AFTERSHOCKS CAUSE ABANDONMENT
A major 5.1 magnitude aftershock in Christchurch on Wednesday morning (Sept 8) at 7.49am has led to the abandonment of Thursday’s Addington Raceway meeting.
The decision to abandon the meeting was made by the Club in conjunction with HRNZ officials.
Addington Raceway CEO, Shane Gloury, reported to HRNZ from the site. “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 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. There were 280 people that stayed here last night currently 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 at the Welfare Centre.
“When you also factor in that the meeting will be at night, the wider obligation we have to the community in respect of the Welfare Centre and the fact that aftershocks could occur during the race meeting, which potentially threatens 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.
“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.”
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 harness racing will resume their next Friday night
for the feature Avon City Ford/Ordeal Cup meeting.
Courtesy of Andrew Morris, HRNZ Marketing and Communications Manager