......reading in the SP comments on this matter.....I am totally gobsmacked that there was little to no maintenance on the system other than mechanical harrowing and occasional watering.....and it is no wonder that it is now failing and only going to be refurbished after 10+ years....but only after imported materials arrive in a few months time...... this is akin to purchasing a premium motor vehicle and driving the crap out of it until it starts giving major problems and only then take it for a service......oops
......well it seems that even a major overhaul would not suffice and an entirely new system has been proposed as Bortz bandied the word "tapeta" more than once in the recent interview so the major players have had a crack at making a proposal for their various solutions.....just hope they plan to thoroughly separate the turf track with an adequate moisture barrier and sub surface retaining system as the turf suffered a water retention problem at the outset of the initial polytrack installation.....
......maybe they should scrap any plans to do any sort of synthetic track at Greyville again as there is no place/space to park or place machinery to lay and maintain such a surface....a new system is sure to suffer a similar fate and a much reduced lifespan as the track cannot be worked by heavy machinery that are normally/ideally placed in the center of many tracks globally so they can screen/sift out the fine and degraded material and periodically replace it and thus extend the track lifespan..... logistically Scottsville would seem to be a much better option....huh
Last edit: 4 months 2 weeks ago by Muhtiman. Reason: ideal
......last meeting on Friday for this failed surface.....but how long until the new system also bites with too much dust.....huh....in the latest experts we must again trust.....oh no....
When this track was mooted we on Winning Ways asked all the experts in interviews.
They were of the opinion not to lay the track and if doing so Scottsville was more suitable.
I was not an employee so had no financial gain by helping to give the advice. My problem is and has always been that those employees from the top down made decisions which have proved to be disastrous and have never had to account. Racing is run by yes men and employees who have no clue what is right and what is wrong. This industry is full of people who are not qualified to make these decisions. They are still there!!!!
Would you employ any of them by reading their CVs. I WOULDN'T.
Years ago i asked the question, "how was Greyville chosen as the venue for the poly track", the answer i received from the CEO is that the GC team did a roadshow and members voted overwhelmingly in favour of Greyville. When I asked for supporting documents and minutes as I was never aware of any of this as GC member, there was zero forthcoming. It was just more anomaly on a long list which i never understood and was never substantiated by the leadership of GC. I wonder where the R16M is that was put aside by owners as an insurance fund?
Choosing Greyville as the venue for the poly track never made any sense and revamping it makes less sense. I would strongly urge Hollywood to re-consider as all we have at Greyville currently is two unsuitable tracks.
The ideal venue for the poly track would be Shongweni/Summerveldt where you could have a poly track with a 1600m straight. Greyville could effectively have two grass surfaces to race on and a proper race track for graded events without having to play dodgem cars in the straight. The poly meetings are poorly attended and the operation must run at a loss when considering the staff compliment necessary on the day. There are no races of any major interest on poly and the facilities needed at Summerveldt would be modest. Not only this, the transport costs over 5 years and the reduction in cost of hosting meetings at Greyville would off-set the expenditure. Lets not forget that there is already a maintenance team at Summerveldt. There may even be an opportunity to host an extra meeting during the week when you consider how many horses have been sent to PE.
The current changes by Hollywood have already had a positive impact and while I am grateful for the appearance money I also applaud the nomination/confirmation with draws being confirmed after. Imagine that not long ago there were countless nominations, e.g. 34 and you would end up with 8 runners. What were trainers being allowed to do?. There was no proper oversight of the racehorse population with merit ratings so planning was useless. The tracks at Greyville and Scotsville were a shambles and there were a multitude of people operating within the GC group with multiple roles. Many of which I believed created a conflict of interest however when I raised this with a GC chairperson i was told that they were happy that everyone managed the conflict of interest well, how absurd.
The above is just my opinion and all disclaimers apply:)
.......but the problem still remains....W(here)TF are they going to put the bigger equipment to convey, sift and separate degraded materials for future maintenance....logistically bringing in "virgin" material is not nearly as challenging.... as they do not require any of the the larger type of equipment on site as the initial substrate blending equipment for "fresh" or new silica+polymer then wax is mixed insitu while laying it.... but the major problem arises again to then eventually remove/lift ,sift/separate and replace the over trafficked surface and "rework" it once it begins to degrade again.....or do they see how long it lasts without lifting screening.... just like before and again kick that can into the next decade.....huh
.......but the problem still remains....W(here)TF are they going to put the bigger equipment to convey, sift and separate degraded materials for future maintenance....logistically bringing in "virgin" material is not nearly as challenging.... as they do not require any of the the larger type of equipment on site as the initial substrate blending equipment for "fresh" or new silica+polymer then wax is mixed insitu while laying it.... but the major problem arises again to then eventually remove/lift ,sift/separate and replace the over trafficked surface and "rework" it once it begins to degrade again.....or do they see how long it lasts without lifting screening.... just like before and again kick that can into the next decade.....huh
Mr Muthiman,I read your comments and applaud you for your in depth knowledge in many areas of racing .Horse racing needs your expertise and hope you can be on the board committee steering the ship in the right direction
