The Centaur Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Clearly the Ellerslie track is not up to scratch. Maybe they could send someone over to Avondale to supervise preparations for meetings there for the rest of the year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 MEETING NEWS 10 April 2024 Ellerslie Races Abandoned Races 4-7 at Ellerslie have been abandoned due to the state of the track. More information to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Come on @TAB For Ever 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 44 minutes ago, The Centaur said: Clearly the Ellerslie track is not up to scratch. Maybe they could send someone over to Avondale to supervise preparations for meetings there for the rest of the year. they had a bit of trouble here at Eagle Farm for 4 years and used Doomben instead for a long time till they got it right. Spent millions like they did at Ellerslie too. Here's something Chief wrote last time Ellerslie was called off . Space. Space quote I can't work out why there was so much sand in the top 5cms as evident in the cores I picked up. That may explain why the roots matted in the top layer and why there may have been water tension of the next layer down was significantly different in soil structure. I would have thought that soil would have been consistent through all layers except the very lower layers which would of a type to facilitate rapid excess water removal. If they are coring already then it may need to continue on a regular basis. Next they'll be poring more sand onto it to fill the cores!!! Te Rapa springs to mind. unquote. I think Too much SAND would always leave the root structure very insecure/ loose all the time Chief ? no matter what the weather or time passing . ? maybe they have to re-do the whole thing with much less sand ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assange Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 3 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: MEETING NEWS 10 April 2024 Ellerslie Races Abandoned Races 4-7 at Ellerslie have been abandoned due to the state of the track. More information to follow. Another report/investigation? They might as well use the same template and just change the track/date. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Just now, Gammalite said: I think Too much SAND would always leave the root structure very insecure/ loose all the time Chief ? no matter what the weather or time passing . ? Since I posted originally about the track I learnt that there is 300mm of straight sand as the top layer. The grass was sown directly into it. When I last walked it on Sistema Stakes Day it wasn't in good condition. There was a couple of smooth lanes and a lot of very rough ones. In my opinion they've spent a lot of money rebuilding the exact same old track. It dismayed me that the didn't even fix the contours and turns because they wanted to retain the iconic look and feel of Ellerslie. Well they certainly achieved that better than they hoped! 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Exactly the same conditions as Karaka Millions night except not as much money up for grabs today! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 STEWARDS REPORT: After 2nd race: Following this race comment was made by some riders that their mounts were shifting in the ground. Films from Race 2 were also further reviewed with there being no apparent movement. Stewards convened a meeting with riders along with club officials and after viewing available film footage it was agreed that the meeting should continue. After race 3: Following the running of this race, a number of riders expressed concern regarding the safety of the track, in particular the footing rounding the bends near the 450 metres and near the crossing. A Track Safety Review Panel consisting of Stipendiary Stewards, Club Officials, Jockeys, and a NZTR Representative was convened. Following a track inspection and subsequent meeting with all riders, the remainder of the race meeting was abandoned due to the unsafe nature of the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 You would have thought that they would have walked the track after race 2 instead of just watching the videos!!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said: they wanted to retain the iconic look and feel of Ellerslie. The most iconic part of the track for me was the Ellerslie hill 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Centaur Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 Todays events are shocking for New Zealand racing industry. OK its bad news but it should be making it to TV news as news. What the hell is wrong with those running Avondale Jockey club. I have been trying for weeks to get in contact with someone from there and I do have there their numbers. The main number has been disconnected and Manny Boyack the CEO is not answering his phone or messages. There was a time some 50 years ago that the plan was to run one meeting either Saturday or Wednesday in Auckland every week. I don't think Pukekohe can take much more racing. Its all f**k*d. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 I drove past Ellerslie today and toyed with the idea of popping in to have a look, lucky I didn't. There was an incident on the motorway just outside Ellerslie. in hindsight it may have been some of the decision makers and PR types doing a runner. 