$1M race given go-ahead but not before sales

Press, 27 June 1987, Page 32

$1M race given go-ahead but not before sales

The Auckland Racing Club has the go-ahead to stage a $1 million race next season, but not on February 1.

The New Zealand Racking Authority believes the race should be run on Saturday, February 6, a week after the Wellington Cup at Trentham.

But the Auckland club rejected February 6 as an alternative because it would lack financial support for the big race if it was not run before the National yearling sales. The Racing Authority announced yesterday that the executive committee of the New Zealand Racing Conference had enthusiastically supported the -introduction of a $1 million race, but "to maximise the benefits to the industry and preserve the established pattern of feature racing and carnivals” it did not believe the race should be run on February 1, but five days later. That could be achieved by the Te Aroha club racing on Saturday, January 30, with the Auckland Racing Club racing on Monday, February 1, and

Saturday, Februaiy 6. After considering submissions by the Auckland and Wellington Racing Clubs the Authority announced yesterday that while it fully supported the concept of a $1 million race it did not consider the Auckland club’s proposal to be in

the best interests of racing. .. • ... The Authority believes that a $1 million race in Auckland just two days after the conclusion of the Wellington Cup meeting — three Group One races are staged on the final day of the Wellington car-, nival — would seriously

prejudice the viability of - one of New Zealand’s major carnivals and the structure of feature racing at that time. The Authority said that the Wellington Racing Club, while believing that its meeting would be in some way affected, was

not opposed, to Auckland staging the new event on February 6. . The Authority does not believe that the Auckland arguments against February ,6 are well founded. * In its opinion the pattern of feature racing must be able to stand in its own right, and should ’ not be dependent on commercial thoroughbred sales which may well be affected by factors not related to the New Zealand racing scene. •/; The Authority does not believe the shifting of the National sales to Auckland was, in itself, justification for allowing the Auckland Racing Club to replace a traditionally low-key meeting with a new major event which would clearly have a material effect on one of New Zealand’s major racing carnivals. The Authority does not accept that the success of the sales is dependent upon, or would necessarily be advanced by, the proposed $1 million race, and notes that Wrightson Bloodstock has consistently expressed a similar view.