jess Posted yesterday at 04:55 AM Share Posted yesterday at 04:55 AM Things are getting desperate. Tracks dropping like flies (for various reasons) - and as the few remaining options do their best to soak up the racing programme - and winter approaches - I expect some of these will fall victim to the increased frequency of racing. There are race-days scheduled for the Awapuni AWT starting this month - will these go ahead? If so, how well patronised will they be? I don't know the answers. It feels like we're playing musical chairs on the Titanic -whilst chairs are being heaved overboard one at a time - and the players are increasingly desperate to find a chair with fewer & fewer available. And a feeling of impending doom pervades the deck, with the fear that the whole ship may shortly succumb to the stormy seas & sink without trace. Something I wondered about in terms of a short term measure - where we have some serviceable & safe tracks currently used for training - could we use these for racing? I don't know enough about all the venues but I imagine it would be a bridge too far to invite the public to attend some of these where the public facilities have long since fallen into disrepair. But would it be possible to accommodate the essential participants(& steeds) at some of these venues - sans public entry? So at least provide racing for the TV audience, the punters, the trainers & the owners. It may not be feasible but don't we have to start at least considering some options? To the executive team & the CEO who tells us he is so "excited" to lead us all into the future - now would be a good time to show some leadership, initiative, innovation - & start earning those handsome salaries doing something other than just talking their talk & issuing spin via the Corporate Communications Team. Much more of this & I reckon a lot of CD owners will start thinking of just cutting their losses & turning their horses out. Cometh the hour - cometh the man? Haven't seen it yet but ever hopeful ....needs to happen soon though ... J 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted yesterday at 06:05 AM Share Posted yesterday at 06:05 AM If the tracks that arent being used need to be used they should tell the industry to get stuffed! They'll only be getting used by an industry that never gave a stuff about them in the first place. Get those chickens home to roost an industry that deserves everything it has coming to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted 11 hours ago Share Posted 11 hours ago 14 hours ago, Huey said: Get those chickens home to roost an industry that deserves everything it has coming to it! Not everyone in the industry has agreed with decisions made. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted 11 hours ago Share Posted 11 hours ago 15 hours ago, jess said: Something I wondered about in terms of a short term measure - where we have some serviceable & safe tracks currently used for training - could we use these for racing? Much more of this & I reckon a lot of CD owners will start thinking of just cutting their losses & turning their horses out. The obvious ones are Stratford, Foxton, Levin and Waipukurau. Has the CEO been to any of those for a first hand look? CD owners and trainers are visibly angry and already talking pulling the pin and looking for alternative employment. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted 7 hours ago Share Posted 7 hours ago 3 hours ago, Special Agent said: CD owners and trainers are visibly angry and already talking pulling the pin and looking for alternative employment. Would many of those trainers be employable in any other field? In many ways Harness Racing is missing a trick, they could promote themselves jn many ways as in offering owners the knowledge with all weather tracks they are guaranteed racing all year round,Southland finishes gallops next week but the trots go right through but most of the galloping trainers in the South race small teams, more than likely semi pro, they have a 8 month season, you sometimes wonder with all the issues with tracks in the CD if they would be best to scale right back in winter. But you could also counter that the reason so many meetings get called off is because everyone's got niggly about health and safety, maybe in the old days they raced on tracks exactly the same and possibly worse but times were different then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted 6 hours ago Share Posted 6 hours ago 45 minutes ago, mikeynz said: Would many of those trainers be employable in any other field? They are no different to anyone else in New Zealand who has been made redundant, and would have to learn. With menial jobs, if you can get one, at least you know what day you get paid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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