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 I don't know how "more racing on the surface will fix it". If it was my racecourse I'd be inclined to get someone to start growing some turf, plow into the top 300mm what has already grown and add some loam to it. Then lay the new turf on top. As for the contours and course shape unfortunately they had their chance to fix that and now it is too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 I'd hate to have my name on any racing board or Auckland club at the moment. What a fiasco!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Investigation underway after Ellerslie abandonment loveracing.nz An investigation is set to commence tomorrow morning (Thursday) into the abandonment of Ellerslie’s Wednesday meeting as a result of safety concerns following a slip on the venues newly installed StrathAyr track. A decision was made to abandon the mid-week meeting following senior jockey Opie Bosson’s report of his horse, The Storyteller, slipping near the crossing following race three, which the Stephen Marsh-trained gelding won. “Following race two we had concerns raised by a few of the jockeys in regards to the surface around the home turn,” Stipendiary Steward Lauren Selvakumaran said. “We convened a meeting with those jockeys and on the films it wasn’t apparent that there was any concern. At that time, they (jockeys) also agreed with that and were happy to keep riding. “Post race three, concerns were raised again. We convened a meeting with jockeys, club officials, Stewards and NZTR (New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing) representatives in which Mr Bosson outlined he slipped near the crossing, so we went and had a look at the track and identified a slip mark where Mr Bosson had stated it had happened. We also drove around to the 450m mark and observed a few marks around that area. “We weren’t satisfied with the surface being safe to continue.” Selvakumaran said the idea of moving the rail was floated, but it was decided that wasn’t feasible given the time it would take. “The rail was out 10m today which was the first time the rail has been at that position, so that may have played a part,” she said. “It was suggested a possible rail move, but we just don’t have the time for that as it would take five-plus hours, so we would run out of daylight.” Auckland Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Paul Wilcox was disappointed in the outcome and said the Club is working hard with relevant parties to rectify the issue. “Naturally we are disappointed in relation to having an abandonment. We pride ourselves on doing things right, so we let ourselves down when this happens,” Wilcox said. There were initial reports of horses slipping on Karaka Millions night in January, just the second meeting on the new surface, however, there have been no reports of such issues in subsequent meetings at the venue until Wednesday. “From what we can ascertain, it is the same issue where the grass is matted and joins the sand profile, which is causing the slipperiness. We thought we had that under control and we obviously didn’t,” Wilcox said. “All of those races subsequent to Karaka Millions night have been run without issue and all the jockeys have been happy with the surface. Today with the rail out 10m, which is ground that hasn’t been raced on, it has caused the same issue we experienced on Karaka Millions night.” The track is set to undergo further renovation over winter, however, Wilcox said the club will meet with NZTR and StrathAyr representatives on Thursday morning to discuss the issue and work out a plan to try and rectify the issue ahead of their next meeting in 10 days’ time. “After the last race meeting here (this season), which is the 25th of May, it (StrathAyr track) will get a heavy renovation and that will be focussing on removing that matting to ensure going forward that that can’t cause any issues. This time next year, it will be settled and hopefully racing perfectly,” Wilcox said. “We have had a discussion with NZTR and we have got another meeting with them in the morning to work out a plan of attack so that we can have the confidence of our jockeys, owners, trainers and punters in our surface.” NZTR chief operating officer Darin Balcombe feels for the participants affected by Wednesday’s abandonment and said the three parties will be working hard on Thursday to identify a remedy. “We had a quick catch-up late this afternoon on the abandonment. We are going to meet again tomorrow morning and we have got StrathAyr coming over from Australia,” Balcombe said. “We are going to have a look at what we can do going forward into next week and whether it is still viable to run that meeting next Saturday. “We have got to do better. We can’t have these issues coming up and we have got to make sure that we get these fixes and make sure the tracks are improving. “I am pretty gutted for the owners that would have gone to the course today and had to go home again without a race. I really feel for them. “We will work through the issues and come up with a plan going forward and we will get that out to the industry at some stage tomorrow.