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Bit Of A Yarn

Hastings Track


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23 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Dear me it has been a while since you have been to the races!  If you go as a group then you always have someone to mind your handbag (in your case) while you go for a 2 minute walk to the parade ring!

If you move then you can't hear the DJ, even I know that!

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35 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Yes it is a good point BUT once they are there then you can capture them.  If they aren't there you have no show.  So the key will be the follow up on the day to engage them.

Of course I'd be interested to hear of @Huey 's alternative marketing strategy.

How is the capture going? these piss up's and shenanigans have been going on for a few years now and all they seem to be doing is going back for another piss up and shenanigans.

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43 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Nope because when you are oncourse you get a good ten minutes of watching the horses in the parade ring and galloping onto the track.  You don't get that in "decent pub TAB".

That's true but you also have another boring 20 minutes between races with nothing at all happening racing wise, so why not have a bit of other entertainment?

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3 minutes ago, curious said:

That's true but you also have another boring 20 minutes between races with nothing at all happening racing wise, so why not have a bit of other entertainment?

Exactly.  At least they are trying something.  Might not be hitting all the targets but hopefully they are doing a comprehensive Marketing ROI.

Although I haven't met many Marketers that are good in the analysis.  Stronger on the fluff.

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27 minutes ago, Doomed said:

A slight thread drift, but I was just wondering when the "I'm here for the piss up not the racing" actually started. I know there has always been a tiny element more interested in the piss up, but certainly not to the same extent as on the big days over recent years.

My first big race-meetings were Cup Week and the National meeting in ChCh. Riccarton was all about the racing in those days. Cup Day at Addington might have been the first to swing more towards the piss up. 

Even Trentham was still about the actual racing during the 80s.

I'm wondering if they tried to attract the young non-racing crowd once punter numbers started to drop away, or whether punter numbers started to drop away once the big days became more about the piss up than the racing.

It happened when the industry starting get full on non racing personnel types, they took the easy road out and when the booze up way. 

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1 hour ago, Doomed said:

A slight thread drift, but I was just wondering when the "I'm here for the piss up not the racing" actually started. I know there has always been a tiny element more interested in the piss up, but certainly not to the same extent as on the big days over recent years.

My first big race-meetings were Cup Week and the National meeting in ChCh. Riccarton was all about the racing in those days. Cup Day at Addington might have been the first to swing more towards the piss up. 

Even Trentham was still about the actual racing during the 80s.

I'm wondering if they tried to attract the young non-racing crowd once punter numbers started to drop away, or whether punter numbers started to drop away once the big days became more about the piss up than the racing.

I still haven't seen the 1995 NZ Trotting Cup.  I was there but was drinking champagne with a very attractive young woman after a BIG collect the race before!

I still remember fondly my first Wellington Cup Day 2001.  Started with breakfast at the Dockside Club and then bussed to their tent just down from the winning post on the infield.  I think we needed up finished where we started that day.

I don't think it is an either or question.  It can very successfully be both.  Where they went wrong was investing in flash grandstand infrastructure and forgetting about the tracks and stables I.e. the horse.  The one thing that differentiated them from every other entertainment in town.

That Wellington Cup day I mentioned there were 20,000+ on course and the majority were housed in tents.

To draw a parallel was Rugby at Lancaster Park ever the same when they got rid of the bank?  

I started my interest in racing at the Westland Racing Club and they didn't invest in flash stand.  The facilities didn't change in the 40 years I went there.

All that said I think something must be working because I have met a lot of young people in the last couple of years that are really interested in the game.

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51 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

They may hedge their bets by irrigating again.

May be. Though I wouldn't exactly call 5mms irrigating. Just enough to settle the dust. If that's the application level they've been using, there won't be much root development.

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14 hours ago, curious said:

May be. Though I wouldn't exactly call 5mms irrigating. Just enough to settle the dust. If that's the application level they've been using, there won't be much root development.

I see they have updated the irrigation to 10mm.  May have irrigated last night.  No rain overnight.

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18 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Yep.  Lots of talent in that race.

But you might see a very good colt win the El Roca.

what odds that last seasons 2 yr old of the year wins a race? :)

 

ps, I can report, its been a few seasons since I've been this Up for a NZ meeting!  'we' have Wingatui the next day, oncourse.. lol, I hope I back up well!! :)

 

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10 minutes ago, Huey said:

Fillies race has to be race of the day, plenty of interest there.

100% with ya... I think this race  reflects how now a days there is more depth in the filly races, what with most top males being brought by overseas interests and then the ever present agent looking to get any horse that looks like having ability. 

It will be interesting to see the market :)

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Just now, Murray Fish said:

100% with ya... I think this race  reflects how now a days there is more depth in the filly races, what with most top males being brought by overseas interests and then the ever present agent looking to get any horse that looks like having ability. 

It will be interesting to see the market :)

Please explain the pathways these fillies have after the Gold Trail?  Some will want to head down the sprint path and the others towards the Guineas races.  But look at the calendar there aren't many black type or even plain old 3yr old fillies races between now and Cup week.

Same with the 3yr old boys.

In my opinion all the focus on the Karaka Millions and the Sweepstake and Novelty races has neglected the pathways to get to them!!!  Opens us right up to Aussie raiders.

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Well who would have thought!  Now a Soft 5.  2 mm of rain yesterday.  No more irrigation however it goes from a G4 to a Soft 5.

Thursday Morning
Weather: Fine 
Track: Soft 5
Moisture Meter: 41.5%
Rail: True
Rainfall: 2mm Last 24 Hours | 4mm Rain Last 7 days
Irrigation: 0mm Applied Last 24 Hours | 14mm Applied Last 7 Days
Weather and Track updated at 9.00am Thursday 5 September

 

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1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said:

Well who would have thought!  Now a Soft 5.  2 mm of rain yesterday.  No more irrigation however it goes from a G4 to a Soft 5.

Thursday Morning
Weather: Fine 
Track: Soft 5
Moisture Meter: 41.5%
Rail: True
Rainfall: 2mm Last 24 Hours | 4mm Rain Last 7 days
Irrigation: 0mm Applied Last 24 Hours | 14mm Applied Last 7 Days
Weather and Track updated at 9.00am Thursday 5 September

 

I hope they are better eqipped to manage the track than what they are maths. Irrigation 14mm applied last 7 days.

They put on 5mm as shown on Monday and another 10mm as shown on Wednesday  :D

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On 9/4/2024 at 11:33 AM, Chief Stipe said:

Please explain the pathways these fillies have after the Gold Trail?  Some will want to head down the sprint path and the others towards the Guineas races.  But look at the calendar there aren't many black type or even plain old 3yr old fillies races between now and Cup week.

Same with the 3yr old boys.

In my opinion all the focus on the Karaka Millions and the Sweepstake and Novelty races has neglected the pathways to get to them!!!  Opens us right up to Aussie raiders.

If you think its bad for the fillies in the north what about the SI? 5 southern trained male nominations for the 2,000 Guineas and 16 southern fillies nominated for the 1,000 Guineas. And yet despite all those southern fillies their only opportunity against their own sex prior to the 1,000 Guineas is next week's Canterbury Belle Stakes over 1,200m, an ex Geraldine race. After the 1,000 Guineas the next fillies race is probably late February or early March. Always been a strange fillies structure in the south.

I have always thought a 1,400m fillies race might work on Melb Cup day at Wingatui, but even that would leave about 8 weeks between fillies races.

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