Those who attended Riccarton Racecourse on Saturday have been offered the chance to claim a full refund on their tickets after the event was postponed, due to flooding.
However, Canterbury Jockey Club has appealed to attendees to consider not claiming their share, to support the club while it endures a “challenging financial situation”.
Club chair Dianne Logie said the postponement of last weekend’s racing was the first time this has happened in the 159-year history of Cup Day.
Two-thirds of the club’s racing sales come from New Zealand Cup Day. Staff spent close to half a million dollars setting up for the event on Saturday.
“The decision to stop racing was not made lightly, but the health and safety of our jockeys and horses always come first,” she said.
“The New Zealand Cup is a major event on the racing calendar and one that we are very proud to run. We are devastated and sorry that we had to postpone racing at the weekend.”
The club’s chief executive, Tim Mills, said it was working with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing on a review of events leading to the postponement and will share the findings and implement any recommendations.
“Preparation for this New Zealand Cup was no different to what we have done in the past.
“All industry protocols and standards including having two horses work over the track on the morning of the races were followed. There was no indication of any issues that could result in racing being discontinued with the track.”
Mills said the club followed the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing protocol of daily penetrometer readings, to determine the state of the track.
“We did this daily for the week leading up to and including race day and again, nothing out of the ordinary was evident including any obvious human error.”
The money lost at the event is not recoverable for the club due to “prohibitively expensive” insurance costs. Mills said no major racing track in New Zealand has insurance covering postponement like last week
“We are very grateful to supporters who have said they had a great day and won’t be seeking a refund. While we are happy to provide a full refund, this will be a huge financial hit for the club.“
Income from New Zealand Cup Day 2022 had already been earmarked to go towards the replacement of the Grand National stand.
Those who wish to lodge a refund request have been asked to log into their Moshtix account, and select the “request a refund” button.” Racegoers have 21 days to claim a refund.
“We look forward to welcoming racegoers to New Zealand Cup Day next year,” said Mills.
