Doomed Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 1 hour ago, Huey said: Exactly and add to that their "absolutely no" attitude towards utilising any other venues for the betterment of the industry , because they want some power trip over venues they believe should be sold, it makes them look like the utter fools they are. I've never known an industry to be so pig ignorant over such simple matters like utilising tracks better (tracks that they have let rot since they have taken racing etc away from them) , we read a laughable venue plan that plans to dispose of venues over the preceding years. It's hard to get your head around it but someone is getting paid to come up with this garbage, they think it'll magically fix itself. Can't wait for the next instalment of the COO email series on track abandonments, its getting really exciting! Their argument of course will be that if they had sold Waipuk and poured all the proceeds into Hastings and sold Woodville and poured all the proceeds into Awapuni then we would have two great state of the art tracks. Conversely of course one could argue that if that didn't work then the industry would have no further options. Unfortunately for those pushing the centralisation mantra, the only example that I can think of where a track has actually been sold and millions poured into another venue is Fielding being sold to fund Awapuni, and that hasn't really worked out all that well. I'm sure it is devastating to NZTR that they can't race around the country saying "You too could have your very own Awapuni if you just follow our advice." 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 20 minutes ago, Doomed said: Their argument of course will be that if they had sold Waipuk and poured all the proceeds into Hastings and sold Woodville and poured all the proceeds into Awapuni then we would have two great state of the art tracks. Conversely of course one could argue that if that didn't work then the industry would have no further options. Unfortunately this doesn't even appear to have worked for the Ellerslie venue, which should have been near impossible to screw up. No beating around the bush, the plans they have put in place around venues have been absolutely hopeless! They however show no initiative or desire to change for the betterment of the industry , absolutely useless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 1 hour ago, curious said: I don't know really. They used to be. Certainly in the track inspections. Freda will know what is usual. Apparently not. Checked up this morning. There is discussion after the event as to what might be a plan going forward, but not as far as making the actual decision. That is jockeys and officials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 We probably need to follow the Russian model, start getting some of our mothballed assets out of retirement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 1 hour ago, Freda said: Apparently not. Checked up this morning. There is discussion after the event as to what might be a plan going forward, but not as far as making the actual decision. That is jockeys and officials. I would have thought that they would be a key stakeholder to be involved. May be they would have swung the vote Karaka night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 (edited) 12 hours ago, curious said: Following a shower of rain which occurred after the running of Race 4, a delegation of Riders approached Stewards regarding a potential safety concern with moisture on what they considered to be a firm racing surface. A track inspection was undertaken involving Jockeys, Stewards and the Track Manager. Following this inspection a meeting was convened involving Stewards, Jockeys and Club representatives. Whilst this meeting was in progress further heavy rain commenced to fall, with the remainder of the meeting being abandoned due to safety concerns. Freda makes a brilliant point regarding Health & Safety and Work Place regulations up further. How is racing side stepping what other industries are put through the wringer for? Maybe the reason trainers have been left out of discussions is because, as they are representing the owner and himself/herself, they might put up a decent and reasonable argument to run the race meeting. As for jockeys not wanting to ride due to potential risk. Being a jockey is an occupation that is constantly in a state of potential risk. Dare I say it, if a jockey does not want to ride because of potential risk maybe it is time to think about finding another job. If after a shower of rain there may have been a potential saftey concern, would the subsequent heavy rain not have rectified that? Some moaned about the amount of water Kane Smith put on the Otaki track when rain was forecast. In hindsight wasn't he a little bit smart? The track surface might not have suited every runner but, under Kane's supervision Otaki was one of very few venues to have continued racing when the rain came. Well done Kane. Doomed has hit the nail on the head with Feilding's money long gone at Awapuni. You can only laugh about the funds of Waipukurau and Woodville going into the slush fund too. How much do they think those small town venues are worth, and how much debt would they clean up? Was La La Land a good movie? Edited February 29 by Special Agent 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Bouquet Special Agent re highlighting Freda's H@S comments. Brickbat for complimenting Otaki track manager although in his defense inherited a lemon that used to be a peach of a track. The track is stuffed like so many others due to constant over watering and under investment in maintenance. The real issue now is why do we still have the tired managers/dinosaur's at NZTR continuing to dictate a path to oblivion. On 13 Feb NZTR press release re Hastings "The consensus among all involved was that the previous inconsistency issues had been successfully addressed." Today, 15 days later "NZTR and the club will undertake a full renovation of the Hastings turf." Whoopee, lets all celebrate, mad hatter style. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 I can't even remember when it was decided summer tracks should not be hard and fast. Trainers like the late Noel Eales loved nothing better than to race his summer horses on summer tracks. In the conversations I had with him over the years he was definitely an advocate for not watering in summer. Like you say Wingman Kane Smith has inherited a lemon. This reiterates my point that he is fairly new to the racecourse caretaking game and if he is one of the few who can produce a track on raceday where the jockeys don't vote with their feet imagine if what could be achieved if he could hone his skills. I'm trying to find some positives out of the racecourse surface shambles we are currently amidst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 Interesting though how OSH has a price though. Loads of money on offer at the Karaka Millions and an unsafe track - horses slipping and injured - the show goes on. Hastings - apparently only the potential of a problem and the meeting is abandoned. They delay the races again when the big money is up and the tote goes down but don't consider delaying Hastings for a race to let the water soak in. Who IS actually running the show? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 14 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: Who IS actually running the show? You answered your own question. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 57 minutes ago, Huey said: You answered your own question. Jockeys, Stipes or Administrators? Trainers don't seem to be involved. With Hastings did the Stipes or Administrators consider delaying the races rather than abandoning? It annoys me a bit that Trainers seem to have a fatalistic view on tracks. They should be involved in the decision making. It isn't a recent phenomena either as it's been like it for the last 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.