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Just now, Chief Stipe said: “From what we can ascertain, it is the same issue where the grass is matted and joins the sand profile, which is causing the slipperiness. We thought we had that under control and we obviously didn’t,” Wilcox said. Is there a new word in there? I happened to overhear Wilcox talking about the track at some Ellerslie trials between Karaka Millions and Cup Week. I didn't feel particularly reassured by what I heard. The question is did they not do the same renovation work on the outside of the track as they did on the inside after KM? The sand is the issue fullstop. Where are you @TAB For Ever ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 No option now. Has to be shut down for 18 months and relaid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 FFS. Cameron George scarpered in time. With the quotes seen from Paul Wilcox and the Ellerslie track unusable for a further 18 months his salary could be saved too. The headline says, should have raced at Avondale. If racing authorities were truly in the job for the good of racing Avondale should definitely have been at the top of the list. Racing big wigs really are in Disneyland. They are a laughing stock, no other words to describe them. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAB For Ever Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said: Is there a new word in there? I happened to overhear Wilcox talking about the track at some Ellerslie trials between Karaka Millions and Cup Week. I didn't feel particularly reassured by what I heard. The question is did they not do the same renovation work on the outside of the track as they did on the inside after KM? The sand is the issue fullstop. Where are you @TAB For Ever ? I'm here Chief ,kinda shocked by the stupidity of the CEO and those in charge of the track management.. It hasn't rained much for weeks yet I watched race three ,and by my meagre wagering had a nice result and thought it a good competitive race to watch where the winner came from midfield and 2 of the first 4 came from backfullstopbut was dismayed at the cut in track . Who put all that water on it and why ? Great to get the teething issues out of the way ,hopefully they can settle in to good track management. If their only solution is to drench the track[ unevenly] in the 24 hours prior to racing then their jobs should be re-advertised . Meeting could have been held at Pukekohefullstop.Avondale is offline and the quicker it sold the better. For NZ's racing sake I'd like to see the $ money go the Waikato Greenfields plan. For future it would be great to have 2 x International courses in Northern region . But no use banging on about it ..some are calling for folk to 'speak up'. Messara told us there wasn't one decent track in NZ .A number of tracks have started work to renovate the tracks , it just doesn't happen in 5 minutes. Again ,send your 'suggestions' into the Club/ track committee on how they should progress. As I suggested to you on the Awapuni thread ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 14 minutes ago, TAB For Ever said: Who put all that water on it and why ? Because there being so much sand in the top layer you need to water it. It was rated a Good 4. The irrigation didn't cause the slipping. 16 minutes ago, TAB For Ever said: Great to get the teething issues out of the way ,hopefully they can settle in to good track management. In my opinion these aren't teething problems but fundamental issues with the way the track was built. Why do they need to fly in the StrathAyr experts from Australia if it is just teething problems? There should have been at least two abandonments of racing on the track since reopening. You'd expert more for $50m plus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 This track was supposed to be 'state of art'. At the moment there is an f missing and there is a lot of effing. What we require as an industry is to get this track, Ellerslie, right. The final sentence in the press release "we will work through the issues and come up with a plan going forward" says it loud and clear. The individuals responsible at both management and governance levels are , (a) been in charge too long and (b) are not capable of delivering competent profitable outcomes. Heads at general management, Executive and Board must roll. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 They sure do need to roll. NZTR has also been singing the praises of this wonder track. This is not a game but, they all appear to be merely playing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 3 hours ago, Chief Stipe said: I don't know how "more racing on the surface will fix it". If it was my racecourse I'd be inclined to get someone to start growing some turf, plow into the top 300mm what has already grown and add some loam to it. Then lay the new turf on top. As for the contours and course shape unfortunately they had their chance to fix that and now it is too late. You do realise that's about a $50,000 report, concisely presented in one paragraph. You really should stop giving away your advice for free. People don't respect you unless you charge handsomely for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Do they have another hill to sell? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 I don't think anyone wants the Ellerslie track to fail. But it is bitterly disappointing to see so much money invested and so much planning yet still we see fundamental issues arising. I hope to hell there is some science behind the customisation of the StrathAyr system implemented at Ellerslie. If there isn't then what a complete and utter stuff up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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