NEXT TURF MEETING IN KZN?

considering the juvenile features are around the corner there surely must be a reason for the lack of runners in the juvenile races...if these events were on grass would there have been a bigger turnout?i think g.c need to have a serious rethink about this 50 percent poly racing and reduce to around 25 to 33 percent as its pretty clear there is a resistance to it for whatever reason rightly or wrongly...

Only 1 of my babies has been on the grass. Probably on run in April.

This has been clear for the last few months...... all the grass racing is oversubscribed and the poly battles to get full fields. The KZN 2yr olds will not be ready for the champion season. Pirates you could have 50% poly racing except have it during the week or on a Friday night but on the Saturday or Sunday have grass racing.....

the 2 maiden juvenile races on poly look like they have been scrapped and the maiden plate on grass over a mile has been split I see..the progress plate on grass has been kept alive by craig who runs his maiden gallic fire interestingly in a progress plate

I will tell you my thinking there Pirates. It is always a small field and I want to try her on the grass. Has drawn in the bush each time I the maidens and now drawn 1. Behind her quite a few lengths in all their first runs was Hunger Games and Hot Response which have both come out and won. I am also putting blinkers on. The owner is very happy for me to try this out. Beat 2 home( 1 if there is a scratching) and she earns a cheque for that really nice owner for which he will be ecstatic!

pretty sure the one gadsby horse will come out and you will earna cheque for that upstart owner of yours

I hope so!

Firstly, credit where credit is due, WELL DONE Gold Circle!!!

There are SIX races on the turf on Friday night and our filly is getting a run on the grass. We have booked a table in the View Room and are looking forward to see her run. We are not holding our breath for anything special but Bratislava should be running at them in the closing stages of race 4.

With proper planning there is no reason why there should not be one race meeting a week on the grass and one on the poly.

Tiger , i`m sure it`s all about making sure the grass has a real chance of becoming a great surface again at Greyville,long game?

Bob, i totally agree with that sentiment and everyone wants that end goal but to have predominantly poly racing for months on end is ridiculous when you have three grass tracks.

The condition of Greyville last year was not caused by racing, in fact there was very little racing on the surface if you remember....... but everyone has conveniently forgotten the fiasco following the building of the new subway. Months overdue because of the rain, which the last time i checked makes the grass grow. Then new grass, then further delays etc. etc. so we cannot blame racing on the surface for its condition.

What are the plans going forward???????????????????????????? For now race on the Poly because its the same as the grass.......

When Clairwood was sold what was the plan??? What is the plan going forward??? Right now there is no communication and no proper plans going forward for turf racing in KZN. We have one 1200m straight and its turf, in the whole province for racing....

What about engaging with trainers and owners and asking the punters what they want?

After selling Clairwood what are the proposals going forward or is this something that will be discussed behind closed doors and then disseminated as a "take it or leave it"???

The options should be;
1. Limited racing on the Greyville track in the off season.
2. 1 Poly & 1 Turf meeting every week in KZN
3. DO not treat all three grass tracks at the same time.
4. Put an additional 1200-1400m straight at Scottsville or if this cannot be done, see point 5.
5. Build a new grass track in Shongweni, there is no need for huge grand stands as there are limited crowds at off season racing as it is. Put in a straight that can accommodate 1600m races for up to 16 horses.
6. Stop putting bands on the roof and get more horses racing, that is what everyone wants.
7. Invite the JHB trainers to raid and give them proper facilities to do so in the off season.
8. Fill the fields and the punters will punt, provide the facilities and owners & trainers will race.
9. Give the public the information, the facilities & the opportunities and they will be interested.

That's is all i have to say on this matter, over & out.

tiger if I recall correctly the event you running in was originally planned for the polytrack..luckily it changed to grass and the event was split so we have 2 races instead of one as the 2 juvenile races on poly were both scrapped as acceptances were poor..as for the greyville grass track it went under repair for the subway story at the end of the 2012 season august and since then around 250 races have been run on the surface ..from my point of view a combination of rain and more racing is going to set it back another 5 years if not forever so the polytrack has and will be the number one surface in natal..an application has been made to change greyvilles name to polyville ..enjoy the night ts hopefully it don't rain and they move your race to the polytrack