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BLAST FROM THE PAST

MEETING ABANDONED

The major 5.1 magnitude aftershock in Christchurch this morning at 7.49am has led to the abandonment of tomorrow nights (Thursday) Harness Meeting at Addington Raceway.

The decision to abandon the meeting was made by the Club in conjunction with HRNZ officials.

Addington Raceway CEO, Shane Gloury, explained. “Everybody here worked so hard to get the place ready to go after the weekend, but this mornings’ aftershock put us back to where we were after the first quake.

“There is a range of issues that necessitated the abandonment. There is damage in many of our major rooms in the Metropolitan Stand – we’ve had ceiling tiles and light fittings that have collapsed and have been strewn across the floor, TV’s that have been destroyed, broken glassware and crockery and our lift has also been damaged. Many of the rooms are a mess.

“We also have the Welfare Centre at the Raceway in the Twiggers Stand There were 280 people that stayed here last night and that number is expected to swell after this morning’s aftershock which means that the Welfare Centre will require use of more rooms and facilities here over the next 48 hours. The Drivers’ Rooms and First Aid areas are also currently being used as a quarantine facility for those that are ill.

“Engineers inspected our building structures this morning not only to ensure the safety of those in the Welfare Centre, but also the other buildings that we use on race night. On a positive note there has been no structural damage to any of our buildings and the racetrack, lighting towers and stables all appear to be fine.”

“When you consider that tomorrow night’s racemeeting was to be at night, the wider obligation we now have to the community in respect of the Welfare Centre and the fact that aftershocks could occur during the racemeeting which could potentially threaten the health and safety of patrons, participants and workers, the decision became easy. There’s just too much risk involved to allow us to proceed with the racemeeting tomorrow night.”

All events scheduled at Addington Raceway through until Sunday 12 September have been cancelled including two greyhound race meetings and the Great NZ Craft Show. Addington expects next Monday’s trials to be conducted as planned and that harness racing will resume next Friday night for the feature Avon City Ford/Ordeal Cup meeting.

Credit: Shane Gloury