Racing: Golfing restrictions put in place following dramatic scenes

A golfer walks onto the race track during the Great Northern Steeplechase at Ellerslie 17 October 2020. Photo Race Images.

The days of golf and racing mixing at Ellerslie are over.

Because after Saturday's dramatic scenes during the iconic $125,000 Great Northern Steeplechase, the pitch and putt course inside the racetrack will have now restrictions during steeplechase races.

The Auckland Racing Club has move quickly to stop any possible repeat of the scenes from Saturday in which a golfer hit his ball off the golf course and onto to the steeplechase course.

He couldn't have picked a worse time to play his next shot, ducking under a fence and strolling onto the steeplechase track that runs through the middle of Ellerslie's main racing oval just as the horses in New Zealand's greatest jumping race were thundering toward him.

The jockeys in the race were about 50m from him when they yelled for him to get clear and nobody was hurt in the bizarre incident that went viral around the racing world.
ARC officials realise it was a simple mistake but have moved to ensure it won't happen again.

"From now on the pitch and putt won't have people playing on it during steeplechase races," says ARC chief executive Paul Wilcox.

"That isn't too big an imposition, we probably only have about eight steeples races here a year and it means we will ensure there are no golfers near that track during those races.

"And then the golf course can open back up as normal for the rest of the programme." While race fans unfamiliar with Ellerslie could ask why there is a golf course and driving range inside our most prestigious racetrack the two have worked in unison for years.

Ellerslie, like most race tracks in cities where land comes at a premium, endeavour to use their land to maximise income, which in turns leads to better stakes.

The driving range and golf course are a seven day a week operation and set up so poses no threat to horses racing in anything but the rare steeplechase races and even then only if a golfer ends up straying on to the track at the exact same time as the horses are using the inside surface.

So as spectacular as Saturday's incident was and how much how much worse it could have ended, the odds on it happening again were astronomical.

Now, they are basically zero.

While Ellerslie bosses had their share of drama on Saturday the day was a huge success overall as they have partnered with an overseas event company who promoted an on-course party to hundreds of Auckland university students which created a electric atmosphere at the track for the first time since March.

"It was great to have that sort of vibe back on track, because Ellerslie isn't just about racing it is about being part of the community," said Wilcox.

"So we are looking forward now to our next big day for the Melbourne Cup meeting on November 3 and then roll into what we are planning on being a huge summer of racing."