New Zealand Racing Pushed Back Again

Friday’s announcement that New Zealand will remain in Alert Level 4 until 11:59pm on Tuesday has required New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing to reshuffle the deck when it comes to racing programs in the coming weeks. All regions, except Auckland and Northland, will move to Alert Level 3 on Wednesday, conditions under which racing, trials and jumpouts can take place, albeit with significant restrictions in place. According to NZ Racing Desk, the Gr2 Valachi Downs Foxbridge Plate meeting that was scheduled for Te Rapa on Saturday will be rescheduled. “We have got a program kicking off from Wednesday. We can’t race this weekend under Alert Level 4, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel,” New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Bernard Saundry said. “There has been some frustration over the past ten or 12 days as to why we couldn’t race under Alert Level 4, but I think people are starting to understand.” Saundry noted, “It is a very different lockdown here compared to Australia, but that doesn’t mean we stop trying to lobby Government. Once we get to a certain level of vaccination in the community, things will start to open up. I do encourage everyone in the industry to get vaccinated because that is the quickest way to being a safer community and when we can race with some certainty.”