Orari wins racing reprieve

Harness racing at the historic Orari Racecourse has been granted an ‘‘eleventhhour reprieve’’ while New Zealand’s racing industry faces a review.

The Geraldine Trotting Club will make a last-ditch effort to prove Orari’s worth at its annual Christmas at the Races on November 28 after appealing Harness

Racing New Zealand’s (HRNZ) decision to strike its two meetings from the racing calendar and move one to Methven.

Club president Mark Weaver said their initial submission arguing to keep two meetings at Orari failed.

But when HRNZ announced it was dropping its bulk funding for the industry by 20 per cent – meaning Geraldine would receive $109,000 rather than $140,000 – the club committee convinced the organisation that moving their linchpin event out of South Canterbury would financially cripple them.

‘‘To say there was jubilation when they told us we would be racing at Orari would be a huge understatement,’’ Weaver told The Timaru Herald.

‘‘This could be our last crack at it, or it might not be. We’re going to make it a great day for all,’’ Weaver said.

The reprieve meant Christmas at the Races would be going ahead at Orari instead of Methven on November 28.

‘‘Had we moved, we would have lost a significant amount of money.

‘‘There’s a lot of set-up that goes on behind the scenes, so the committee would’ve had to make the 50-minute commute quite a few times. Logistically, it would’ve been a challenge.’’

Weaver said the race meeting had received 300 entries in the week since the club had secured Orari as the venue.

‘‘We’ve got some pretty loyal participants.’’

Weaver worried about the future of harness racing if it disappeared from the regions, as his interest in the sport sprouted from his parents taking him along when he was a child.

Racing Industry Transition Agency dates committee chairman Edward Rennell said they decided to grant Orari a harness race meeting because the three racing codes were still undergoing a review.

‘‘The feeling was that the decision to not race in Orari should be put on hold pending the outcome of the review,’’ Rennell said.

Rennell said the review would be conducted over the 2020/21 season, and take into account the future of Timaru’s Phar Lap Raceway as well.

All seven of Phar Lap’s annual meetings were going to be struck from the calendar in HRNZ’s proposal, but Timaru Harness Racing Club racing manager Paul Hinsley said the club had managed to retain three.

‘‘Our club was the biggest permit holder in the rural areas of the South Island, so to go from seven to zero didn’t seem justified,’’ Hinsley said.

‘‘It was surprising to lose them because they help the local community with jobs, brings money into the area, and also promotes the viability of racing as a whole.’’

The club typically had race meetings between September and June, but the revised calendar meant they would have their first on October 4 and two others in December and June.