KickintheKods Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 Group 1 Day - well done to the track manager for presenting a PERFECT track but.........I have never seen such a small crowd on a Group 1 day. Where is everyone??????? Is the Trackside presentation with their massive crew that good, that people would rather stay home???? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journalists Wandering Eyes Posted September 7 Journalists Share Posted September 7 Yes I'm on course and the crowd is very very small. 24 degrees strong but warm wind. Track probably better than a G4 already. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 You are aware the most exciting summer in the history of NZ racing doesn't start for another few weeks. I imagine most of the big punters are waiting for that to kick off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 3 hours ago, Doomed said: You are aware the most exciting summer in the history of NZ racing doesn't start for another few weeks. I imagine most of the big punters are waiting for that to kick off. Cynical..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloke Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 5 hours ago, KickintheKods said: Group 1 Day - well done to the track manager for presenting a PERFECT track but.........I have never seen such a small crowd on a Group 1 day. Where is everyone??????? Is the Trackside presentation with their massive crew that good, that people would rather stay home???? If you want to see a smaller Group 1 Day, then go to Ellerslie. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 32 minutes ago, Freda said: Cynical..... Who, me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Centaur Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 When one views the live TV from the UK its eye opening the number of people surrounding the parade ring even at the lesser meetings. Here in NZ the the way to attend racing is being hold up in the bar something that can be done anywhere without the hassle of going racing. Seems we are still stuck with the support the breweries way of life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 I'm amazed there haven't been more comments on this thread. We had a raceday with a perfect track, the best weather for months and decent enough fields, plus heaps of hype, numerous trackside experts on course and a group 1 race. And yet on TV there appeared to be hardly anyone there. Compare it with Doomben, which had a massive crowd for a run of the mill meeting, and Morphettville with another low key meeting but the commentators talked up the decent sized crowd. I imagine NZTR and Entain must have a Monday morning debrief to discuss how the weekend went. Surely they discussed what the problem was at Hastings and why no one could be bothered attending. Surely they must question whether their expensive advertising and marketing is working? I know technically the most exciting summer in the history of NZ racing hasn't quite started yet, but honestly the omens aren't looking good. I get the impression the whole season is judged on the crowd for the Karaka day and the slot race, even though those meetings aim for smaller crowds than NZ Cup day. Back to HB though. What do people think the reason was? Personally I wonder whether a $30 entrance fee for a meeting with hardly anyone there and no atmosphere puts a lot of people off. That's $60 for a couple. Makes it hard to attract the casual racegoer, or even the regular racegoer who is used to getting in for free and probably decided to watch this one from home. I also wonder whether the fact that the third day of the meeting is known as the party day means that most people save their money for that day. If that is the case it probably shows that one or two party days a year don't actually attract people to racing and boost crowds for other days throughout the year. I know many years ago clubs that had a particularly poor performance turnover-wise on course were usually asked to explain what went wrong. I don't know if that still happens. If it does, HB could hardly blame the weather and the lack of high profile races for the poor attendance and turnover. It would be fascinating to hear what their explanation is. It might be worthwhile those attending the roadshows this week in the north asking NZTR what they made of the first group one day of the season and whether they think it augurs well for the season ahead. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Fish Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 4 minutes ago, Doomed said: Back to HB though. What do people think the reason was? Personally I wonder whether a $30 entrance fee for a meeting with hardly anyone there and no atmosphere puts a lot of people off. That's $60 for a couple. ouch.. 'mrs' No interest is paying to be on course... happy to be on course, for free.. and she actually much prefers days when there is no one on course, as Wingatui on sunday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloke Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 8 minutes ago, Murray Fish said: ouch.. 'mrs' No interest is paying to be on course... happy to be on course, for free.. and she actually much prefers days when there is no one on course, as Wingatui on sunday There was no entrance fee on Saturday at Hastings. You had the option of making a donation for Daffodil Day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomed Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 7 minutes ago, Bloke said: There was no entrance fee on Saturday at Hastings. You had the option of making a donation for Daffodil Day. That's interesting. I looked up the club website and it said $30 under general admission. Same for all three days. It probably makes it even worse then if it was free entry and still no one went. I am presuming it was a very small crowd, it looked very small on TV. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 One talks about crowds, that was the only low point of the Ranfurly Shield match on Saturday night in Napier, unlike the old days where a top of the table clash plus the shield would have full house written all over it it just lacked that one vital component, TV is or has made people complacent, the interest is still there for both Racing and Rugby, crowds unfortunately ain't no more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 13 hours ago, The Centaur said: When one views the live TV from the UK its eye opening the number of people surrounding the parade ring even at the lesser meetings. Here in NZ the the way to attend racing is being hold up in the bar something that can be done anywhere without the hassle of going racing. Seems we are still stuck with the support the breweries way of life. Would the numbers of people surrounding the parade rings in the UK have to do with the rails bookies? They do help a lot with colour and atmosphere, never mind just getting a bet on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloke Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 18 hours ago, Doomed said: That's interesting. I looked up the club website and it said $30 under general admission. Same for all three days. It probably makes it even worse then if it was free entry and still no one went. I am presuming it was a very small crowd, it looked very small on TV. This is not surprising with The Hawkes Bay Racing Club. I have moved from Lower Hutt to Napier and love the amazing weather. Temperatures in the 20s in winter are not uncommon here. Unfortunately, in my opinion the Racing Club is poorly run. I tried to join as a member online but to no avail. The sound system is still stuffed if you are in the main stand trying to listen to the call and the food at the sole outlet on course is disgusting. However, the one redeeming feature is that the quality of the fields is great. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 54 minutes ago, Bloke said: Unfortunately, in my opinion the Racing Club is poorly run. I tried to join as a member online but to no avail. The sound system is still stuffed if you are in the main stand trying to listen to the call and the food at the sole outlet on course is disgusting. Yes the on course sound system is worse than crap. The facilities are OK though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 Just now, Chief Stipe said: Yes the on course sound system is worse than crap. The facilities are OK though. Agree on the sound but the facilities were fucking freezing last time I was there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 4 minutes ago, curious said: Agree on the sound but the facilities were fucking freezing last time I was there. Well the stand like most of that era faces away from the sun. Then again @curious you don't appear to have ever carried much insulating condition. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Fish Posted September 10 Share Posted September 10 1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said: Then again @curious you don't appear to have ever carried much insulating condition. he would be getting fatten up a bit if he lived in one of our paddocks! house motto for any quests: You Will Leave Heavier! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted Thursday at 06:44 PM Share Posted Thursday at 06:44 PM On 10/09/2024 at 4:05 PM, Bloke said: This is not surprising with The Hawkes Bay Racing Club. I have moved from Lower Hutt to Napier and love the amazing weather. Temperatures in the 20s in winter are not uncommon here. Unfortunately, in my opinion the Racing Club is poorly run. I tried to join as a member online but to no avail. The sound system is still stuffed if you are in the main stand trying to listen to the call and the food at the sole outlet on course is disgusting. However, the one redeeming feature is that the quality of the fields is great. Sounds like most racing clubs in NZ though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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