Freda

The NZ Cup will remain. The best highweight or R75 hcp in NZ.

It's beyond them too.

Awapuni isnt a Strathayr as such, though, is it?

Absolutely.

Quite so. I do think its a good concept but the implementation...? How does it get communicated to the wider, largely uninterested public? Loveracing ads? Fb pieces? Trackside? All preaching to the converted. I will be watching with interest.

I was talking to Davy Jones ( Ashburton) recently, he said he'd love to flick Timaru some more meetings instead of his track getting hammered, but of course dates aren't up to him. And an industry-funded renovation of poor old Ashburton is highly unlikely.

Ok, we have, hopefully, Awapuni renovated and looking good. Ellerslie, although now seemingly acceptable, had a very wobbly start and was an Ellerslie project wrt to funding and design - not an NZTR driven exercise although no doubt supported by that organization. So what other 'key ' tracks are in the pipeline? Do we assume that Hastings will be as good when -and if- anything happens there? Wellington? Notwithstanding the good racing there recently the place is a shithole in the winter, often inconsistent and the whole area is a depressing travesty of what it once was. Can't see industry money going there. Riccarton? Well overdue for treatment, 1998 was when it was reconstructed and it has faced criticism from that time on. Others will know what the acceptable time frame is for renewal of grass surfaced racetracks, but 27 years seems a fairly long time without major work. Dunedin has had work done, not sure the date but that Puddle Alley corner used to cause problems. Seems to race ok now and is a bloody good track. Facilities dated but ok. A regular cycle of renovation regionally, with the other tracks in that region picking up the slack...too sensible, but no....close as many as possible with no work done and here we are. I await with interest to see the next track identified for improvement.

Yes. I mentioned to more than a few, post-earthquake, that with the movement and building development north of Christchurch, it made sense to support and develop the Rangiora facility and promote racing in that area. All those new residents, what would be nicer on a summer evening than a BBQ at the races, in pleasant surroundings? Games, comps for the kids, pony races, you get the picture...

All taken up, thanks to those new owners and the best of luck to the team. And thanks to the Chief for providing the platform.

Yes. Winston's logic - or what he was told - was that abandonments cost the industry dearly through loss of betting revenue. We know however that the most profitable racemeetings are the ones that aren't held and have no costs whatsoever.

Sigh.....

One wonders how well patronized upcoming races are going to be.

There is a ten per cent ( or portion thereof) racing interest available in a three year old filly, due to the defection of an elderly syndicate member for health reasons. She has had two starts, shows promise. Last start strong finishing 4th. P.M me for further details if interested.

Voted with their feet here too...the last 3 sets of trials on the AWT were abandoned through lack of entries. But that will level itself out as Ashburton, which has been absolutely slaughtered with races/trials, is only down for one more of each until a winter break, so there won't be anywhere else to go.

And Rangiora and Motukarara

I have a little horse who, despite several attempts on various ratings, cannot perform on rain-affected ground. Much as I don't like scratching and costing owners money, there is just no point in lining up. Recently he found himself in the first race, track rated S6. Ok, I thought, after chatting to the owner, we decided to let him have a chance, he'd been fit and ready fot a good while and going nowhere. Reasoned that race 1 with first crack at the track, not chopped up, he should manage. Came back to scale with mud up to his knees and track immediately downgraded to a H 8. If the RIB had been doing their job as per Chief's description, I wouldn't have put the poor little bugger on the float.

Probably not, and neither do his Board either. That's clear.

2 yr old and up sprint maidens have been around in the South for a good while. Pitty got them rolling when on the programme committee to make up for the lack of two year old races, and to some degree they have helped. Didn't T.J line Imagele up in an Open Flying Hcp as a youngster? Or is my memory not serving me well..!

Or....you could just suck it up and trial on the Awapuni polytrack, like we here in Canterbury are supposed to do the majority of the time...just saying..seriously, I fully understand the desire to have a decent grass track for trials. But would one or two racedays impact the trials programme much?

As well, I forgot to mention the idea that 'the rest of the money will be prudently invested'.. Is there likely to be enough ? or even any?

He's not the only one, Gai has spoken out vehemently against the idea. I know SFA about property development/investment portfolios...but the quoted figure of 5 billion, while seemingly vast, may not go far over the period involved wrt land purchase, new race/training tracks/stabling facilities, as well as the upgrades envisioned for Randwick, Warwick Farm and I think Canterbury. Given the escalation of building costs that always seem to dog new developments it may be that 5 billion is nowhere near enough.

I read somewhere that the article in the Chronicle hadn't been been run by the committee. Comment made by Carol Kupa I think? Obviously they - we - would all like racing to return to Foxton but Carol was at pains to point out that everything would be done by the book.

That's terrible. Wasn't someone singing the praises of the track manager there? Another few weeks and hay could be cut off that.

Did they? I haven't heard one way or another.

yeah....but it has become more startlingly apparent now that more tracks have been closed. Many had been in support of reducing tracks with overseas data showing how other jurisdictions had fewer. However those who had been in favour of reductions didn't take into account the appalling state of the remainder. And although Messara keeps getting the blame, the axe had been out before he came along.