Cambridge Polytrack underway

[Hesi]

Racing: New Zealand's first synthetic track underway

8 Jan, 2020 5:00am

 4 minutes to read

Construction will see the main Cambridge grass trial track dug up and over 10,000sq m of the Polytrack surface laid. Photo / Trish Dunell

NZ Herald

 

By: Michael Guerin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Zealand's first synthetic race track has started construction which means thoroughbred racing could return to Cambridge next year.

The long-awaited construction of what will initially be a new training surface, then trial track but eventually a race track started yesterday as excavators moved in.

It is a pivotal step in the restructuring of New Zealand racing, providing a consistent winter racing surface with the ultimate aim of ending bog track meetings in the region, or worse, those meetings which have to be cancelled because of the extreme wet.

The synthetic track is one of the key strategies around venues for racing in New Zealand raised in the Messara report.

 

While some aspects of racing's future venues plan are still very much up in the air it will be encouraging for industry participants that construction has begun at Cambridge and the track should be open for training, after some testing, by July or August.

The synthetic surface will be Polytrack, which is the brand name for a specific type of synthetic track.

Randwick has a Polytrack surface inside its racetracks and champion NZ jockey James McDonald is a huge fan. "A lot of winners are starting to come off that Randwick Polytrack now because it is a consistent surface for them to train on," says McDonald.

"And they are good to ride on."

The construction which started yesterday will see the main Cambridge grass trial track dug up and over 10,000 square metres of the Polytrack surface laid.

That is expected to take until July but with Cambridge having other training tracks trainers are working with the club to ensure horses currently in training are not greatly disadvantaged.

 

 

 

 

"The trainers have been great, very supportive," says Cambridge Jockey Club chief executive Mark Campin.

"We would have liked to have started earlier to be finished for the start of this winter but we are under way now.

 

"We had a Maori blessing of the track after the trials on Monday too."

The new surface will eventually allow for consistent training in all weather conditions and Cambridge will have a special conditioner to maintain it, with that initially overseen by the Polytrack company.

"We dig up what is now the trials track and put in the new surface and then once that is finished we will start it off slowly," says Campin. "But eventually, once it is bedded in, we should be able to have horses trained on it, then we can have it conditioned and trial that same day then, theoretically, you could condition it and race the next day.

"A lot of people have worked to get us to this stage and we are thankful we have a Racing Minister in Winston Peters who cares enough about the industry."

While the track could be in full training use by August, the Cambridge facility will need some other work, including resource consents, before the Polytrack can be used for actual race meetings.

The new track will not be programmed for major or Saturday race meetings but for predominantly mid-week or smaller meetings, termed industry meetings, in the winter months.

That will help take the work load off other northern tracks that struggle under wet conditions.

"First and foremost it is a training and trials track for the over 1000 horses we have in work here at Cambridge," says Campin.

"But we hope to race those type of race meetings here by May 2021, exactly how many per season we don't know yet.

"That will require some more work to bring the other facilities up to raceday standard. Things like television camera and stewards' towers, the jockeys room and we are looking into options now around how to look after racegoers.

"But we are not talking about big crowds for mid-week winter meetings.

"We had a huge number of horses at the trials here on Monday and the crowd would have been just as big as a mid-week race meeting in winter.

"But yes, we are working on plans at the moment to look after people who come along and, because a lot of the race meetings could be in winter, give them somewhere warm to enjoy the day."

The new track will be around 2000m with its sweeping bends having a camber of approximately six degrees which will provide more even transition into a shorter home straight than most New Zealand tracks because of restrictions imposed by the property boundaries.

[Hesi]

The first course initiative to come out of the Messara Report, a training track at Cambridge.  I fail to see how that will help NZ racing.  It will just allow the Cambridge elite to get their horses ready for Aus racing, without the interruption of bog tracks, and right on the doorstep for most

What are the odds, that a race meeting will ever be held there

[curious]

54 minutes ago, Hesi said:

The first course initiative to come out of the Messara Report, a training track at Cambridge.  I fail to see how that will help NZ racing.  It will just allow the Cambridge elite to get their horses ready for Aus racing, without the interruption of bog tracks, and right on the doorstep for most

What are the odds, that a race meeting will ever be held there

Aus racing and sale I'd say. Interesting choice. Is this not the same synthetic surface that was installed and then removed by the likes of Keeneland, Del Mar, Santa Anita, Woodbine etc? I'd love to see the due diligence report that led to the decision.

Edited January 7, 2020 by curious

[ngakonui grass]

Will they retain or rebuild a grass track for galloping or trials or is that going the way of the moa.

[curious]

Another curiosity is that by my calculations it will be only 5m wide. 10,000 sq m / 2000m length. Can that be right? Fine for a training track but hardly wide enough for trials and certainly not much use for racing?

