by Brian de Lore
Published 9th December 2021
The Trentham abandonment fiasco on Saturday is yet another example of a racing industry in administrative dishevelment; the failure to get the basics right or even follow its own rules.
The two most basic requirements to run a race meeting are to have horses ready to race and a racing surface prepared for that purpose. The trainers did their part and took their horses to Trentham from all parts of the country at great expense to the hundreds upon hundreds of owners who pay for them.
But the inability of the Wellington Racing Club/Race Incorporated/NZTR to carry out the most basic of their responsibilities to have a track correctly prepared for safe racing resulted in a monumental fail.
Everyone in racing knows that when summer arrives and the tracks get firm, summer rain always has the potential to turn the racing surface into a skating rink. A combination of a competent track manager, common sense, and an eye on the weather forecast usually eliminates potential problems. That happened on Saturday at Matamata, but not Trentham.
The problem occurs every year – though not usually at a premier meeting with several important group races – and the track manager gets chained into the stocks before he’s hung out to dry. Once the level of vilification has satisfied the powers that be, and the blame’s placed squarely upon one or two heads, the industry moves on before the same problem rears its ugly head again the following year.
The ambulance at the bottom of the cliff
The ambulance at the bottom of the cliff is a recurring theme for NZTR. In a document named ‘NZTR and RIU Race Meeting Abandonment Protocols,’ dated May 2018, the narrative covers only the procedures to be followed in the event of abandonment. It does not provide any pre-race day checks and balances procedures to mitigate the risk on the days leading up to the meeting.
So, if the track manager has a bad week, has taken his eye off the ball, potentially lost interest in the job, or even received a coercive phone call from a trainer looking for a particular type of going, the ingredients for a fail come into play. By Saturday morning, it’s too late, the damage irreparable.
NZTR is mostly to blame for Saturday’s abandonment, and the buck stops with CEO Bernard Saundry. He needs to front up and make that admission and fully apologise to all affected parties and provide a refund to the extent of $1,500 per horse (average) and not one likely to be a fraction of that amount. The Annual Report shows NZTR held back $10 million, so the money is there to pay it.
As well as the costs of horse transport – the commercial price of floating a Pukekohe-Trentham return is now $850 to $900 – you add accommodation for trainers and staff, airfares, meals, and petrol for those who drove. Midnight Mass, the favourite in the one and only race, will not be refunded, though, because it raced, nor will the punters who made it favourite even though the jockey had concerns about letting its head go.
Owners drove from Winton to Trentham
And then the story of the two owners who drove to Wellington from Winton in Southland thinking they would see their horse run in the Captain Cook Stakes. Petrol, the ferry crossing, two nights in a hotel, and on arrival at Trentham’s race day office, got the news that they had run out of racebooks and the issuing of owners’ drinks tickets had discontinued at the WRC due to COVID.
“Note from Bernard Saundry” in this week’s Raceform devoted only the first four paragraphs to the abandonment and didn’t go as far as an apology or an acceptance of responsibility. It stated, ‘compensation in line with NZTR’s policy,’ which historically will be meagre when applied to the actual cost. Typically the Saundry article talks mostly about vaccine passes, moving from red to orange traffic lights, and border crossings – all issues relevant to racing but sweating the small stuff compared to a premier meeting abandonment due to mismanagement.
NZTR had 36-hours prior warning the racing surface at Trentham might present a problem, but it failed to take the appropriate action. ‘Racing and Breeding News’ reported that trainer Alan Sharrock phoned stipendiary steward Neil Goodwin after Thursday’s abandonment of the last four races at New Plymouth as he knew the forecast predicted weekend rain for Trentham. He also stated he phoned his brother Bruce, the Chief Operating Officer at NZTR, who informed Saundry.
Concern expressed about the state of the track to Chief Stipendiary Steward
Last Thursday, Trentham experienced hot weather, but only 8mls of water went on the track that night compared to 34mls over two or three days at Matamata. On Saturday morning after 11mls of overnight and morning rain, a track inspection by several senior jockeys prompted one to express concern about the state of the track to Chief Stipendiary Steward, John Oatham. He reputedly responded by digging his heel into the track’s surface and walking away without saying a word.
In the only race of the day, most of the field experienced slipping during the run, although only two gained a mention for doing so in the Stewards’ Report. Michael McNab’s mount Dragon Biscuit cast both front plates with the rider experiencing slipping in the back straight. Two other runners took no part.
How many jockeys kept hold of the horse’s head just to negotiate the 1400 metres in a vertical position – quite a few, I would suggest? The running of the race clearly endangered the safety of the horses and jockeys and contravened the standards set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
The stewards and the NZTR board are fortunate that no incident, injury, or death occurred during the one race, as failing to meet health/safety standards can result in severe penalties, even jail. If a senior jockey or deputation of jockeys expresses concerns about the safety of a track, it should be enough for the stewards to thoroughly investigate the problem before proceeding with the meeting.
Report ordered from Turf Consultants
Saundry has ordered a report from the NZ Sports Turf Institute (NZSTI) who claim expertise on golf courses and bowling greens on their website, but no mention of horseracing. As agronomists and graduates from Lincoln University, they are experts in plants and soil, so what gems of wisdom can they offer NZTR along with their big, fat invoice.
As well, the Racing Integrity Board (RIB), formerly known as the RIU (Unit), which a few years ago cost racing less than $6 million annually, but now has a budget of $14 million, will also furnish a full report, according to Saundry. Why, because the Abandonment Protocols paper demands it:
2.0 RIU Race Meeting Incident Reports If an incident has occurred or a hazard has been identified at a race meeting, the Chairman of Stewards must, on the day of the meeting, complete the RIU Race Meeting Incident Report (in the form attached to these Abandonment Protocols) and forward a copy to nominated staff within NZTR, the RIU and the Club.
Racing Minister Robertson appointed the RIB Board earlier this year, and former Deputy Police Commissioner Mike Clement took up the role of Chief Executive on July 1st. Clement has freely admitted he has zero knowledge of racing, so how he qualified for the job is anyone’s guess. Of course, we know all the board positions came from the Minister of Racing (also zero knowledge of racing), so we really do know what prompted them.
Reports won’t say anything we don’t know
What will these two reports say, you ask? They will exonerate the stewards and NZTR from any blame and point the finger at the track manager, saying he failed to apply the required amount of water to the track in the days leading up to the meeting, and consequently, the rain fell on a very firm track, and the surface became slippery.
And that may be true, but will the reports lambast anyone in a position of authority and say the buck stops at the top. I predict not.
The NZTR and RIU Race meeting Abandonment Protocols paper can be found at this link:
https://loveracing.nz/OnHorseFiles/Downloads/NZTR%20Abandonment%20Protocols%20-%20May%202018.pdf