Harness racing’s proposed calendar ‘disheartening’
The new draft calendar for harness racing in New Zealand will force some horse trainers to travel long distances, or give up the sport entirely, a Taranaki race club president says.
‘‘I know quite a few things have to be done to save money but I think it’s mismanagement at the top,’’ Ha¯wera Harness Racing Club president Brendan Towers said.
On Friday RITA (Racing Industry Transition Agency), a reconstitution of the New Zealand Racing Board, announced its proposed draft calendar for the 2020-2021 racing season commencing August 1.
The new calendar would see harness racing axed from 15 venues across the country.
It would mean trainers in
Taranaki, Manawatu¯ , Rotorua, and Wellington travelling to Cambridge.
RITA said the calendar reflects the significant impact of Covid-19 on domestic racing.
‘‘It’s disheartening and I’m brassed off really,’’ Towers said.
The release of the draft calendar came three days after Minister for Racing Winston Peters announced a much-needed $72.5 million emergency support package for the industry that included a $50m relief fund for RITA to save it from the very real threat of insolvency.
Towers said the gallops are still going, and the track is still viable, so doesn’t see why they can’t continue to race.
Many trainers say if they can’t have races in their own town, they’d like to at least see it continue in Manawatu¯ and Towers said Ha¯wera would put themselves behind that to try to ensure racing in the central district.
Carey Hobbs, chief executive officer of Taranaki Thoroughbred and Harness Racing Club, said getting harness racing back at Manawatu¯ was a priority for financial reasons as they own their own track and have a fibre connection ready for TAB.
‘‘Central district had 22 race meets last season, 16 of those were in Manawatu¯ . It’s important to try to get some harness racing in the CD.’’
While Hobbs agreed the industry needed a change, he did not think they had got it right with the announced draft calendar.
‘‘There’s no going back to a racecourse in every town, but they’ve gone too far having no venues between Cambridge and Wellington.’’
There are around 80 horses trained in the central district and Hobbs said three quarters of them would be affected if the calendar goes ahead.
‘‘We need more than a couple of race days because livelihoods depend on it. We need 14 to 16 meetings a year to keep the infrastructure going.’’
Third generation Stratfordbased trainer Phil Fleming said the proposed calendar was too drastic a change.
‘‘It doesn’t excite me at all to only have two venues to race at. It’s a lot of travel.
‘‘I’ll basically have to reduce my numbers and not breed horses. It’s not sustainable for me to carry on.’’
Fleming said losing harness racing in the central district was extremely disappointing and was like losing grassroots rugby.
‘‘A lot of people start out in Taranaki and go on to bigger things.’’
Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) chief executive Peter Jensen said the news was ‘‘extremely difficult’’ for the harness racing community.
‘‘In many cases, these people have put huge hours in on a voluntary basis.’’
Consultation on the draft calendar closes on June 15 and it is expected a final calendar will be released early July.