Racing: Track that 'Piggy' saved is threatened by wild pigs

Duffers Creek wins the Kumara Gold Nuggets in 2016. Photo / Greymouth Star

One of New Zealand's most iconic race meetings is under threat after the track was attacked by wild pigs.

No, you didn't misread that. Wild pigs.

Kumara Racing Club president Patrick Meates admits that is bizarre even down on the wild West Coast.

"In over 100 years of racing we haven't had something like this," says Meates.

"I haven't even heard of it and nobody we have spoken to has heard of anything like it either."

Kumara annually hosts one of New Zealand's most unique race meetings, scheduled for January 11 next month.

With a track cut out of the bush, its flagship race the Gold Nuggets and the enormous crowd who flock to the tiny town, the meeting holds a special place in New Zealand racing.

Then Prime Minister Robert Muldoon intervened in the 1980s to keep the track open when it was threatening with closure. Ironically the track the late Muldoon, whose critics nicknamed him Piggy, kept open is being threatened by real pigs, although they soon paid the price for the damage they inflicted.

"The problem started back in winter when a whole lot of wild pigs, who must have been living in the bush behind the back straight, rooted up the track,'" explains Meates.

"They used their snouts to dig into the ground looking for worms and things to eat and they dug it up pretty badly.

"There is a section about 100m long in the back straight they got into."

Meates says wild pigs have "infested" the area just outside the tiny township and local hunters were employed to shoot 29 of them, with electric fencing having deterred the piggy trespassers since.

"But the damage was pretty bad and while we resowed the area with new grass it has struggled to take because we have had a lot of rain.

"We have had about 300mls of rain at the track in the last two weeks, which is a lot even for the Coast."

NZ Thoroughbred Racing's track inspection team viewed the track last month and are expected back this week to check on its progress.

"The rain hasn't helped but we are not looking at moving the meeting yet," says Meates.

"It is a very big deal to a lot of people so we want to race here on January 11 and we won't make any call until at least a week out.

"But if the track hasn't repaired enough then we have both Omoto (Greymouth) and Reefton nearby where we could look at moving too.

"But first and foremost we want to race at home so that is what we are aiming at." The meeting, which attracts tourists and former West Coasters from around the country, is one of only two gallops race meetings in the country that day so attracts huge on and off-course turnover.