A back-up plan has been agreed to if bad weather means Monday’s meeting on the grass at Motukarara cannot be held.
If the track is deemed unsuitable then the meeting will move to Addington.
The forecast for Easter in Canterbury is for showers on Thursday and intermittent rain continuing through to Sunday.
“Our intention is to race at Motukarara and we are committed to that but we have come up with a contingency plan to ensure the meeting goes ahead even if the Mot is deemed unsuitable,” says Harness Racing New Zealand’s Head of Racing Matthew Peden.
“HRNZ, the Banks Peninsula Trotting Club and Addington Raceway all believe this is the best way forward.”
An inspection of the track will take place on Saturday, April 19 at 10am. It will involve a Stipendiary Steward, and club and HRNZ representatives.
“We will make a decision then as whether the meeting can go ahead as scheduled,” says Peden, “should the track be deemed unsuitable, this will allow the team at the Addington Raceway sufficient time to make arrangements to host the meeting at their venue on Monday.”
“We are letting people know of our plans now so everyone can do some forward planning. It will definitely minimize any disruption.”
If the meeting moves to Addington race distances will be relative to what was programmed at Motukarara, and the front line limits will remain the same as they would be at Motukarara as well.
Nominations close at noon tomorrow (Wednesday), with withdrawals at 2pm.
For more information contact matthew.peden@hrnz.co.nz
