In case you missed it - we have $10,000 first 4's on all 12 races on Sunday! In order to help you get some that $120,000 we caught up with Matt Cross to get his advice on which runners should be included in your First 4 tickets. With 12 races carded it was a long video so we've split it into two parts.
Lethaby Racing Stables Owner's Day
Lethaby Racing stables are hosting their current and potential new owners at Methven on Sunday and we're really looking forward to having them. If you're interested in getting involved in horse ownership go by and see Amber, Jason and Jess Davidson. We'll have them set up somewhere near the birdcage/parade ring area.
Equus Park - Stage 1 released
We’re excited to announce that sections in the first stage of our new subdivision ‘Equus Park’ have been released for sale today. Located right over the back fence of the Methven Racecourse these sections are perfect for race lovers.
2020 Methven Cup and Punter of the Year Competition
We look forward to welcoming the public back on track for the 2020 running of the Alabar Methven Cup. We will have all of our normal facilities open including on course betting, catering from the Pubs of Methven and giveaways throughout the day.
The Mt Hutt Lounge will be reserved for our annual Brown Pub Punter of the Year Competition. The competition is open to everyone over the age of 18, and you can enter as an individual or a team and you will receive food and beverage voucher for up to 4 people per team. You can enter as many times as you like, but each entry must be registered and have it’s own name. Registration closes 15 minutes before the start of the first race.
Rules and conditions can be found here: POY Rules and Conditions
Greg O's Tips
Greg O'Connor gives us his best bet of the day. We're hoping to catch up with Matt Cross and Matt Markham this morning to get their best of the day as well.
The BYO Wages work Greg refers to at the end is the work Nigel does with Harness Racing Unhinged and Nigel will be doing that on course again today with post race interviews with trainers, drivers and owners so keep an eye on the Unhinged page for that.
Drivers Tips
Committee member Nigel Armstrong caught up with a few drivers at Addington last night to ask them about their best chances for tomorrow.
Hope Runners - September 13
The Greg and Nina Hope barn are bringing a team of 8 runners to Methven on Sunday. Stable representative Ben Hope talks us through each of their runners, and rates their best chance of the day. Ben also has two outside drives for Andrew Stuart Racing Stables so he talks about them as well.
Important Information for Sunday
With the country and all race meetings still being held under Level 2 there is some important information for Sunday that you need to be aware of.
THIS MEETING IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC
All course entrants must be either an trainer, driver, owner or support services/officials. Owners are allowed to bring their family, but the general public are excluded. There will be a checkpoint at the entrance where our team will have a list of all owners with horses entered. If you are not on the list (or with someone on the list) you will be turned away. All people entering the course will be required to complete a health questionnaire and sign in - either by being checked off the owners list, scanning the QR code in the Covid-19 app or entering your details on a sign in sheet. Once you've been signed in you will be given a wristband to wear for the day.
ENTRANCE AND PARKING
There will only be 1 entrance to the course - the main paved driveway. The checkpoint will be located about 50m down the driveway. Once you have passed through the checkpoint you will be directed by club officials to parking near the old tote building. The large grass carparking area will be closed and there will be no access to this area. THERE WILL ALSO BE NO PARKING ALONG THE RAIL.
FACILITIES
The stewards stand and Mt Hutt lounge will be available for owners to use. Owners will be allowed into the stabling area to see their horses. Winning owners will be allowed into the birdcage for a photo with their horse.
FOOD AND DRINK
The Methven Pubs team will have their food caravan on site from 11am until approximately 2pm. They will be serving Kai Pai Pies, Beef Burgers, Hot Chips, Hot Dogs, Churros, Bottled Water and Soft Drinks. THERE WILL BE NO ALCOHOL AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE. You may BYO alcohol. You may also BYO food. However, this race meeting is being classed as an industry event and will not be our usual family atmosphere picnic event. You will not be able to bring along chairs, gazebos etc and set up along the rail.
THERE WILL BE NO BETTING FACILITIES ON COURSE
Unfortunately we won't have TOTE staff or self-service terminals on site so you will need to either place your bets before you come, or use your phone to place bets.
We are very happy that race meetings are allowed to continue under Level 2 and that we can welcome owners onto the course. However, this is not a usual Methven event and we ask that owners please respect the rules. We are hopeful that we will be under Level 1 by our October Cup meeting and can welcome the public back on course. However, if we are still racing under Level 2 in October we need to ensure that we follow all of the rules for this meeting so that we can have owners on course again in October.
Trainers Tips!
Committee member Nigel Armstrong headed out to North Canterbury today to talk to a few trainers about their runners' chances on Sunday. Thanks to the following trainers for taking time to talk to us today.
Jack Harrington - Gold Star Racing
Amber Lethaby - Lethaby Racing Stables
Matt Purvis
Craig Edmonds
John Dunn - Robert Dunn Trotting Stables
We look forward to seeing these horses and their owners on track on Sunday 13 September
*Reminder this meeting is closed to the public and only open to Trainers, Drivers, Stablehands and Owners of horses engaged on the day along with Club and racing officials.
Methven receives Impressive Nominations!
With 208 nominations received we're extremely happy that we've been allowed to put on two more races than originally planned and we will now have 12 races with full fields in most of them - half of our races have emergencies in place. We look forward to seeing owners, trainers and drivers of horses engaged on track on Sunday. We've been working closely with Harness Racing New Zealand on our obligations and requirements on the day and will be posting more information later in the week.
