Freda

..and yes, Brian, you were quite right re. clippings...I didn't walk far enough around this morning. None where I was.. but apparently plenty around the top. I am told Walshy walked the track yesterday and told Lisa Allpress not to get too wide out or she'd be sitting on her arse.

sure was.

Didn't read your post before pressing button.. but yes, agree. Was going hitch a ride to meeting with Neill Ridley but he didn't have the time in the end, so I didn't attend. Interested to hear your observations about the meeting. I think Timaru [ for one ] has just been handed a bit of ammunition.

Don't be bloody silly...that means 'accountability'. As far as Riccarton goes, Chief has been commenting for ages about stuffed soil structures, and here is no different. Not grass clippings, just a packed, compacted soil and a bit of rain/irrigation to make the top slippery. We usually get away with it because Riccarton is a big, sweeping circuit with soft corners - not because of superior management - but the rail was out today which does alter the contours. Strathayr, yep, no brainer I should think..but could this track team do the appropriate caretaking of the thing? I notice the M report indicated Riccarton needed complete reconstruction....but the advice to close Timaru/Oamaru came from pretty close to home I think. Now watch Ricc get transferred to Mon/Tues or Wed and completely stuff Timaru's Friday meeting.

Great, thanks.

Curious, sorry to high-jack this thread...but can you tell me what percentage of turnover the supposed ' million per month ' that we were supposedly getting, represented?

My concern is, that if clubs resist the land-grab - and why wouldn't they? that portion of the M.Report will not be implementable [ hope that's a word ] ....and Peters may then stalk off, not having gotten his own way, with the Racing Board not disbanded and other good parts of the report not implemented.

So....what is the consensus on here, then? Reduce races/racedays - makes sense to me, years ago I don't recall anywhere near the plethora of races up and down the country. Repair/renovate tracks on a rotational basis to restore product integrity [ horrible term]...also makes sense. So what else? I'm asking for opinions, not just being a smartass. I'm not against allweather tracks in theory, but fail to see how the installation will create the extra turnover required. Is the land-grab a good idea? or not ? assuming that the whole process isn't locked away in a shit fight for years...I don't like the concept at all, it's just not right IMO...but I'm only one opinion.

Yes, I agree. I don't want to be thought 'negative and backward looking' or 'parochial and selfish' as Winston termed resistant thinking [ which in itself is odd considering his politics are ALL about the regions - supposedly ] but I don't see how the whole operation is supposed to work. Yes definitely to NZRB shake-up, no brainer for most I think...but implemenation of the venue thingy is far less straightforward. Just in Canterbury, for example, Timaru and Waimate are on the close list, as well as Motukarara and the CjC's portion of Rangiora, with Ashburton being the second designated track in the region. But Ashburton track and facilities are woeful, and will cost megabucks to bring up to a reasonable standard. So where do all the trials regularly held by Rangiora go? Where will the races held at the not-required tracks go while Ashburton is brought into the 21st century? On the allweather at Riccarton, we are told. But that hasn't been built yet, and - if it ever happens - may be years away. Will the trainers dispossessed by track closures at Timaru and Rangiora meekly sell up, move house/farm/kids' schools and go to Ashburton? That's even presupposing there are suitable facilities for them - as there certainly isn't room in the Riccarton training area. Don't think so somehow. The CJC management are right behind Ashburton being ' the second-tier training facility in Canterbury ' which tells me whose fingerprints could be on some of the paperwork. Those folk dispossessed ' won't be able to afford to live in CHCh and train at Riccarton Park ' has been stated..the arrogance is astounding. As for abandoned racemeetings - I think it has been stated here already that they are the only racemeetings that don't lose money!

Thanks.

Perhaps our resident statistician Curious can put up the more likely amounts that would have been garnered by the legislation? I have seen them somewhere, either from him or from Mardigras..but can't lay my hands on them.

Yeah....bloody great....not. Also, the long wait until things cool down enough ( in high summer) to check horses' waters and put on a different rug if necessary...on a lighter note, what about the woman who complained the extra daylight would fade her curtains?

NZ racing is certainly NOT better, but I'm not at all sure that tracks/less tracks are totally the reason for that. We've had, in recent memory, Foxton and Levin not used and Otaki, after industry-funded renovation, not used either. Marton, Bulls, Fielding all centralised to Awapuni - and possibly others that I'm not aware of. Amberley, Hororata, Rangiora all running at Riccarton. We now have Riccarton and Awapuni tracks under heavy pressure. Tell me again how that has improved the balance sheets? For what it's worth, if anything is to be sold, Trentham is a prime candidate along with the beleaguered Avondale. That should give the present incumbents plenty of money to further piss away and waste.

Freda agrees...not sure if Pitty does.

Good post...that's how I see it too, but typically you put it much more succinctly .

My understanding is that no consultation has occurred.

I obviously missed the part where I could say I had no faith in the chairman and his board to take us forward given the mismanagement to date.

Yeah, got one as well, no doubt everyone is getting the message.....

A Strathayr would be just great, to follow on from all this palaver.

Yep, they sure did. A good friend worked for Fulton Hogan at the time of the reconstruction, and asked me why Laing's Contractors were using clay from their stockpile for the track. He couldn't understand why clay would go on a racetrack....neither could we. As I stated earlier, Duncan Laing told me they worked from the specs given them by the RIB.

Thanks, Chief...and in response to Mardigras' observations about leaders' biases, I could add that the choices of riders and their ability - or lack of - to judge pace has a bloody lot to do with that. Take Bridget Grylls' ride yesterday, the only rider in opposition to her setting very soft sectionals was The oft-maligned T Moseley who took the initiative to park himself on her girth and attempt to push her horse along a bit. Unfortunately his mount lacked the ability to go on with things, but at least he tried.

One thing to remember, Brian - horses run fastest times when they are comfortable to really stretch out.

Chief has repeatedly commented about soil strucure, etc, not just wrt Riccarton, but many other tracks. The top frequently chips out at Riccarton - whatever the rating - and while class horses definitely can find a 'kick' on the firmer conditions, the compacted nature of the ground means that some with joint and other issues, feel the jar badly. I don't profess to be an expert, far from it, but I can remember back to times when firm/fast tracks were the order of the day during spring and summer racing, that's just what you got and the racing was super. Back then it was the turf that provided the resilience and cushion, not the soil underneath. Nowadays, the brand of lush, soft green grass [ which looks admirable from the corporate boxes when mown in pretty strips ] has far less ability to cushion, a team of 500 kg animals at speed just cuts through the sappy, soft material to the dirt underneath, which must needs be dampened to provide the easing. I recall, prior to one Easter meeting, back in the day of course manager Rob Lory [ mentioned in a post earlier ] I had walked around the track and happened to come across Rob doing much the same thing. I commented upon the great sole of grass, and quipped ' leave the sprinklers on a bit more, Rob, my crew likes the softer stuff' to which he frowned at me and said ' I water for growth, NOT to affect the track conditions' . Poor Rob copped a lot of flak for his efforts, probably his reserved and taciturn nature didn't help in that regards, but it wasn't until I spoke at length with Duncan Laing much later that I realised that he would have been following the 'best practice' manual left for him by Duncan. Anyways, my boys coped very well with the prevailing conditions, finishing first, third and fourth in the Easter Classic [ then 2000m ]. And as for commented upon 'leader's bias ' yesterday, such a pattern is common when the rail is out.

All clear....nice and dry

Some suspicious looking dark clouds this morning, a FREEZING cold southerly that did it's best to cut you in half, but clouds gone, sun shining, and the wind, although still brisk, not anyhere near as cold. Midday.