Freda

A bit of sense from Mary at least. So far the announcements that have emerged from NZTR seem to have had zero input from McKenzie. Don't they talk to each other? Are they not aware that their plans have to be funded - which seems fraught with uncertainty at present. Headless chooks come to mind.

There were a few who were adamant that stakes were going up.

For what my uninformed opinion is worth - I don't think the blasted thing has been around for long enough to make an educated statement about what it's preferences are. I have no problem with the imposition of level 4 ( the dithering around initially, yes I do, unfortunately) but how we get out of it, with what collateral damage, remains to be seen. Don't forget, though, that predictions of recession/ depression are self fulfilling to a large extent. The two countries that were vanquished and ruined after the second world war, ended up economic superpowers....Germany and Japan.

Not a bad idea, but I reckon the apathy that has brought us to this point will still prevail. I remember when a local livewire started a petition to get Rangiora back racing or trialling after the serious racing accident in 2006. The number of sycophants who shook their heads and refused to sign was astounding...but nearly all have happily taken advantage of that hard work and associated fundraising efforts, and trial their horses there.

Yeah...our lot ( Tab ) cant even front with a news release.

I understand jockeys have their own ( or shared with one other) rooms at the races, so, along with racing staff putting riders on, they seem to be handling things very well - so far. But we have to run with the system that we have wrt govt requirements.

Oh, well, take that as a given then.

The way I see it - rationale is , that since Sir P. pushed for the shift north some years ago, vested N.I interests have wanted that to happen. Covid-19 gives them more chance to finally succeed. Logic doesn't come into things, only shortsightedness that has dogged this industry. Mardi and others are right, if there are to be restrictions on horse transport, then those races should not be run. As has been stated repeatedly ( do people have problems with reading/comprehension?) pattern racing exists to frank the quality of the racing crop, it is the arbiter of the excellence of the breed. If it cannot be carried out with full opportunity for all, then it cannot, by definition, hold black type status. My comment about S.I apprentices should be taken to reflect the stupidity of messing around with that status. If Australian riders can shift out of their area with proper isolation procedures, then NZ riders should be able to as well. Unless, of course, ours are sillier and/ or too selfish to make those choices.

If we can somehow emulate Aus protocols, it should be possible to transport horses out of their region, but not staff. That shouldn't be a major problem. The alternative - running 'pattern' races under a restrictive regime - defies all the purpose of a pattern race system. It cannot be an arbiter of breed quality if portions of the country are locked out of competition. Obvious, I would have thought.

Actually, I stuffed that quote up, I was messing around and then I couldn't edit it. I meant the Winston chip to refer to Churchill, not the other bloke...with the reference to 'never surrender'...

OK Winston.

My comments earlier shouldn't be taken to indicate support for moving the Guineas. Not at all. But the northetn push for moving has been going on for years. Industry apathy has given us two bodies that have led us to this point - NZRB and NZTR. All the dissension and debate over several years has achieved squat. Nothing. Even the Messara report, touted as being our saviour, has achieved - nothing. So, what can we, as locals, to do change this? Unless we can change the governing structure that manages us, we are powerless. We have given them that power. When the old Racing Conference became what we have today, local interests became subsumed into the whole. Most thought that was needed....but evidence since hasn't been supportive of that. Probably the quality of personnel have a fair bit to do with this...don't forget, Pitty, you told me recently that we ' have to have faith that they know what they are doing ' ....well, I don't, and they don't either. While stakemoney is likely to be curtailed - the extent of this yet to be revealed - it makes no sense at all to blither on about moving this or that, or speculating on the shape of things until we know what the Govt intends, and what MPI and the DIA are planning. Just shows, yet again, the inadequacy of our heads, if they can make blanket pronouncements without sufficient facts. Equally, for us to discuss options in the face of a possible body blow doesn't indicate assent. The Cup Carnival must be protected, but how to do that will involve a good bit of brainstorming if the heirarchy is determined to destroy it.

Lol....I already know that.

Fair thinking, Reefton. However, those City Council staffers wouldn't include the rubbish bin services , they'd be contractors, wouldn't they?

Well, with the utmost respect, I disagree too. I'm not buying into anything. But if I took a group of newbies to Cup week the significance of Guineas - or any classic - would be lost on them. But I betya they would want a bet in the Cup, whether they knew which end of a horse kicked or not.

And....if I was fortunate enough to have a super anything...it would be off to Aus. And that's not a recent thought, I've had enough of these patronising, greedy bastards ripping off our owners every time they look around.

Exactly. There will still be plenty who want the Cup week experience. It will matter little to them if the Guineas are here or not. That's my point. It will be a body blow indeed for all of us who love to see a good horse, and who remember when Riccarton hosted Derby and Oaks...but times do change and so do demographics.

Yeah..all that. But, whom do we 'fight' ? because NZTR will bend over for the big breeders and high profile stables like they always have.

Getting away from the woeful Warriors....if we assume that the Guineas, once gone, won't return, will it stuff the Cup Carnival? Ive had this rattling round my head all morning, and, to be fair, the support from the south has been underwhelming for years. Will the crowds that attend on Cup day give a toss ? I don't think so. Yes, it will affect fields; less likely to have lower level horses coming down to support their better stablemates, but that may well lead to better opportunities for other lesser lights. I dunno...I guess I'm trying to find a positive in all this. Wailing about things sure ain't gonna work. The opportunity exists to look outside the square, create series racing with a final to be held..? Come in Aaron Bidlake, you can expand on this.

Gravy trainers.

Northern trainers have wanted the shift for years, not just recently. And, if there is still restrictions on riders moving out of their district, they sure as hell aren't going to put Canterbury apprentices up.

The last meeting held at Riccarton before lockdown was extremely well run, and given that the raceday tie ups are completely separate from trackwork areas, the consensus was that racing could have continued under those conditions, and limited to Canterbury riders.

Kinda one of my points . Every trainer got the email from MPI/NZTR about horse distancing, there's no doubt that the office would have received it too, but track manager and staff appeared to be not aware? Clearly a real disconnect. Compare with, as you point out, the efficiency in the Aus system. That also presupposes that cases of possible infections are not well hidden, or else the whole thing collapses like a pack of cards.

Me either, although obviously I hope that we can start to get back to business. Yes, Aus has managed well, so far. But they are very organized, with several pools of jockeys isolated from the others. The proximity of riders in the barriers is one weak link, but hasn't so far appeared to be a problem. Certainly, trialling hardly complies with training 50 m apart. And when MPI first put out those requirements, even our own track staff were ignorant of such protocols. We know that there are some trainers who aren't playing by the rules, they put us all at risk, not just wrt individual health but by risking MPI becoming aware and restricting us for longer . Our own industry policing mechanisms have been shown to be very lax in this respect.

Jeez, I've learnt not to do that. I wondered from the start what was the point of putting out draft dates for July, and then for the first four months when there was no surety when/if levels would change, and also, without confirmation of adequate funding. Just meaningless stuff.