Your chance to have a say - Cambridge surveys North Islanders before forums

Cambridge harness chiefs will survey all North Island licence-holders and owners in advance of next month’s industry forums.

And Cambridge Raceway chief executive officer Dave Branch is urging as many people as possible to take part so the data can help frame the scope and focus of the forums.

It is planned to hold two meetings - at Palmerston North on March 6 and Pukekohe on March 8 - when it is hoped solutions can be found to the myriad of issues facing harness racing in the North Island. Leading New Zealand facilitator Sarah Beaman will oversee and co-ordinate the forums.

“We intend to follow a structured process around the set up and design of these forums to ensure good use of everyone’s time so ultimately they are as productive as possible,” Branch said.

Sarah Beaman … will facilitate the forums.Beaman has consulting experience across a range of industries, including state services, local government, sport and recreation, health and corporate business.

On the board of New Zealand Cricket, her work in racing includes a 2019 report for the New Zealand Racing Board on how effectively the industry was engaging and involving women.

In 2022 she was project manager for Equestrian Sports New Zealand’s ‘Strengthen and Adapt’ initiative.

Cambridge Raceway’s forum plan followed Harness Racing New Zealand’s decision to scrub two feature races from its January meeting because of poor nominations.

In an open letter to all participants Branch and Cambridge chairman Graham Bowen said the industry needed to be united and work together to find solutions for the future.

“Among the major issues are race programming, stakes funding distribution, the racing calendar (dates and number of meetings), the declining number of horses racing in the north and subsequent falling turnover.”

The forums will have a clear objective of looking for solutions and new ideas that can be presented to HRNZ for action.