Came upon a begging letter from NZF signed by Darroch Ball to assist them to prepare for the next election.

Why it was not addressed to “Dear Racing Industry Supporter” is a mystery. Here is the latest Darra, if you think you can resuscitate the now dead body by begging from those your departed Charlatan leader dropped in it literally and figuratively when he replaced Bill English out of sheer spite with the voluble but extremely shallow airhead now with power supposedly denied to a single party by MMP, you are dreaming.

Now that tidbit got me wondering as to where are all those beautiful expansive pieces of often very desirable real estate left now, facing the avarice of the very rich and powerful interests who financed The Great Charlatan in his destructive often spite driven crusade to the enormous benefit of those running the thoroughbred industry. The plan was to consolidate racing to a very few well endowed centralised tracks financed in part by selling such picturesque areas such as Tauherenikau and sans any community compensation take the funds generated away. Now Commercially sensible reallocation of resources such moves may be but when assets of a community that cost very little to central and local Government are closed and the entire value is removed, could that be somewhat at odds with another cause once espoused by that very bunch of eunuchs now out with their begging bowls, “growth for the provinces”??

There are a multitude of such Tracks owned and maintained by local supporters for often a once a year event that is a focus of otherwise disparate communities. Kaikoura Trotting Track although not in the class of Tauherenikau for esthetics has the one meeting a year in the week leading up to the now widely promoted Cup week in Canterbury where the form for the New Zealand Trotting Cup field is assessed bringing much to Kaikoura and district both financial, socially and community promoting

I guess my question is where do all those threatened bits of often prime real estate stand now the Great Charlatan is on life support politically. Real Estate that the controlling clubs along with providing quality training facilities also fulfil a community service by allowing other events to use at affordable rates many of the facilities built up with serious sums of community money over years.

Asking for a friend.