Changes to coverage at Addington Raceway

Addington are moving to fill the information void for owners and punters ahead of racing’s relaunch this week.

The country’s premier racing club returns with a double meeting this week, with a daytime fixture on Thursday followed by the return to their traditional Friday night slot, named the Dunstan Horse Feeds Return to Racing.

The meetings will be the first two horse racing meetings run in New Zealand since lockdown and attracted huge nominations as horsepeople demonstrated their desire to get back to the track.

But the return to racing doesn’t mean a return to normal, with the public still not allowed back on track and television coverage set to change as Trackside moves to become a race to race broadcaster with very little on-track interaction.

That will mean regular Addington on-track presenters Greg O’Connor will cover the meeting but from a studio in Christchurch.

“So we are keen to implement a few new things to connect with our audience and the connections of the horses before, during and after our meetings,” says Addington spokesman Carlo Gomez.

Addington intend to raise their engagement on all social media but say their main focus with pre-meeting and post-meeting interviews will be on their Facebook page.

“We will also have post-race interviews going up on Youtube but primarily we will be using our Facebook page to keep people informed,” says Gomez.

They will also use an e-letters with selections while galleries of winning horses and videos will be uploaded to Facebook and Youtube as well the day after our meetings.

Former Trackside presenter Jess Smith has already started interviews and will cover this Thursday’s meeting for Addington’s social channels while Stacey White will be on board for Friday’s major meeting.

Harness Racing New Zealand will also be increasing the direct racing information on its website with video previews for all meetings from punting guru Craig Thompson and former Trackside presenter Michael Guerin and expert selections for all meetings as harness racing enters a new information era.