Greyville looks amazing

Craig Eudey wrote: Looking very good! I am sure someone will find something wrong or try and take away from the photos!

Maybe something like the grass is too green :lol: Congrats to the course manager and to you especially for always having positive things to say about Kzn racing.

track looks amazing

Well done to the track Manager

Craig Eudey wrote: Looking very good! I am sure someone will find something wrong or try and take away from the photos!

I believe photo shop made this pics possible.

I could take a picture of my folks back garden and it would look better than that... but, fair play I suppose, their garden doesn't have horses going up and down it all the time!! oh no, wait a minute, nor does the Greyville grass track! :silly:

Craig, assuming you are correct, good for you (seriously). Shame the powers that be don't have better marketing skills though, cos one trainer, even you!!! won't convince me until that bit of grass is used on a regular basis again... as it should be.

Funny how these photos are permitted but, put one up of say a dodgy Fairview track and big brother moves in quicker than eyes pop at some of my avatars!!! Pish! lol

Engels the Fairview pics done their job

Trust me

Out of fairness

Kevin Shea not keen on the Greyville poly

"True Rob…..but if you saw on friday night the track was worse after the rain than the Vaal sand and full of water patchers on the track, never seen that on any poly track around the world and i have ridden on just about all of them in the UK…."

Saw it a couple days ago when playing golf, looking outstanding. Well done to the manager, I was very impressed! Those photos aren't photoshopped I can assure you but people will still complain.

I think I must be missing the point big time here! Yes, it looks lovely, it has not been raced on for some time though has it so is there any reason it shouldn't look in tip top condition? As I have said repeatedly, for me anyway, this is not about the Poly track, I am very pleased to see it and it most definitely has a place in SA racing. No, zero, none, zilch complaints from me on that score!

But, when Clairwood was sold off and the Poly put in, did people really think the Poly would be used so much and the turf course at Greyville used so sparsely? Don't people miss turf racing in KZN and more specifically Durban? There are (at a very quick count up so maybe not exact science) 57 races scheduled between now and Jan 26th at Greyville. Only 16 of those races are scheduled for the turf and that is of course weather permitting. 10 of those 16 races involve the first two races on a number of the cards.

Now, I suspect the plan was/is to primarily keep the turf track as a show case for the Durban July and maybe one or two big races that are held there. The rest of the time I suspect it will be heavily weighted in favour of Poly racing. If that is what people want... owners, punters, trainers etc then fine, say "doesn't the course look lovely" but, for me, I want to see turf racing when it is possible and I don't think that is going to be the case in Durban in the future. The signals seem to be fairly clear but I could well be wrong, time will tell.

Whether the Poly should have been put elsewhere is another debate, I personally think it should have been but then I have always said, I don't particularly like Greyville racing so maybe I am bias. But the tracks do look very tight and the fields restricted. As for the poly surface, I heard another trainer being interviewed the other day expressing big concerns but the interviewer quickly took him off the subject. I just find it hard to believe based on what I see, hear and read that all concerned parties are as happy with that track as Craig seemingly is.

Anyway, bottom line in my mind, is what f'ing good is a race track looking great if it is hardly ever raced on. People aren't going to come through the doors to admire the grass! lol Anyway, que sera, sera...

And Bob, genuinely thank you but, I know the Fairview pics brought a reaction, it wasn't really the point I was making though and of course, it should never have been allowed to get in that state in the first place.

Engels, strangely there have been more people through the gates with poly track racing than there was before. I think it has to do with the fact that if it rains you still guaranteed racing. Unfortunately with the grass this was never the case.

Durban weather from November till around Feb is horrible with regard to rain. I as a punter and being my home course if you want to call it that would prefer the racing to remain on the poly till after TW raining season and have the turf ready when the season opens here for the big races.

That's just my opinion.

Thanks bud... I might have been mixing my seasons up a little and I can accept a certain reluctance to use the turf for this period then and that they also had something of a recovery process to undergo this year. But, is the whole point of the Poly not that you are guaranteed racing year-round (yesterday aside) whichever track you initially plan to use? Very late weather changes might affect it I guess but otherwise not. And I thought they had been doing a few promos for Friday nights which had boosted bums through the gates. Let us hope you are right though mate and that there is a huge swing of the pendulum in favour of the turf from Febuary, I shall remain a little sceptical until it happens though... but, maybe that's just me

A very pertinent point that we spoke about this morning that did come into the reason for not going to the poly yesterday(besides the main one of staff) was that that meeting could be rescheduled for the grass and so keep the straight races etc.