NZTR Racing Update

NZTR Racing Update

NZTR

1 September 2021

Racing returned today with meetings at Matamata and Ashburton being carried out under strict Alert Level 3 protocols.

While conducting race meetings and trials is permitted under Alert Level 3 some in the general public are not aware of this. We are aware of their concerns being raised with MPs’ offices, and of a Police visit to the Ashburton meeting today off the back of queries from members of the public.

The club and Racing Integrity Board were able to provide evidence to the Police that racing was permitted under Alert Level 3, also explaining the strict protocols in place for this to happen.

This is a salient reminder that the industry will be under scrutiny due to its position of being able to operate under Alert Level 3, and that participants must work within the protocols in place to allow us to continue to race.

A positive example of working within the rules was demonstrated by our Southland trainers with runners at Ashburton today. To ensure they complied with travel regulations, they remained at home and arranged transport of their horses (as explained in this story online today).

To reiterate the rules regarding the movement of people - those in Alert Level 4 are NOT permitted to move across the border to Alert Level 3. Those within Alert Level 3 are permitted to travel for work but only within their own region, or to an adjacent region. Please refer to this map in yesterday’s update.

With the movement of horses into, out of, or through an alert level area under the requirements of COVID-19 Order No 10 being restricted to Commercial Float companies, NZTR has compiled the following list of Commercial Float operators (and this list may be added to):

Majestic Horse Transport Ltd
Premier Horse Transport Ltd (Eddie Chippendale)
Horse Transport Services Ltd (Wayne Green)
T F S Horse Transport Ltd. (Tony Shaw)
Taranaki Horse Transport (Steve Gulliver)
Phillips Horse Transport (Brodie Phillips)
Elite Horse Transport 2006 Ltd (Fred Cornege) [added 8 October 2021]
Rogerson Bloodstock (Gary Rogerson) [added 14 October 2021]

NZTR is continuing to work with Government on minimising the impact of COVID restrictions on racing. As the Government’s toolbox to respond to COVID incursions evolves and vaccination rates increase, we will be advocating for a more flexible, risk-based approach. This is one of the reasons it is so important that everyone involved in racing gets vaccinated as soon as they can.

Tomorrow will see racing at the Cambridge Synthetic track and trials at Foxton as we move through a busy 11-day period.

Thank you to all those clubs involved in putting together this intense racing schedule. We appreciate all you have done during some very testing times and acknowledge the work involved in putting the protocols required in place and then policing these.

Trial updates

There will a Group trial over 1100m at the Taupo meeting on Tuesday 7 September (1100m). The trial, which is restricted to horses which have filled a first-four position in Group races, will be held prior to the first race.

The Waverley trials originally scheduled for Tuesday 7 September have been cancelled. If required, an extra Central Districts trial meeting will be scheduled later in the month.