Ashburton Tuesday

[LongOwner]

I guess the handicapper wants Wednesday off but can someone tell me why is Ashburton racing on Tuesday?

All major trainers and top drivers in Nelson and they normally  try to have a holiday around Blenheim so clear from Sunday night to Friday.

Is any thought given to trainer & driver welfare - or is it more important to make  sure you clean the water trough daily? 

Or maybe the handicapper has  a golf game planned or work from home Wed - Friday next week.

Same as the Ashburton Thursday cup week - another anti driver trainer welfare date.

I assume Ashburton doesn’t mind trainer rumblings re programming races that create unfavourable trainer/driver comment.

 

[the galah]

So whats stopping anyone having a holiday in nelson or blenheim?

No ones forcing anyone to come back to ashburton.

Its the only meeting in canterbury in a 3 week period.

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by the galah

[mikeynz]

Nelson and Blenheim should have clear windows to get the best possible fields, they probably should still have the winter circuit too but that seems history.

We just saw the impact too much racing in Canterbury had on Westport, give the regions a break and maybe Canterbury has a break now and then too, we are being saturated with a lot of average meetings but reducing traditional meetings seems a bit backward  to me.

Just my thoughts and its 5 am.

[the galah]

5 hours ago, mikeynz said:

Nelson and Blenheim should have clear windows to get the best possible fields, they probably should still have the winter circuit too but that seems history.

We just saw the impact too much racing in Canterbury had on Westport, give the regions a break and maybe Canterbury has a break now and then too, we are being saturated with a lot of average meetings but reducing traditional meetings seems a bit backward  to me.

Just my thoughts and its 5 am.

But the numbers from nelson and ashburton don't support your comments.

nelson had 11 races with good size fields and ashburton has the same.

And as i have said before,turnovers are high at this time of year,especially on the average meetings you refer to.Its also the meetings which mostly have the lower class horses at this time of year that get the big crowds. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by the galah

[mikeynz]

12 minutes ago, the galah said:

But the numbers from nelson and ashburton don't support your comments.

nelson had 11 races with good size fields and ashburton has the same.

And as i have said before,turnovers are high at this time of year,especially on the average meetings you refer to.Its also the meetings which mostly have the lower class horses at this time of year that get the big crowds. 

Some of those fields at Nelson are smallish. Do they justify 12 races ?

Anyway, whatever, the once a year clubs always attract good crowds, no matter what thr horses on display.

Edited January 13, 2023 by mikeynz

[Richie]

A lot of horses in Canterbury and u less you want to spend a lot of money on circuit racing there has been basically a 2 week gap between meetings.The size of fields at Ashburton proves trainers have been waiting for a meeting In Canterbury.

[Mikie]

15 hours ago, LongOwner said:

I guess the handicapper wants Wednesday off but can someone tell me why is Ashburton racing on Tuesday?

All major trainers and top drivers in Nelson and they normally  try to have a holiday around Blenheim so clear from Sunday night to Friday.

Is any thought given to trainer & driver welfare - or is it more important to make  sure you clean the water trough daily? 

Or maybe the handicapper has  a golf game planned or work from home Wed - Friday next week.

Same as the Ashburton Thursday cup week - another anti driver trainer welfare date.

I assume Ashburton doesn’t mind trainer rumblings re programming races that create unfavourable trainer/driver comment.

 

I can't really see where the driver welfare comes in LongOwner

Are you telling me Blair Orange is incapable of driving at Nelson, going to bed, getting a plane to Christchurch and a ride to Ashburton?

Really?

Tell that to a doctor in an emergency ward working 2 x 12 hour shifts

[Taku Umanga]

4 hours ago, Richie said:

A lot of horses in Canterbury and u less you want to spend a lot of money on circuit racing there has been basically a 2 week gap between meetings.The size of fields at Ashburton proves trainers have been waiting for a meeting In Canterbury.

Yep - I know a few trainers that aren't travelling due to costs and the fact there is plenty of racing closer to home

[Davis]

13 hours ago, mikeynz said:

Nelson and Blenheim should have clear windows to get the best possible fields, they probably should still have the winter circuit too but that seems history.

We just saw the impact too much racing in Canterbury had on Westport, give the regions a break and maybe Canterbury has a break now and then too, we are being saturated with a lot of average meetings but reducing traditional meetings seems a bit backward  to me.

Just my thoughts and its 5 am.

No, agree with none of this. It was hopeless with no local Canterbury meetings this weekend. Who's bright idea was that. I generally would not bet at Nelson unless its was good odds or got the nod (unfortunately, not many of them these days). I would not be at all at Waterlea. I consider it one of the worst tracks in the world. The game is dying there because of the track and few train there now. Only slow plodders trained by Miss Kendra Gill, who is a good horsewoman but poor harness driver. Since the O'Briens left the industry under a cloud the game died up there. Sad but fact. 

