Nowornever Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 Disappointing! It used to be a big couple of days a few years ago but getting worse every year. Not sure who is to blame but the high cost of travel would definitely put a few off I suppose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Nowornever said: Disappointing! It used to be a big couple of days a few years ago but getting worse every year. Not sure who is to blame but the high cost of travel would definitely put a few off I suppose. Geez that is disappointing for harness , as used to have full fields. Yes cost of travel, accommodation costs and general cost of living as well as other things in play! Harness NZ has been asleep at the wheel for the past few decades and it is going to hit harness racing hard, as well as the recession that the Labour Government has caused and wants! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 21 minutes ago, Brodie said: Geez that is disappointing for harness , as used to have full fields. Yes cost of travel, accommodation costs and general cost of living as well as other things in play! Harness NZ has been asleep at the wheel for the past few decades and it is going to hit harness racing hard, as well as the recession that the Labour Government has caused and wants! Yes, and a lot of trainers that used to take teams to Westport are retired or have scaled back, eg Ian Cameron etc. There are also not many trainers now on the West Coast, Marlborough and Nelson. Many horses from those areas used to compete on the Coast circuit, not now. Costs also soaring. The government is to blame for the upcoming recession. And where is the Racing Minister, the bully ex-bookie? Joke! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 Yes real shame, given their impressive turnovers year in year out, see a few of the usual trainers not coming, but as some have said cost and a sign of the times, nominations left open till today, but can't see that making to much difference, doesn't bode well for the circuit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom lady Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Less than 80 horses left. With a bit of attrition over over the 3 days how will reefton hold up? probably need someone like Mickey to take over a truckload or 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Very worrying indeed. only 8 races first day so maybe many enthusiasts may not bother going over for the circuit? Only 7 starters in the Westport Cup for $20k. Plenty of racing around over the Xmas New Year and maybe the owners want to race at Motukarara rather than risking going to the Coast due to the costs and possibility of a wet track which often occurs. There are major storm clouds on the horizon for harness and the people making the decisions need to earn their large salaries! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Very worrying times ahead, for a club that's usually have a abundance of horses looking for a start, be the worst fields they've had for many a year, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 Addington today and 196 noms for the mot next Thursday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honestjohn Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 And no ashvegas on Boxing Day,again . I loved punting Boxing Day. Their loss. Hj 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 On 12/21/2022 at 10:55 PM, Brodie said: Very worrying indeed. only 8 races first day so maybe many enthusiasts may not bother going over for the circuit? Only 7 starters in the Westport Cup for $20k. Plenty of racing around over the Xmas New Year and maybe the owners want to race at Motukarara rather than risking going to the Coast due to the costs and possibility of a wet track which often occurs. There are major storm clouds on the horizon for harness and the people making the decisions need to earn their large salaries! The whole of Westport is on the way out my old mate. Flooding will worsen there and soon they won't be able to get insurance for properties etc. Westport will be a ghost town in 20 years time. The racing will be finished long before then, two years max! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 36 minutes ago, Davis said: The whole of Westport is on the way out my old mate. Flooding will worsen there and soon they won't be able to get insurance for properties etc. Westport will be a ghost town in 20 years time. The racing will be finished long before then, two years max! Sad that a Labour Party town has been let down by this Labour Government. If they had facilitated the keeping of the dredge that dredged the Buller River mouth there would be no flooding. