we end up with shallow roots, pretty, but fragile grass on top of a friable & unstable substrate liable to break apart? Or perhaps this is just something required in the early stages when the sward is new? I just wonder what will encourage the sward to have a strong base (root structure) & not just a pretty "top"? If there is a lot of sand - what else is going to bind it so if doesn't fall to bits? When I watched Kate's horse on the replay - you could actually see the hoof hit the ground & a massive divot was released & went flying - so suddenly the horse's foot was no longer where it had placed it - the earth had moved (so to speak) - and it lost its footing. As I suspected - not the classic skid or slip marks to evidence a "slip". And the report didn't mention chunks of earth & pretty grass missing (which I guarantee was there to be seen ...) (full disclaimer - not an expert in the field by any means - feel free to put me straight if I'm talking rubbish .. nicely if you can 🤣 ... )

I'm glad we have moved on from criticisng what Kate (or any other jockey) said yesterday. They picked her out to be interviewed (appropriate given what occurred, I'd have thought). She can comment on what she wants - & ppl can take it or leave it. As far as I'm concerned - the REAL issue is about what happened yesterday with that track - how we got here - and where we've going from here.

Yep Curious - seeing all those clods flying on a Good 4 was a surprise to me - and not a pleasant one .... that in itself suggested all was not well.

I think what that says is - it's disappointing, deeply disappointing and extremely disappointing (did I get all the disappointments in that bulletin or did I miss one 😜 ) Further translation: We've spent a ton of money, it's taken bloody ages, we've had more experts than you can shake a stick at - (even overseas experts - who every one knows are more expert than NZ experts) - & it's no-one's fault - and it's a huge surprise. And now we are going to spent more money, get more experts and see if we can get a different result. Couldn't even blame an act of God. I've been watching the forecast there and it's been pretty darned favorable. A small bird had chirped to me there had previously been slipping reported on the surface in recent weeks - I didn't want it to be so - and didn't want to contribute to gossip or nay-saying without first-hand proof. But as the bird does frequent the environs on a very regular basis - and today their chirping has become a squawk from the tree tops for all to hear - I might pay more heed next time they open their beak. It's all a real shame.

NZTR Statement: Awapuni Abandonment New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) acknowledges the industry’s disappointment regarding today’s abandonment at Awapuni following a slip in the first race. The meeting was to be the first in 19 months following a full track reconstruction. While the outcome is extremely disappointing, the Club followed a robust process in presenting the track that included jump outs and trials. Positive feedback from senior jockeys was given throughout the return to racing process and Australian experts were engaged to ensure the surface was progressing properly. “This is undoubtedly a deeply disappointing situation for both the club and the wider industry," commented NZTR Chief Executive Matt Ballesty. "However, the safety and well-being of both horses and jockeys must remain our top priority in making this decision." "I trust that, while understandably frustrated, all participants will continue to show respect towards the track staff and club management. A significant amount of effort, resources, and consultation from track management, consultants, and officials has gone into preparing the track for racing, and the recent setback was entirely unforeseen." RACE Awapuni General Manager Brad Taylor expressed his disappointment but was eager to review processes to prepare for future racedays. “We will examine the process leading into today and learn from it and hopefully resolve this issue to be back racing here in three weeks,” he said. Further investigation will also be made into the rail placement and irrigation of the surface. The Listed Anzac Mile programmed for today will be transferred to Wanganui as an additional race on Sunday 27 April. Corporate Communications New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing nztrcommunications@nztr.co.nz

Chief - I was typing while you posted & have just seen your last - so no intent to reprise your comments - if this was in fact the sort of thing you were meaning?