Auckland Stakes

[Happy Sunrise]

An old topic but it stands out tomorrow night - The money up for grabs tomorrow is very good, far better than what Addington offers. I can only imagine a steady stream of southern horses going north in the near future and it will be the short term saviour of harness racing in Auckland.

That is good as it was dead otherwise. 

[JJ Flash]

Harness  has never been that strong in the North Island for some decades now Happy. You only have to remember when thanks to Roy McKenzie Hutt Park was operational. Without him the place would have been shut down much earlier. ATC's current stakes should be attracting far more interest and participation than they current receive. One might conclude that there is just not the interest in Harness  these days in that region

 

Greg

[the galah]

was the stake increase announced to appease the negative publicity they have been receiving in respect of their original projections of profit from their foray into construction?

why would it lead to better racing when the number of licence holders and horses is on the decline?

What steps are being taken to address those issues?

Bigger stakes are a positive,but are just part of the overall picture.