Racing: Safety concerns cancel meeting

Atrocious weather resulted in the Kumara Racing Club abandoning its annual meeting for the second time in five years.

The 2001 meeting was called off after one race when showers on a hard track produced a slippery and dangerous surface.

On Saturday it was contrasting conditions which forced the hand of officials.

Steady rain during the week resulted in the popular West Coast track becoming quite wet but when the heavens opened up on Saturday, safety became a concern.

Stipendiary steward Stewart Ching said riders expressed concern about the amount of water on the track early in the day and that visibility was a problem.

Following race four, the track in the back straight had deteriorated considerably, according to Ching, and following an inspection of the area at fault a decision was made to abandon the meeting.

"Riders came to me after race four stating visibility was bad with surface water and mud a real concern," Ching said.

"It was two-fold, visibility and the track opened right up causing a number of large holes which was a danger to riders and horses."

The Kumara club had spent $60,000 and many hours upgrading the track in preparation for the meeting but the challenge of breaking last year's record $391,000 on-course turnover went down the drain.

Senior riders Jamie Bullard and Lance Robinson, along with trainers Michael Pitman and Paul Harris, inspected the area in question with Ching and club president Tony Connors and the decision was unanimous.

Said Robinson: "Horses were going in far too deep where the new track hadn't consolidated.

"It was just impossible to see where you were going. The surface water filled up the holes and it was just too dangerous. I'm sorry for the club but safety for riders and safety to horses was paramount."

Harris, who had 18 horses engaged for the Kumara meeting, believed the decision to abandon was the right one.

"There's at least five patches I'd deem as dangerous," Harris said.

"It is a safety issue. I'm disappointed but at the end of the day I wouldn't send a horse or rider out there. Without a doubt it was unanimous, we all wanted to race but common sense has to prevail."

It was the second West Coast meeting to be called off in less than two weeks. A Reefton harness meeting on December 30 was cancelled without a race being run.

- NZPA