Riccarton All Weather Track - Q & A Forum 16 September 2020 - PLEASE READ.

[Pitman]

56 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Well you are talking 30 so I'm out by 10. 

So only 10 meetings on the glorious Riccarton Turf track for the year?

But if I'm delusional then the person who made the public statement that I read must be an absolute loon.

Would you agree?

I have never said how many race meetings on AWT track I understand it may be 12

[Chief Stipe]

12 minutes ago, Pitman said:

I have never said how many race meetings on AWT track I understand it may be 12

So 28 on the Turf course?

[Freda]

As below...don't know what happened there...

 

Edited September 4, 2020 by Freda

[Freda]

35 minutes ago, Joe Bloggs said:

And about half of the Newmarket trainers don't like them, but as I wrote some 5 years back, the AWT in the UK was a godsend for owners/trainers and staff that usually were laid off during the winter if the stable didn't cross train with jumpers. It also gave a lot of horses a second chance, they were headed for the knackers as they were average on the grass....some show aptitude and improvement on the AWT and it saved them and gave their owners a return........of sorts.

But a punting medium, in the UK they'll bet on anything as they have the gambling culture, NZ doesn't, so once the novelty wears off.......just saying.

Aus has the gambling culture too.

[Joe Bloggs]

2 minutes ago, Freda said:

Aus has the gambling culture too.

Absolutely

[nomates]

As Freda said and i have been banging on about since this topic arose , Aus and GB have a large enough horse population that allows for enough horses to cross over to A/W's to make sustainable numbers for regular race meetings , we don't .

I'm sure everybody will give it a crack , but as soon as they find out their horses don't go on it they will be out . Then there are the substantial number of winter horses we have that simply aren't fast enough to be competitive on them , they need heavy/bog tracks to be competitive . Then god forbid but we start getting serious injuries , and they have a history of them , or worse still deaths . 

The owners/trainers that start losing horses to injuries on death will stop risking other animals , and we don't have enough horses to step up and fill these gaps . 

Like Avondale with night racing , where a large proportion of horses didn't take to night racing , the field sizes and quality start to suffer till the racing becomes irrelevant , then what , Oh that's right will still be good for training and trialing apparently . Solved .

Fix the tracks we have , especially the main centers , for regular racing , before we gamble on more A/W's . Or sell and move to more longer term , high spec facilities to future proof racing .

[Freda]

2 minutes ago, nomates said:

As Freda said and i have been banging on about since this topic arose , Aus and GB have a large enough horse population that allows for enough horses to cross over to A/W's to make sustainable numbers for regular race meetings , we don't .

I'm sure everybody will give it a crack , but as soon as they find out their horses don't go on it they will be out . Then there are the substantial number of winter horses we have that simply aren't fast enough to be competitive on them , they need heavy/bog tracks to be competitive . Then god forbid but we start getting serious injuries , and they have a history of them , or worse still deaths . 

The owners/trainers that start losing horses to injuries on death will stop risking other animals , and we don't have enough horses to step up and fill these gaps . 

Like Avondale with night racing , where a large proportion of horses didn't take to night racing , the field sizes and quality start to suffer till the racing becomes irrelevant , then what , Oh that's right will still be good for training and trialing apparently . Solved .

Fix the tracks we have , especially the main centers , for regular racing , before we gamble on more A/W's . Or sell and move to more longer term , high spec facilities to future proof racing .

Absolutely.

BUT  -  the money to fix the main centre tracks was to come from asset sales.  There is no other source of funding to do that.

[Joe Bloggs]

14 minutes ago, nomates said:

As Freda said and i have been banging on about since this topic arose , Aus and GB have a large enough horse population that allows for enough horses to cross over to A/W's to make sustainable numbers for regular race meetings , we don't .

I'm sure everybody will give it a crack , but as soon as they find out their horses don't go on it they will be out . Then there are the substantial number of winter horses we have that simply aren't fast enough to be competitive on them , they need heavy/bog tracks to be competitive . Then god forbid but we start getting serious injuries , and they have a history of them , or worse still deaths . 

The owners/trainers that start losing horses to injuries on death will stop risking other animals , and we don't have enough horses to step up and fill these gaps . 

Like Avondale with night racing , where a large proportion of horses didn't take to night racing , the field sizes and quality start to suffer till the racing becomes irrelevant , then what , Oh that's right will still be good for training and trialing apparently . Solved .

Fix the tracks we have , especially the main centers , for regular racing , before we gamble on more A/W's . Or sell and move to more longer term , high spec facilities to future proof racing .

So many horses wont chase due to kick back, no use running a timid horse on it, the kick back at Geelong became a standing joke, I see the joke moving across the Tasman, the answer is simple, a consensus of people who know through experience, lay a strath and the kick back will be a different genre.......a beer a happy owner and trainer and a relaxed enjoyable experience.......but I'm wasting my time, most of you get it, the dickheads don't, and those filled with their own importance don't get it........do they?      

[Chief Stipe]

19 minutes ago, Freda said:

BUT  -  the money to fix the main centre tracks was to come from asset sales.  There is no other source of funding to do that.