Edited January 7, 2020 by curious

[ngakonui grass]

One thing i don't like is having a much shorter home straight because of property boundaries.

IMO this is where nz racing falls short,not thinking ahead.

Buying more land is what they should have been doing so they can build a decent facility and cater for even more horses from nearby tracks like Waipa and Te Rapa.

[Hesi]

50 minutes ago, ngakonui grass said:

Will they retain or rebuild a grass track for galloping or trials or is that going the way of the moa.

The grass track is being dug up NG, the Polytrack to be used for trials and training, so I would say no grass track

[curious]

4 minutes ago, Hesi said:

The grass track is being dug up NG, the Polytrack to be used for trials and training, so I would say no grass track

If the poly is only 5m wide on the original rail or close too, it should mean there remains room for a grass galloping track outside that?

[Hesi]

13 minutes ago, ngakonui grass said:

One thing i don't like is having a much shorter home straight because of property boundaries.

IMO this is where nz racing falls short,not thinking ahead.

Buying more land is what they should have been doing so they can build a decent facility and cater for even more horses from nearby tracks like Waipa and Te Rapa.

The longer term plan is the Greenfields Project(2026/27), which will see Te Rapa, Waipa and Cambridge combine to form an 80-90 mil complex.

I presume this would see the Cambridge track then shut

There is also the issue of Rotorua, which is due for closure 23/24

.Phase 5 – No Licences from 2023/24 for 2 Venues

Rotorua – Venue with 11 race meetings in 2017/18. Good location. Below average infrastructure. Training. Not required when proposed Cambridge synthetic track is available and Ellerslie course proper rebuild is complete. Leased/Freehold. Racing Rotorua and Rotorua - Bay of Plenty HC should race at Tauranga.

It would appear, that Rotorua will race at Ellerslie??

[Hesi]

27 minutes ago, ngakonui grass said:

One thing i don't like is having a much shorter home straight because of property boundaries.

IMO this is where nz racing falls short,not thinking ahead.

Buying more land is what they should have been doing so they can build a decent facility and cater for even more horses from nearby tracks like Waipa and Te Rapa.

Already you can see the likely resistance to racing at Cambridge....another Waipa?

[Hesi]

47 minutes ago, curious said:

Another curiosity is that by my calculations it will be only 5m wide. 10,000 sq m / 2000m length. Can that be right? Fine for a training track but hardly wide enough for trials and certainly not much use for racing?

Good point, training only, which suggests that they will never run a meeting or hold trials there

[curious]

So where will the trials go to?

[Freda]

3 hours ago, Hesi said:

 It will just allow the Cambridge elite to get their horses ready for Aus racing, without the interruption of bog tracks, and right on the doorstep for most.

           You got that in one.

[Hesi]

Yes, and I can see why people like yourself, from 'unfavoured' areas are aggrieved.

The whole manner in which this Messara report is being implemented, will just deepen the divisions in NZ racing, and the retort will always be, everyone has got to get in behind it for the sake of NZ racing.

I would suggest that this Cambridge project, is a gratuity to the Cambridge fraternity for supporting NZ First

[Hesi]

29 minutes ago, curious said:

So where will the trials go to?

Exactly, so someone has got their figures wrong, 6 mil on a 5m wide track, is a nonsense, and that is without including a further million plus to establish some sort of facilities, other than portaloos and a coffee truck

[curious]

Is 6m the estimated cost? Have a look at Turfway this morning or this week. Kickback is just one of the reported problems. You can see it and you won't need HD. Not a problem for training gallops of course. Makes me think this is a track for the breeders to prepare and sell the horses they can't sell as yearlings, not for any real benefit to racing.

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by curious

[Hesi]

Horse racing: Government to announce New Zealand's first synthetic racing track

16 May, 2019 5:00pm

 3 minutes to read

Cambridge thoroughbred training track. Photo / Supplied

NZ Herald

 

By: Michael Guerin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cambridge will be the home of New Zealand's first synthetic horse racing track with a near $7million grant from the Government's Provincial Growth Fund.

The Herald understand Minister for Racing Winston Peters could announce the approval for the new track surface as early as tomorrow when he opens a thoroughbred sale at the Karaka sales complex at 9.45am.

It is believed the PGF will provide around half of the around $13million needed to build a synthetic, or all-weather, track over the next year which can be used for racing minor meetings but more importantly for training and trialing racehorses.

The Cambridge training track is New Zealand's largest racehorse training facility with the horse racing industry a huge employer in the area.

 

But New Zealand's wet winters and the up to 1200 horses that use the current training facility in spring have created enormous wear and tear on the main grass surface there and can affect trainer's ability to prepare their horses.

The racing industry, from trainer to punters, have also been crying out for a more consistent and safe racing surface in winter when extremely wet tracks and cancellations of meeting have cost the industry tens of millions of dollars.

