Always back the horse named self-interest, son. It'll be the only one trying
BY Garrick Knight, Harness Express The Auckland Trotting Club’s (ATC) Annual General Meeting has been set for December 3. The ATC had hoped to have the settlement money from the Pukekohe land sale in time for the AGM, but the Chinese-based buyers missed the November 8 deadline. An ATC spokesperson confirmed today that the money […]
They say that Ben Hope was higher than Swayzee at the Racecourse Hotel on Saturday night. You have to wonder if he was in the same state of mind when he decided to park Just Believe outside him on Muscle Mountain in the NZ FFA Trot instead of taking the sit on the Aussie’s back. […]
This is an excerpt from the yet to be publicly released Auckland Trotting Club (ATC) 2024/25 Annual Report. It is the corollary to the Auditor’s Opinion. The ATC is in a world of self-made pain. Harness racing’s future in the North Island is under major threat, if it has one at all. Soon the banks […]
Are the clowns in charge of the Alexandra Park circus sure there has been no news to report since January, as the Auckland Trotting Club website suggests? How about hometown hero Merlin being 2nd favorite to win the Cup? Or star 2yo Captain Sampson taking on the South Island’s best in the Sires Stakes? What […]
11 November 2024 Dear Members, An update on the sale of the Pukekohe properties. The sale of the Club’s Pukekohe properties to Mount Hope Limited was scheduled to settle on Friday, 8 November 2024. As at 5pm Friday Mount Hope Limited had not settled. Mount Hope’s lawyer has advised that their client is actively seeking […]
Rumors are filtering out of Auckland that the Trotting Club didn’t get paid its’ $90 million for the Pukekohe training center. The Chinese developer didn’t stump up. At this stage we don’t know why. Does this mean the sale agreement is dead? Dunno at this stage. What does it mean? The Auckland Trotting Club is […]
D-day has arrived for the Auckland Trotting Club. Will the Chinese developer pay the $90 million that will save the club or won’t they? It all comes down to this for the club that’s in debt to the banks for almost $80 million, secured by the title deeds to Alexandra Park. It’s triumph or bust. […]
We questioned yesterday whether the Auckland Trotting Club (ATC) would still have a liquor license today. Well further investigation has revealed that the answer is yes/no/maybe. The club’s license to sell alcohol expired at midnight last night. It had submitted a renewal application in September, but it did so under the wrong name. The current […]
This is what is reported in the Auckland Trotting Club annual report. The (now former) staff member involved in a dispute with the club is Graeme Payne, in the case that we have written at length about recently. The ATC claim they ‘do not consider there to be any expected cash outflow’ from the decision […]
We will have to wait a bit longer for the return of the superstar Merlin, after tonight’s meeting at Alexandra Park has been postponed due to weather and the state of the track. The mail is that the rain has created some ruts on the turns that has rendered the track unsafe to race on. […]