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterthepunter Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 1 hour ago, Davis said: The whole of Westport is on the way out my old mate. Flooding will worsen there and soon they won't be able to get insurance for properties etc. Westport will be a ghost town in 20 years time. The racing will be finished long before then, two years max! like Sean local track SPOTSWOOD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 1 hour ago, Davis said: The whole of Westport is on the way out my old mate. Flooding will worsen there and soon they won't be able to get insurance for properties etc. Westport will be a ghost town in 20 years time. The racing will be finished long before then, two years max! Well, not much positivity in those comments, I'm sure some of the residents will have a different view, bit more to it than just the floods, hope the flooding is not coming to a town near you, wont be a lot of places where it's not, coast can handle more rain than most other districts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 5 hours ago, Chief Stipe said: Sad that a Labour Party town has been let down by this Labour Government. If they had facilitated the keeping of the dredge that dredged the Buller River mouth there would be no flooding. I agree, but probably too late to do anything now? The horse has bolted, sad. The West Coast betrayed once again by Kind Jacinda and Labour. But they will keep on voting for them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 3 hours ago, Shad said: Well, not much positivity in those comments, I'm sure some of the residents will have a different view, bit more to it than just the floods, hope the flooding is not coming to a town near you, wont be a lot of places where it's not, coast can handle more rain than most other districts. Look don't get snarky with me, mate. I'm just calling how i see it and I am not the only one saying that Westport is stuffed. Sure, some parts of the town will be liveable but the rest won't be. The town is dying and the racing too. It's sad but it's reality... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honestjohn Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 1 hour ago, Davis said: I agree, but probably too late to do anything now? The horse has bolted, sad. The West Coast betrayed once again by Kind Jacinda and Labour. But they will keep on voting for them... She'd be able to eat babies, they would still vote for her. They really can't see beyond her, thick a holes. Hj 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honestjohn Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 1 hour ago, Davis said: Look don't get snarky with me, mate. I'm just calling how i see it and I am not the only one saying that Westport is stuffed. Sure, some parts of the town will be liveable but the rest won't be. The town is dying and the racing too. It's sad but it's reality... I don't think it will close, I used to do business with more companies on thefringes and a bit further out than in the town. The coast is the coast t, it's been good to me for years. Hj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 3 hours ago, Davis said: Look don't get snarky with me, mate. I'm just calling how i see it and I am not the only one saying that Westport is stuffed. Sure, some parts of the town will be liveable but the rest won't be. The town is dying and the racing too. It's sad but it's 3 hours ago, Davis said: Look don't get snarky with me, mate. I'm just calling how i see it and I am not the only one saying that Westport is stuffed. Sure, some parts of the town will be liveable but the rest won't be. The town is dying and the racing too. It's sad but it's Any other towns and clubs you could add to the list, just to keep things a little more balanced, the old coasters a resilient bunch,and can handle a few hundred mills rain, think the day they had the big one buller river peaked 12.5 metres, and interesting the flooding was from an off shoot of the buller river ,which was ment to work as an overflow and had done for years, trouble being hadn't been maintained for 20 plus years, getting back to the racing the club will still do a good turnover better than most, and probably in a better shape than most. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 20 hours ago, Chief Stipe said: Sad that a Labour Party town has been let down by this Labour Government. If they had facilitated the keeping of the dredge that dredged the Buller River mouth there would be no Apparently they still have the dredge and it hasn't been sold, and is contracted out to various areas, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 Looked like a very big crowd there today, be interesting to see what the turnover was, apparently dexter Dunn was on course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 On 25/12/2022 at 9:19 AM, Shad said: Apparently they still have the dredge and it hasn't been sold, and is contracted out to various areas, Suggest you do some more research. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 2 hours ago, Chief Stipe said: Suggest you do some more research. According to my source, the dredge parked up at the buller river today, maybe on xmas holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 On 24/12/2022 at 12:03 PM, Davis said: The whole of Westport is on the way out my old mate. Flooding will worsen there and soon they won't be able to get insurance for properties etc. Westport will be a ghost town in 20 years time. The racing will be finished long before then, two years max! Given the events of recent days, looks like many other regions maybe on the ways out to, as I stated not just coast with flooding issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 23 minutes ago, Shad said: Given the events of recent days, looks like many other regions maybe on the ways out to, as I stated not just coast with flooding issues. History keeps repeating itself and will continue to do so, you cant beat nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 Looks like these fields a little better for their meeting on Friday, certainly the turnover won't be as good as boxing day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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