Racing at Ellerslie may not get the send-off it deserves over the next fortnight but Auckland Thoroughbred Racing bosses take heart from knowing the iconic track will return better than ever.
The Auckland track hosts its celebrated Vodafone Derby meeting on Saturday and could usually have expected a crowdbetween 10,000 and 15,000 but have had to work hard to fit 1200 in via pods of 100 people because of Covid restrictions.
"It could have been a lot worse, and it was last year, when we ran the Derby behind closed doors," says ATR chief executive Paul Wilcox.
"It has been very, very challenging over the last two years, especially as we couldn't race at all for six months, but we realise it has been just as challenging or worse for so many other people.
"So to have 1200 owners, members, sponsors and hopefully even some public, depending if we have any tickets left after meeting those obligations, attend and give the Derby some atmosphere means a lot."
Ellerslie faces the same issues for Auckland Cup day, moved back a day to Sunday, March 13, to cater for the yearling sales at Karaka, when again the crowd will be capped at 1200.
Those who attend can feel privileged because that will be the last race meeting staged at Ellerslie for likely 18 month as it is closed for the installation of a new track.
The new turf surface, StrathAyr, offers better drainage and a more even racing surface but will mean digging up and replacing the entire track. "The work itself should take a year and then it will be at least months of letting the track develop before we race so we are hoping for the start of summer late 2023."
Many of the major meetings which would have usually been held at Ellerslie will be moved to their ATR partners Pukekohe. Avondale in West Auckland will also be used regularly.
But once Ellerslie does reopen it will by 2025 be racing for stakes almost unthinkable in this country, with an average value across the two tracks of $100,000, even higher at Ellerslie's Saturday meetings.
That is seen at the light at the end of the tunnel for the New Zealand thoroughbred industry and will be made possible in part by the sale of the famed Ellerslie steeplechase hill, which was used so rarely.
ART are in the final stages of signing a deal for the sale of the land to be developed, most likely for residential property, and that is expected to net them over $100 million.
"We are expecting to make a very big announcement around that in a few weeks," says Wilcox.
The plans are then to invest that money along with ATR's already substantial investments, plus more from future sales and developments at Pukekohe and Avondale, to make the huge stake increases sustainable.
Ellerslie may be about to close but its future has never been brighter.
