Freda

You are not comfortable? neither are the many from Canterbury and Otago/Southland who have seen their options eroded for several years..the process is now less covert, that's all. For two decades, funding changes have continually disadvantaged the small and supported the large, a few have seen the process and commented, but most have been oblivious to the process, and many small clubs and training tracks have been lost in the process. Sure, times change and nothing can - or should - stay the same. But economics should be the reason for those changes, not ideology. A former T.A president said a year or three back, 'get rid of them, they are costing us money ' ....that is the pervading attitude from the Waikato elite. The presence of the leading operation here at Riccarton, some might think reflects the importance of southern racing. While the money's up [ thanks, Entain ] they'll be here with their third-raters, and those having an 'experience' trip away in the process of targeting the Guineas races. Once it's gone, I imagine so will they be. The Cranbourne operation will only get stronger. Where did I read - here? - what V'Landys said when commenting upon a rugby league situation....that cashing in on provincial assets would be the death of the grassroots and diminish the base for fans, young players, communities etc. to become involved. The same applies to racing - over the ditch provincial/country clubs are supported and promoted, not squashed out of existence. What I don't understand, is that how two countries, very similar ethnically, and with almost identical political and societal principles, can be so goddam different with their approach to racing.

Don't you dare.

We don't count Kenny.

I recall one year at Reefton [ yes, again..!] the track was a 2 or 3, can't remember which, and Peter O'Malley was told to irrigate x ml by Gary Foskett. That'll create a skating rink, says Pete, bugger off and let us get on with it. He did, and they did, and the track raced beautifully.

If you look back at mediaeval farming practice in England, they used to have fallow years, and rotational cropping. They were supposed to be primitive...

Because the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing?

I don't see how that could be 'rectified' the morning of the races.

Not my area at all....but if others are keen for more dates there why don't they get their T.A. President to have some dialogue?

150 mm here

175 top mix?

My partner at the time - Mouse McCann - rode Usqueba [ sp? ] for one K. Myers in the hurdle race at Nelson. Think they finished 4th. He wasn't keen on repeating the exercise..!! although the horse jumped well, as we have come to expect from horses prepared by the master. Yes, good points re. track closures too, I didn't touch on that. Making a jumper takes years, the cost is significant and it really is a labour of love. Throwing a heap of money at stakes was never going to work, you can't dredge a jumper out of the paddock and line it up six weeks later, educated. All that extra stake money did was alienate those who weren't jumps lovers, they could see funds going elsewhere while their flat horses couldn't get starts. And then we have the Venue Plan. You've mentioned Ellerslie, Paeroa, and there are others. Closed under the venue plan - oh hang on, not just yet, eh? Down here, Oamaru and Timaru were on the list to close [ what a disaster losing either of those would be ] as was Waimate [ which did ]. What incentive was there to even try to ready a jumper with no surety there would be anywhere to race it? Trainers have been blamed for not doing enough, but the bloody job is hard enough without beating your head constantly against a very thick brick wall. However - there is still life in the North. Maybe - just maybe - with some enlightened ideas, it might get a reprieve. [ As an aside, the amateur chase at Waimate used to draw busloads for the entertainment.] I must admit, I was of the opinion that this year would be the last National down here. But, looking at the cock-ups made with the tracks up north, and the magnificent spectacle of the lovely horses streaming over the fences on Saturday, where else could it be held? What a shame The Cossack has gone amiss...but West Coast may not get things his own way yet!

They have their agenda. Removing highweight races from the calendar was [ IMO ] the single biggest reason for the decline. Not the only one but the one with the most impact. Suddenly, there were no summer opportunities for the jump riders. So those who didn't give up altogether shifted north. That had the knock-on effect of a lack of experienced riders to school and educate horses. Numbers drop. The cost of bringing riders down from the north island hurt, and the enthusiasm of some of the better riders was [ understandably] dwindling when the class of the offerings was, mainly, abysmal. Flat trainers became disgruntled when they could see 20k on offer for a 6 horse field of battlers, when they couldn't get starts with their runners. And the tweaked programmes....first cab off the rank for the season in the south, Riverton - a magnificent jumps course but so often the ground absolutely bottomless. Just too big a task for the first run of the season. Next, Dunedin, also a good course but just as likely to be very heavy ground. Then up to Timaru, often frosty and very firm indeed. Then Riccarton. Oamaru disappeared out of the mix; but it filled a good place with going much less testing than the first two. With the continuing drop in numbers the ceasing of jumps down south was really inevitable.

Does it matter where he is? The die is cast, they will do what they plan to do and SFA will make a difference. Yes, we can put submissions in, and we should. Not to do so is like refusing to vote and then complaining about the Govt.

Some adjustments.

I think the thrice-yearly visits by Martin Collins staff is part of the contract - so, in theory, no extra cost incurred for that. The local track staff have been applauded for the good job they are doing. However, as far as replenishing material that has lost resilience, body and structure, no idea what is planned to remedy that.

Make your own mind up about that !

Polytracks were the only option considered. Saundry had some connection, Reid Sanders is a former stipe from here, a lot of back-scratching.

This is an interesting topic [even though I tune out when the figures/percentages come in] Another factor, covered, to some extent, by the displayed data about number of races, age, workouts, etc...is the potential for catastrophic injury already carried by horses as a result of prior exertion. Something that here, we have absolutely no idea about. Obviously, the cost of scanning each and every horse on a regular basis is enormous and prohibitive in the NZ context. But, we do know that injuries don't as rule just 'happen' whatever the track surface is. Even just from my little corner of the track, there can be many horses go past where I tie up looking anything but sound....and a slight lessening of bone density, for example, isn't necessarily accompanied by obvious lameness either. A complex subject.

Okay, I'll wade into this topic - fully prepared to be shot down. Fed the horses, nothing to do for the next hour. US data compelling, although I am presuming, in all cases, the track/surface preparations are as close to perfection as could reasonably be in practice. Otherwise, the data would be meaningless. IMO. [ and I'm no statistician]. In our case, here in NZ, we have no comparable data, or none that I have seen anyway. We can remove dirt as one parameter as we don't use it. So, we have synthetic, which is ALL polytrack with no Tapeta as an alternative to compare, vs turf. Is the synthetic presented at its optimum? do we have any idea wrt that? there is already evidence from the Kempton Park conversation, that the 'top' is 50mm less here than there, for example; and turf, with variations ranging from rock hard, shifty, too much grass, not enough, slippery, rough, full of holes, patchy, wet, gluey, sticky, heavy, bottomless and combinations of the above. How that can be assessed or compared with any accuracy is beyond me.

So all good then.

They do seem safer than dirt, certainly. Curious will have the data - it also seems that Tapeta is the preferred option of synthetic.

Unlikely.

Good points. And no to the last.

Jeez, didn't mean to imply that wash my mouth out