How much is that going to provide?  I'd say not as much as they think or at least not enough.

[Freda]

Just now, Chief Stipe said:

How much is that going to provide?  I'd say not as much as they think or at least not enough.

Nothing, as yet..because no asset has been realised, has it?

[Freda]

22 minutes ago, Freda said:

Absolutely.

BUT  -  the money to fix the main centre tracks was to come from asset sales.  There is no other source of funding to do that.

The AWT's have been funded [ partially ]  by the taxpayer.  It is wrong  [ IMO ]  to be continually bolstering up a business that can't run itself... and won't be happening again.

[Chief Stipe]

1 minute ago, Freda said:

The AWT's have been funded [ partially ]  by the taxpayer.  It is wrong  [ IMO ]  to be continually bolstering up a business that can't run itself... and won't be happening again.

Yes and created assets that the industry can't maintain.

[nomates]

1 hour ago, Freda said:

Absolutely.

BUT  -  the money to fix the main centre tracks was to come from asset sales.  There is no other source of funding to do that.

I agree , so what do we do , continue on this downward spiral , find the money to fix the tracks . Will any of these future proof racing , no . 

[nomates]

2 hours ago, Pitman said:

I have never said how many race meetings on AWT track I understand it may be 12

If that is a correct number then it is an even dumber decision than ever , 15mil for 12 meetings a season . Be cheaper to take the loses from the abandoned days , the few there are each season .

[Freda]

41 minutes ago, nomates said:

If that is a correct number then it is an even dumber decision than ever , 15mil for 12 meetings a season . Be cheaper to take the loses from the abandoned days , the few there are each season .

Eff all losses from abandoned days, after all no stakes or tea ladies to pay.

Inconvenience and costs to stakeholders,  but until very recently they weren't compensated.

I had to retire a horse when his owners pulled pin after two abandoned days at Oamaru, a few years ago now.   Only a maiden,  and the two float trips and associated disappointment finished them.

That gelding later appeared on the local dressage/event circuit as M.G., and showed good style and potential. 

Sold on to Jock Paget he then competed as Angus Blue, won in Sth Aust, and then went to the Uk where he did well .

Repatriated back home to train with Jock's Olympic hopes. 

So not always a bad ending!

[Chief Stipe]

Do you think they will have the common-sense to build the Polytrack in such a way that it doesn't compromise the Turf track?

From my understanding the base infrastructure is fairly permanent and you would want to make sure you compensated for drainage from the existing turf track.

[Freda]

1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said:

Do you think they will have the common-sense to build the Polytrack in such a way that it doesn't compromise the Turf track?

From my understanding the base infrastructure is fairly permanent and you would want to make sure you compensated for drainage from the existing turf track.

The cynic in me says what drainage? H 11 for weeks .....

However, the engineers involved have also done the Cambridge track,  under direction from the Australian company, one assumes the expertise is both up to date and up to the job.

[Shad]

2 hours ago, Freda said:

Eff all losses from abandoned days, after all no stakes or tea ladies to pay.

Inconvenience and costs to stakeholders,  but until very recently they weren't compensated.

I had to retire a horse when his owners pulled pin after two abandoned days at Oamaru, a few years ago now.   Only a maiden,  and the two float trips and associated disappointment finished them.

That gelding later appeared on the local dressage/event circuit as M.G., and showed good style and potential. 

Sold on to Jock Paget he then competed as Angus Blue, won in Sth Aust, and then went to the Uk where he did well .

Repatriated back home to train with Jock's Olympic hopes. 

So not always a bad ending!

Given the plight of racing, may be a better option to make them into a equestrian horse, especially before they make the races, be more financially beneficial for sure

[Freda]

On 5/09/2020 at 11:22 AM, Freda said:

The AWT's have been funded [ partially ]  by the taxpayer.  It is wrong  [ IMO ]  to be continually bolstering up a business that can't run itself... and won't be happening again.

Anyone see Q & A with Jack Tame?

[Chief Stipe]

[Freda]

2 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Oh dear.

[mikeynz]

5 hours ago, Freda said:

Anyone see Q & A with Jack Tame?

Winnies gotta look after his voters,not that there are many left.

[mikeynz]

I dont think in some ways it matters how many donations NZ First get from racing people,no different really to how many rural people donate to the Nats,I dont think Mr Tame will be voting for his party though😊

Edited September 7, 2020 by mikeynz

[Reefton]

10 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

I dont think in some ways it matters how many donations NZ First get from racing people,no different really to how many rural people donate to the Nats,I dont think Mr Tame will be voting for his party though😊

I think the differences are (1) that National don't have the blatantly quid pro quo thing going like Winnie does with his racing cronies(2)there are a lot more and diverse range of National donors than just the rural sector

And one suspects there is some displeasure among Winnie's racing mates that he went with Jacinda and not Bill English.  At the end of the day those people, being successful, hard working and Intelligent(notwithstanding the fact they are matey with Peters) are always going to tend towards the Nats.  The fact National voted for the new Racing Act tends to suggest there has been some influence exerted in their party as well.

[mikeynz]

What can any party ,government do for racing,? its up to racing to do it's own thing,the govt can only do so much.