Following the abandonment of Hawke’s Bay Racing Inc.’s meeting on Thursday 25 May, a return to racing protocol was put in place to satisfy riders and officials that the track was safe to resume racing. Immediately following the abandonment, the Club verti-drained the inside 14m of the track and the rail was moved back to the True position after being at 4m on Thursday.

New Zealand Sports Turf Institute (NZSTI) visited the track on Friday morning (26 May) and whilst we have still not received the final report, it was noted there was some tightness in the soil around the 4m rail position. Despite this, NZSTI noted that they would not have thought that this alone would have caused an issue, but combined with the very heavy dew and early start, this may have contributed to a shifty surface.

On Sunday morning (28 May) seven horses from the Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal and Kate Hercock stables were galloped around both bends of the track, with horses galloping at True, 4m and 6m out from the rail position, ridden by senior raceday riders Kate Hercock and Mereana Hudson. Both riders gave positive reports as to the footing and had no concerns with a heavy dew again present at 7am in the morning.

The marks were then inspected by Course Manager Richard Fenwick, NZTR COO Darin Balcombe and HBRI CEO Aaron Hamilton, with no sign of any movement.

Given the work done since Thursday, along with the rail movement and positive feedback from the riders, Hawke’s Bay Racing Inc. was approved to hold the rescheduled raceday at Hastings Racecourse on Tuesday 30 May. The review into the abandonment on Thursday 25 May is still ongoing and further information will be provided ny NZTR once available.