Harness club delighted by return of race days
The Wyndham Harness Racing Club will have all of its race days reinstated for next season.
Harness Racing New Zealand approved the move after considering recommendations made in the Otago-Southland Regional Review, compiled by Australasian consultancy firm Sapere.
The review recommended strengthening harness racing in eastern Southland, where the majority of the race meetings are held at Wyndham.
Wyndham HRC president Russell Ferguson was delighted the sport was returning to the town permanently.
‘‘To get harness racing back on the map in eastern Southland is very important for the future of the industry,’’ he said.
However, it was not all good news – HRNZ announced the allweather harness grit track at Gore is to be closed to racing. It can still be used for training.
Harness racing can still go ahead on the Gore Racing Club’s grass track.
The club used its race-day licence this season for a grass track meeting in December.
Club president Ross Cleland said a priority was to keep its training facility operating. He added Gore would be applying for one or two more meetings for use on the grass track or at Wyndham next season.
‘‘We’re disappointed [at HRNZ’s decision] but we’re happy Wyndham got its dates back,’’ Cleland said.
Ferguson said the Wyndham and Gore clubs worked closely together and were looking to form a new entity, possibly named Eastern Southland Harness.
The clubs would continue operating in the background when the new entity was formed.
The review also highlights the need for the infrastructure at the Ascot Park racecourse to be examined in terms of its future viability.
‘‘We have long-term concerns (not immediate concerns) about the ability of Ascot Park to sustain its asset base and ageing stands,’’ the review says.
Southland Racing Club president Sean Bellew and Southern Harness Racing general manager Jason Broad accepted that maintaining three grandstands at Ascot Park was not viable in the long term.
Putting more resources into the main grandstand by the birdcage, to accommodate everyone on course, was a better option for the future, they said.
The old north and south grandstands could be replaced with green-space viewing platforms, Bellew said.
He believed it would be a smart move for the Invercargill Harness Racing Club to buy the lights from the soon-to-be-closed Forbury Park harness track in Dunedin, and introduce night racing in Southland.