The synthetic track mooted for Cambridge would replace the main grass track used there at the moment for training and trials with a track that isn't affected by the weather.

The Herald understands one of the key factors in the PGF agreeing to the grant was that the new track could also be used for race meeting, not just training and trialing horses.
That would make it the first synthetic racetrack in New Zealand.

Synthetic tracks are popular in many overseas racing jurisdictions and have recently become more common in Australia but are viewed as alternate options to the usual grass surface for thoroughbred racing.

But with Waikato being the hub of New Zealand racing, a synthetic track could provide a regular venue for the less glamorous mid-week meetings, which often attract small crowds but are crucial for turnover and giving horses racing opportunities.

 

The Cambridge track presently has limited public facilities but even a small, clubhouse-like area with a viewing platform could suffice for minor meetings, where the main audience is the punters who watch the races on television both here and overseas.

Work on the synthetic track is unlikely to start this winter but expectations are it should be in place by next year.

 

Cambridge was one of three areas mooted for synthetic tracks in New Zealand, with others potentially at Palmerston North and in Christchurch.

The synthetic tracks and their ability to provide sustainable racing are one of the key initiatives signalled by Mr Peters in his role as Minister for Racing.

He also commissioning a broad-ranging report into the future of the industry, the Messara report.

The logistics, practicalities and in some cases legalities of that report are currently being investigated by a Ministerial Advisory Committee who will make recommendations on the future direction of the industry.

[Hesi]

Racing: Getting on track to go synthetic

28 Jul, 2018 5:00am

 7 minutes to read

Bernard Saundry, with daughter Alex (who plays for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the AFL Women's competition), will oversee the development of synthetic surfaces. Photo / Getty Images

NZ Herald

 

By: Michael Guerin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Racing Minister Winston Peters says three synthetic (all-weather) tracks will be built in New Zealand but industry participants and punters have plenty of questions.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing boss Bernard Saundry was in charge of Racing Victoria when they went through this process and his organisation will be responsible for overseeing the development of synthetic surfaces in New Zealand.

Today, he answers some of those questions for the Weekend Herald.

For the uninitiated, what exactly are synthetic thoroughbred tracks?

 

A synthetic track is a sand, polymer binder and fibre cushion surface on a porous drainage base, which is suitable for horses to gallop on. All these characteristics work together to give the surface its "all weather" ability, its exceptional drainage capability and ability to consistently deliver a "good" rated track. They are called "all-weather" tracks because they can be used safely during or following all weather conditions, which is not the case for traditional turf tracks.

These tracks are being raced on in Hong Kong, Singapore, United Kingdom, Victoria and Tasmania and for training in New South Wales.

Would they be used for training and/or as race tracks?

Both. Racing drives an immediate financial return to the industry, but training and trialing are equally important.

Every major training centre needs a synthetic track to provide trainers with the same consistent "good" rated surface (and a variable selection of training surface options) for horse training six mornings a week. Synthetic tracks are also great to trial and conduct jump outs on and can substitute for a grass gallop.

Having a synthetic track for trials and jump outs at major training centres reduces costs to owners of travelling and can be used as many times as needed.

 

Last week, Peters suggested three such tracks will be built in NZ. Did that surprise you?

No. The minister has been supportive of synthetic tracks in the New Zealand First racing policy. It makes sense for these tracks to be distributed across New Zealand.

 

As best you can estimate, how much would each all-weather track cost?

Total construction costs can be up to $10 million. The exact cost is dependent on the size and width of the track. For example, the new Pakenham track in Victoria cost approximately $10m - 2000m in circumference and 16m wide.

How do the ongoing maintenance costs compare with a normal grass surface?

Day-to-day maintenance is considerably less expensive than on a turf surface. Minor maintenance is required daily to prepare track for training. This can be done by one person.

Every three to five years synthetic tracks require major maintenance with the replenishment of polymer and fibres. This costs about $250,000.

At Awapuni, we are estimating we would accrue $80,000 per year in total maintenance costs including annual maintenance and the three to five-year major refit.

At Caulfield, there is a 12 metre-wide training surface that cost $26,000 per annum for the first 3 years and has more than 220 horses work on the surface every morning.

Why do we need synthetic tracks now when NZ racing has survived without them for so long?

The racing world has moved on and we need to catch up. We are competing for punters' eyeballs with countries that can deliver consistent and reliable racing on synthetic tracks. We need synthetic tracks for training and trialing all year around and for racing during the winter.

These tracks will also aid the early spring preparations of our horses and increase their chances of being competitive in the best races in both New Zealand and Australia.

From your experience in Victoria, what are the pros and cons of all-weather racing tracks?

