Racing: Answers wanted for costly Trentham shutdown

Rock On Wood wins the 2020 Captain Cook Stakes.

New Zealand racing bosses have launched an investigation into the circumstances leading up to Saturday's enormously costly abandonment of the Group 1 meeting at Trentham.

The meeting, which was to have featured the Group 1 Captain Cook Stakes, was called off after race one, in which a horse slipped, raising concerns about horse and jockey safety for the rest of the day.

The day had started with the track rated a good 3, about as firm as racing surfaces are allowed to get in New Zealand, but rain came and sat on top of the track rather than being adsorbed and softening the surface, causing the problem.

It is not an uncommon problem. New Zealand racing seems to be affected by slippery tracks more than other key racing jurisdictions, with a lack of money available for infrastructure cited as a key issue.

But what angered trainers even more was Trentham is one of the more expensive and time-consuming tracks in the country to get to for Waikato horses, all having to be loaded back on transporters and returned home at great cost without the opportunity to make any money.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing said it would pay all would-be starters $250 toward costs but chief executive Bernard Saundry said that figure might be revisited.

The fairest result and a show of good faith toward outraged connections would be for NZTR and/or the Wellington club to pay all transportation expenses.

Saundry acknowledges that emotions were running high in all areas of the code yesterday, with some even angered by the Captain Cook and Wakefield Challenge Stakes being moved to Te Rapa this Saturday rather than remaining in the Central Districts.

While rain on raceday causing track issues is nothing new, trainers spoken to by the Herald shared the same view, that the track was allowed to get too hard during the week, raising the possibility of a slippery surface if the forecast rain came.

Saundry was disappointed about what happened.

To that end NZTR has commissioned an independent report into the circumstances leading up to the abandonment.

"NZ Sports Turf Institute (NZSTI) will commence a track review, inspecting both the track and the data and reports from the Racing and Track managers,'' he said. "We have also requested a full report from the Racing Integrity Board (RIB) regarding the procedures leading up to and following the first race on Saturday."

The abandonment of a Group 1 Saturday thoroughbred meeting will cost the code hundreds of thousands of dollars in income but the exact figure is impossible to tell as it would have been dependant on the gross betting revenue for the day, which is affected by the performance of the TAB bookmakers.