Racing: Addington Cup Week at the mercy of Covid levels

Cup bosses may struggle with the requirement to keep fans one metre apart. Photo / Photosport

Christchurch racing bosses will await clarification of the easing of Covid restrictions before believing a full-scale New Zealand Cup Week is possible next month.

Addington indicated last week they will start firming decisions around October 19 on whether a crowd can attend New Zealand's biggest race day for the NZ Trotting Cup on November 9.

With enormous infrastructure needed to host a full crowd of 20,000, Addington officials will need to start making their plans a few weeks out to have the venue ready.

They also have contingency plans should levels and restrictions change and that could see anything from a Cup Day with no crowds, to one with essential industry participants, owners and some members, through to smaller crowds of varying levels should a full event not be possible.

Riccarton are in the same boat for their three days of Cup Week but say their decision won't be made until possibly as late as November 1, again with contingencies that could see the major days scaled up or down.

What could be a glimmer of hope for racing and party fans appeared to come on Tuesday with a lifting of a hard Government cap on event crowds, instead moving to venues being allowed audiences that could be accommodated with people at least 1m apart.

Considering the size of both venues, that sounds like a huge improvement but unlike other sporting events race days, especially the biggest ones, don't have crowds that arrive, sit in allocated seats for two hours and then leave.

"It is a bigger challenge for us because we are not sure how we keep people 1m apart," Riccarton chief executive Tim Mills said yesterday.

"So we are waiting the latest health orders before we get too excited about what might happen next."

Addington spokesman Darrin Williams said while any easing of crowd restrictions was positive, it was not a simple task should racegoers be allowed but kept 1m apart.

"There are so many levels to this and we will monitor it all closely," said Williams. "So while we are expecting to make some sort of announcement after October 19, if there are changes in alert levels here post that, we will also have plans in place."

All of that only matters if the South Island remains at Covid-19 alert level2 or below, with any increase of restrictions there to level 3 meaning the meetings can go ahead but with essential racing personnel only.

One club already forced to make the decision to move their only meeting is the Kaikoura Trotting Club, whose fixture at the picturesque South Bay Raceway in the Marlborough town has been moved to Addington on November 1.

That will change the plans of several open-class pacers, most notably South Coast Arden and Copy That, whose trainers were reluctant to take them to the flat Kaikoura track but have indicated they are keener to start in the Kaikoura Cup at Addington eight days out from the New Zealand Cup.

"That could work better for us and with the travel restrictions for Aucklanders we might stay up here for another Alexandra Park race, skip Ashburton [October 25] and go to the Kaikoura Cup at Addington," said Copy That's trainer Ray Green.