Racing: Ability of owners to watch their horses up for debate

The right of owners to see their horses race live will be a key point of debate as NZ horse racing continues on under the two differing Covid-19 levels. Photo / George Salpigtidis/Racing Photos

The right of owners to see their horses race live will be a key point of debate as New Zealand horse racing continues on under the two differing Covid-19 levels.

But from the industry participants point of view it will be more or less racing as is, just with face masks and a few restrictions on travel.

While Auckland is set to stay at Level 3 until at least 11.59pm on Sunday night there are no horse racing meeting scheduled for inside the region in that period.

Neither Ellerslie, Avondale, Pukekohe or harness racing's Alexandra Park were programmed to race this week while the meeting at Ruakaka on Wednesday has been transferred to Rotorua, in part because the Waikato-based jockeys couldn't have driven though the Auckland region to race in the north.

So no race meetings will be lost to the Level 3 restrictions but horse people inside the Auckland area will not be allowed to accompany horses to race meetings in the Waikato.

That means horses from Pukekohe north can race at thoroughbred meetings at Rotorua (Wednesday) and Tauranga (Saturday) and the harness meeting at Cambridge this Thursday but their trainers can't travel with them.

That was the case for the Matamata meeting last Saturday in which Auckland region trainers had to organise horse people from Waikato to look after their horses. Horses from the Auckland region won four of the 11 races.

The differing restriction levels also means that any jockeys or harness drivers in the Auckland region can't compete at this week's meetings but will be able to from next week if, as expected, Auckland returns to Level 2.

Owners with horses racing will be allowed to attend Thursday's harness meeting at Cambridge where they can be easily separated from participants in the Clubhouse Cafe and Bar on track.

"We did that for our Sunday meeting last week and kept the numbers below 100. We sent all the owners an email once the fields came out asking them to register to come along," says Cambridge harness boss David Branch.

But New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing will today discuss whether that is logistically possible for their club's racing in the next 12 days.

"It is easier for some clubs than others to allow owners to attend so we will work through that with them and discuss protocols," says NZTR chief executive Bernard Saundry.

The continued lockdown may not be disastrous for racing as the last two weeks hasn't seen many major meetings but the Te Rapa fixture on Saturday week hosts the first huge race of the new season in the Valachi Downs Foxbridge Plate and there will be pressure for owners to be able to attend that group two day.