Addington is my favourite track and where I do 80 percent of my betting.

[Mikie]

14 hours ago, Davis said:

Since the O'Briens left the industry under a cloud the game died up there. 

No clouds here Davis! Although I don't recommend taking 2 teenage girls to Kaiteriteri for a holiday (don't make assumptions, one's my daughter)

As far as Waterlea being one of the worst tracks in the world, you do realise that for 2 years they have raced on their grass track?

O'Brien

[Blossom lady]

On 13/01/2023 at 8:42 PM, LongOwner said:

I guess the handicapper wants Wednesday off but can someone tell me why is Ashburton racing on Tuesday?

All major trainers and top drivers in Nelson and they normally  try to have a holiday around Blenheim so clear from Sunday night to Friday.

Is any thought given to trainer & driver welfare - or is it more important to make  sure you clean the water trough daily? 

Or maybe the handicapper has  a golf game planned or work from home Wed - Friday next week.

Same as the Ashburton Thursday cup week - another anti driver trainer welfare date.

I assume Ashburton doesn’t mind trainer rumblings re programming races that create unfavourable trainer/driver comment.

 

Another Cummings anti establishment tirade. They are getting quite boring now Martin!

You even managed a little dig at your favourites the RIB. I would have thought your crying on Facebook during the week would have got that out of your system. 
So you think that just because your trainer has a camping holiday in Nelson for the week the rest of the harness racing industry has to shut down!

[Shad]

20 hours ago, Davis said:

No, agree with none of this. It was hopeless with no local Canterbury meetings this weekend. Who's bright idea was that. I generally would not bet at Nelson unless its was good odds or got the nod (unfortunately, not many of them these days). I would not be at all at Waterlea. I consider it one of the worst tracks in the world. The game is dying there because of the track and few train there now. Only slow plodders trained by Miss Kendra Gill, who is a good horsewoman but poor harness driver. Since the O'Briens left the industry under a cloud the game died up there. Sad but fact. 

Addington is my favourite track and where I do 80 percent of my betting.

I find addington racing quite mundane and boring, never bet there, way to many meetings, never looks like there's a crowd there except the odd feature meeting, give me the mot or the grass at rangiora any day, very overrated for me.

[mikeynz]

1 hour ago, Shad said:

I find addington racing quite mundane and boring, never bet there, way to many meetings, never looks like there's a crowd there except the odd feature meeting, give me the mot or the grass at rangiora any day, very overrated for me.

And as Addington race often you agree about many average ho hum race meetings I often quote as there being, maybe it's just me, maybe not.

[Shad]

2 hours ago, mikeynz said:

And as Addington race often you agree about many average ho hum race meetings I often quote as there being, maybe it's just me, maybe not.

Yes some of those Sunday meetings are not even worth turning the TV on.

[the galah]

2 hours ago, Shad said:

Yes some of those Sunday meetings are not even worth turning the TV on.

Its the same rating and type of horse that goes to a  sunday addington meeting that goes to a sunday grass track meeting. So it must be the grass tracks you prefer over the all weather,but of course they can't race on grass during winter.

 

5 hours ago, mikeynz said:

And as Addington race often you agree about many average ho hum race meetings I often quote as there being, maybe it's just me, maybe not.

Yours must be the same type of thinking. On one hand you always say you want more race meetings at the provincial tracks,then on the other you are always saying you don't like the meetings at addington that cater to the low grade horses. But they are the very same type of horses. Maybe the venue is what you mean,but thats not what you say.What you say always seems a contradiction to me.

Edited January 15, 2023 by the galah

[Shad]

I do enjoy the grass track racing, those meetings they actually have a very different vibe and usually get a good crowd, addington seems to have know vibe to me, and hardly anyone bothers to attend, those Sunday turnovers would make interesting reading.

[the galah]

2 hours ago, Shad said:

I do enjoy the grass track racing, those meetings they actually have a very different vibe and usually get a good crowd, addington seems to have know vibe to me, and hardly anyone bothers to attend, those Sunday turnovers would make interesting reading.

i think the turnover is so good on the grass tracks partly because the fields are bigger. part of the reason for that is because there are far more horses in work in the warmer months than winter..Also attendance is always better on  fine days that you get in summer.

But i do agree addington is more mundane than the grass track venues and  personally i lament so many of the racecourses no longer having public stands prior to the winning post.I would gop more if they did,but at many tracks they seem to have pulled them down and not replaced them.Better to watch them on tv.

[Honestjohn]

My 2cents I used to plan my 10 day holiday break around Nelson meetings. Another owner I know used to put up his and my trainer in a motel in stoke. We paid for his meals as well. This trainer worked same  dates as us but he continued on to Blenheim circuit.  We went home after Nelson circuit.  I haven't been to Nelson in a few  years. 