The major advantages are that you never lose a race meeting at that venue due to rain, and you can relocate cancelled or washed out race meetings from other venues on to a synthetic track, so as wagering is not lost and stake money not lost to the industry. Synthetic tracks can sustain a far greater volume of racing in one place than a grass track and will also relieve the pressure on our established grass tracks.

 

The Pakenham track in Victoria, on the outskirts of Melbourne, is a good example of the all-weather surface. Photo /Getty Images

The main disadvantage is that some trainers and horse owners have a cultural aversion to racing on synthetic tracks. This was the early experience in Victoria. Synthetic tracks are well understood by punters and trainers in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore, which have had synthetic tracks for many years.

Why do you think some trainers are, at best, lukewarm on them and some even opposed to them?

Racing has been a conservative sport and synthetic tracks are new. Most trainers now accept that change is not something to fear. For trainers who are not familiar with how they work, they can worry that their horses will not perform as well as they had expected or hoped.

Many of our major trainers now want these to happen. For example, we have received a letter of support from major Waikato trainers for a synthetic track at Cambridge.

Would an all-weather track be in addition to the grass track at that venue or would it replace it?

The best outcome is to have two racing and training surfaces - grass and synthetic - at major training and racing centres that conduct up to 40 race meetings a year with a mix of both surfaces.

In the minds of NZTR bosses, is there a preferred all-weather or synthetic surface, for example, Polytrack?

We do not have a preferred supplier. Should a synthetic track be approved and supported by the industry and the Government we would have a competitive tender process. There are multiple suppliers of this surface, each with successful implementations operating around the world.

We would also conduct test bed trials of the various surfaces to ensure we had the best surface for the regional weather patterns.

If the Government comes up with even half the money for three all-weather tracks, how does the industry come up with the other half?

We agree that the industry would need to have skin in the game in relation to the funding of these surfaces. The proposals we have already received from racing clubs in relation to synthetic surfaces acknowledge that clubs, NZTR and the NZRB should contribute.

In Victoria, did you find any differing safety concerns, for either horses or jockeys, from all-weather to grass tracks?

No. Safety is usually a function of track design and not so much the surface being galloped on. The Pakenham track taught us a big spacious properly-designed synthetic is safer for horse and jockey than a tight, small turf track.

What is the most likely time-frame for NZ to have its first synthetic track race meeting.

Our hope is that we could have at least one track available in time for the start of next winter (2019). This will still take a considerable amount of work behind the scenes and commitment from each of the relevant parties to get this achieved.

Is there anything else you think it is important for those involved in the industry to know about these potential developments?

These tracks are not going to change the overall unique style of New Zealand racing. We will still race our best and majority of race meetings on our best tracks in our best weather. Synthetic tracks will supplement and complement the strength of New Zealand racing, not undermine it.

The preparation and early racing careers of our horses will be improved and the wear and tear on our grass tracks will be significantly reduced.

Synthetic tracks are also not a panacea for all our challenges. As the minister has said, the industry requires radical change if it is to thrive in the 21st century and synthetic tracks are just one part of a bigger programme of change that is required.

We will all benefit if the industry embraces that change.

Synthetic tracks will be a key aspect of NZTR's venue planning for the future. It is good for training, racing, horses and punters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hesi]

Just a note in there, that Pakenham did a the same size track, 16m wide(32,000m2), for about 10 mil

[curious]

14 minutes ago, Hesi said:

Just a note in there, that Pakenham did a the same size track, 16m wide(32,000m2), for about 10 mil

So you might expect about 1/3 of that for a 5m galloping track?

[curious]

Randwick galloping/trial track 2000/13.5m. A$6.2m.

[Hesi]

So is the 10,000 m2 factually reported....probably not

Although I note the article says over 10,000 m2

[curious]

Probably close I'd assume. Because there's a greater area to be covered on the outside of the track 10k+?

Probably some variation in costs depending on underlying layers drainage work requirements etc.

[Hesi]

9 minutes ago, barryb said:

10,000 m3 is about the volume of material being removed, more like.

Be interesting to know where they are getting the material from to go back in as it doesn't occur naturally in the Waikato or surrounding regions.

Polytrack. Martin Collins Enterprises. A mixture of silica sand, recycled synthetic fibers (carpet & spandex) and recycled rubber/pvc. In cold climates, the mixture may also include jelly cable (plastic insulation from copper phone wire). The entire mixture is coated with wax.

Sounds like a pretty specific mix, surely they are not importing it from Aus

[curious]

16 minutes ago, barryb said:

10,000 m3 is about the volume of material being removed, more like.

Be interesting to know where they are getting the material from to go back in as it doesn't occur naturally in the Waikato or surrounding regions.

Oh. That's a completely different story then. Could someone mix up m2 with m3? I heard/saw the sand for the cushion layer had to come from Northland?