Use of synthetic tracks will help ease pressure on turf venues

The new Cambridge synthetic track will host its first race meeting on May 19 and be utilised 12 times in the 2021-22 season.

This comes after New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) released its racing dates for the season.

The increase of racing held at new synthetic tracks at Cambridge and Riccarton Park has resulted in the relocation of licences from other venues.

In its first season of use, there are seven meetings scheduled for the Riccarton Park synthetic track from May, 2022, onwards.

‘‘The introduction of synthetic track racing is a key part of NZTR’s

Venue Plan, and its impact was clearly signalled in that plan,’’ NZTR chief executive Bernard Saundry said. ‘‘The movement of meetings to synthetic tracks will relieve pressure on turf tracks that would otherwise be used in winter.’’

One of the significant changes made in relation to the 2020-21 racing season was the movement of the Hawke’s Bay spring carnival to two weeks later than has been traditional.

‘‘The view was that this delayed start to the carnival was successful and there was a benefit to holding these meetings later in future seasons. This change has been incorporated into the final calendar,’’ Saundry said.

The final calendar is the outcome of the consideration of club submissions by the codes, discussions between the codes and TAB NZ, and TAB NZ’s final consideration and approval.

‘‘As we outlined at the beginning of April with the release of the NZTR Industry Reshaping Actions, the racing calendar is the industry’s greatest asset. It drives customer engagement and wagering turnover to fund the sport.

‘‘We need to ensure we are maximising the wagering revenue opportunity, as this will positively impact returns to NZTR and, as a result, to the wider industry.’’

A total of 293 thoroughbred race meetings are scheduled to be held in the 2021-22 season, 13 more than were scheduled for the current season, but 23 fewer than were scheduled to be run in the 2019-20 season.

‘‘One of NZTR’s roles is to ensure we are putting on racing that maximises opportunities for horses to race, and we will continue to add races to meetings when demand requires,’’ Saundry said.

The number of venues planned to be used for racing for the coming season is 35, which includes the new Riccarton Park synthetic track.