It appears there are some well-travelled racing fans who read the Otago Daily Times. My total of 22 racecourses visited has been comfortably usurped by at least three racing aficionados over the last week.
Mosgiel man John Gawn has visited 52 race tracks in New Zealand when meetings have been on, and another four outside a race day, his wife, Anne, told me.
Not bad, I thought. Then I heard from Otago Racing Club committee member George Cleland, who listed all 50 of the New Zealand tracks he has visited, along with 14 others overseas (including Seoul, Sha Tin in Hong Kong, and Worcester in England)
....across the country's tracks, man
Timaru retiree Frank Harris gave me a call yesterday. He's been to 61 tracks around New Zealand, including 51 galloping tracks and another 10 separate harness tracks. Oh, and the greyhounds when they were held at Mt Smart Stadium.
In fact, he almost found it easier to mention the galloping tracks he hasn't been to - Hokitika, Waterlea, Wairoa, Makaraka, Taupo, Pukekura and Te Teko.
He reckons he would have been to Ellerslie more than 200 times, and Trentham and Avondale more than 100 times each, thanks to a Public Service job that saw him travel the country quite a bit.
So I'll give Frank the provisional title, but will leave the lines open for another week to see if we have someone who graced the turf of more tracks than Frank's 61.
Children are our future . . .
I promise you that sub-heading is the first and last time I ever use a Whitney Houston lyric in this column. Anyway, there's a storm brewing at Addington, with some trainers' wives unable to take their children into the stabling area at all if the child is under 6.
If they're between the ages of 6 and 14, they need to complete a one-hour course before they get a pass to enter the stables.
I can see both sides of the argument - trainers and their partners rightly point out their kids are brought up around horses and are well aware of the dangers, and the restriction on allowing any children under 6 into the stables makes it very difficult for the family to join the trainer or driver in the stable.
But the clubs have their own responsibilities, particularly in the area of health and safety, and the last thing they want on their conscience is a child kicked by a horse as a result of he or she not being aware of the dangers. The Forbury Park Trotting Club will be running the Stable Area Awareness Course in conjunction with Kidz Kartz.
Lazy Fiver
I thought La Girl was going to provide me with a placing even if it was a bit short in the market but she ended up - yep, you guessed it - fifth. I'm giving Whozideawasthis a chance to go back to back after his win at Forbury Park earlier this month. He's drawn well in race 6 at Rangiora on Sunday.