 

Hj

[Shad]

9 hours ago, the galah said:

i think the turnover is so good on the grass tracks partly because the fields are bigger. part of the reason for that is because there are far more horses in work in the warmer months than winter..Also attendance is always better on  fine days that you get in summer.

But i do agree addington is more mundane than the grass track venues and  personally i lament so many of the racecourses no longer having public stands prior to the winning post.I would gop more if they did,but at many tracks they seem to have pulled them down and not replaced them.Better to watch them on tv.

Westport fields were the worst in along time, yet still managed 137k oncourse, and probably over 1 mill total turnover total , I would say many clubs would envious,  with those figures, looked a good crowd at Nelson, survival of the fittest these days.

[Rangatira]

10 hours ago, the galah said:

i think the turnover is so good on the grass tracks partly because the fields are bigger. part of the reason for that is because there are far more horses in work in the warmer months than winter..Also attendance is always better on  fine days that you get in summer.

But i do agree addington is more mundane than the grass track venues and  personally i lament so many of the racecourses no longer having public stands prior to the winning post.I would gop more if they did,but at many tracks they seem to have pulled them down and not replaced them.Better to watch them on tv.

Missing The Canterbury Park Lounge 

[the galah]

3 hours ago, Rangatira said:

Missing The Canterbury Park Lounge 

Was that in the stand they pulled down because of the earthquake?

There used to be so many great viewing points of that stand.You could be at one end close to the 2600 start where you would watch them pre start ,then wander along the top of the stand as they completed the final round and you would end up closer to the finish line.

Before the horses went on the track they would come from the wrights road end stabling block and you could wonder down and get close enough to touch them and view their trainers/drivers and often stable employees or helpers who were responsible for taking the horses down the laneway,past the grandstand and into the birdcage. Or you could sit in the front of the stand,about 40m away as they passed on their way there.

There was a connection between the public and the horses and those in charge of them back then.

It was a concrete jungle,as it is now,but the difference was back then the horse/driver had a connection..

Also back then,if you wanted you could wander down into the stabling area and get up close enough to hear conversations of trainers/drivers who had no idea who you were,but mostly just carried on as if you weren't there as they accepted that was part of what attracted people to the races and future participation/ownership.

Also there was so many regulars who used to go to the races that that grandstand was the place to catch up with people you used to know well,people like mums best friends husband,his wife had died and he had since moved to another city,but we still saw him 3 or 4 times a year at addington.Actually quite a few people like that.Generally the cobveration would end with"great to se you,i better go if i want to get my bet on".

Then there were the people who you knew through them running busnisses,like the man from the chung wah restaurant,or the little fella who walked so fast you could never keep up with him,or the owner that occasionally you would see on track,and on the odd occasion you would also see him being chased by the racecourse inspector because he wasn't allowed on track for some reason. So many things to observe and occupy your time.

I remember my auntie ,who was one of the few in the family who didn't have much interest in the racing,used to enjoy going and observing all the people.One thing she always seemed to comment on was what great heads of hair the le leivre men had and how she thought they were good looking.They tended to sit not far from where she used .Then there was all the sons and daughters of the licence holders who used to sit in the same spots in the grandstand. The likes of all the butts.Then there were all the mothers who used to hog the public phones in the back part of the grandstand while they rung home and talked to the baby sitter to check everything was ok while they were out, or checked with what i think was some sort of creche or something that was in part of the grandstand.

Anyway,the point is there was a connection between the public that the grandstand provided. I used to travel to addington maybe 25 times a year to watch the races,and while numbers were dwindling,that grandstand and what it provided was why i went.

Then one day the club decided to close the main part of the grandstand where you bet and chated and redirect people to a downstairs bar. From that day on,the faces you saw regularly,you no longer did,and it wasn't long before i gave up going to addington.

I don't go at all now,as personally i found the current main grandstand is too far away from the action and has no atmosphere or characters within.

Edited January 16, 2023 by the galah

[paleface adios]

On 1/15/2023 at 2:53 PM, Blossom lady said:

Another Cummings anti establishment tirade. They are getting quite boring now Martin!

You even managed a little dig at your favourites the RIB. I would have thought your crying on Facebook during the week would have got that out of your system. 
So you think that just because your trainer has a camping holiday in Nelson for the week the rest of the harness racing industry has to shut down!

big mistake from the lady that took her horses way from the Dunn stable . congrats to the Dunns on a wonderful day of wins keep the great work up Johny and the team

[Doomed]

Beautifully written Galah. And very accurate.

[Brodie]

Galah, were you one of the regulars that went around picking up the discarded tickets and taking them home to check to see if they were winners?

[hunterthepunter]

13 minutes ago, Brodie said:

Galah, were you one of the regulars that went around picking up the discarded tickets and taking them home to check to see if they were winners?

that was brucie lol a friend of radio Ron