Uncertain future for Avondale racecourse
THE possible closure of a 131year-old racecourse has not gone down well with people who have fought for years to keep it open.
Auckland’s Avondale race track is one of 14 venues facing uncertainty under a proposed racing calendar for next season that, if adopted, will dramatically shake up the New Zealand industry.
Racing Industry Transition Agency, a reconstitution of the New Zealand Racing Board, announced its proposed draft calendar on Friday for the 2020-2021 racing season that begins on August 1. In the preCovid season, Avondale had been drafted with eight meetings but all dates have been stripped under the proposed calendar and the club will not get betting licences if the changes are adopted.
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) said the venue plan would future-proof the racing industry and it couldn’t survive without it. It was a cost-cutting measure and a wider-view take on the industry’s survival than that of a specific venue’s future.
Horse trainer Vince Middeldorp said racecourse closures would decimate the industry in parts of the country: ‘‘Making the industry smaller will not make it greater.’’
NZTR should give Avondale a chance to return to its former glory, he said. ‘‘In 1989 Avondale was ranked No 2 racing clubs in New Zealand, in terms of TAB turnover. It was ahead of Wellington, Waikato and Canterbury . . . Its current situation is the result of date allocation and funding policies from the people who now want it closed.
‘‘For every report . . . calling for Avondale to be closed, there is another report saying Avondale will always be needed and it has a sustainable business model.’’
The Avondale Jockey Clubowned course is on a $300 million swathe of land and was once a highlight of the industry’s calendar. During the 2018/19 season, the club hosted nine trial days and eight race meetings – the lowest race meets ever allocated by the NZTR. A ninth race was cancelled because of lack of entries.
NZTR chief executive Bernard Saundry said now was not the time to be thinking about specific venues but the future of racing as a whole.
‘‘We understand that there will be some who find it difficult to accept that racing may no longer continue at their local venue.
‘‘We also understand that an argument could be made for the survival of each individual venue, but where would that get us? At this time it is important everyone takes an industry-wide view and not consider venues in isolation.’’