Several venues are set to be axed from the 2020/21 racing calendar, including Auckland's iconic Avondale racecourse.
RITA (Racing Industry Transition Agency) has released a proposed schedule for the upcoming season that includes several glaring omissions and 43 fewer equine meetings, compared to the pre-coronavirus draft.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been partly blamed for the decision to not include the 14 tracks - including 10 thoroughbred venues - with RITA stressing the industry couldn't survive a full schedule.
"Every thoroughbred racing club in New Zealand has a history and a part to play," says NZ Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Bernard Saundry. "NZTR has done significant work over the past 18 months on a venue plan that will future-proof the racing industry.
"We recognise that the calendar for 2020/21 looks very different to previous seasons with fewer meetings at fewer venues.
"The industry cannot survive, let alone move ahead, if we try to fit 2020s racing into a mould that was created last century.
"NZTR’s venue plan took into account several factors and among them was the introduction of all-weather tracks.
"With the Cambridge all-weather track on schedule for use next season, the commitment from the Government of up $20m to build additional all-weather surfaces at Awapuni and Riccarton will also impact on future racing dates," Saundry says.
Saundry regrets some of the most iconic venues in New Zealand are likely to fold as a result of the revamped schedule, but says they were left in a precarious position and hard decisions had to be made.
"We understand that there will be some who find it difficult to accept that racing may no longer continue at their local venue. We also understand that an argument could be made for the survival of each individual venue, but where would that get us?
"At this time, it is important everyone takes an industry-wide view and not consider venues in isolation," Saundry said.
Thoroughbred racecourses not included in the upcoming session: Avondale, Te Teko, Waipa (Te Awamutu), Gisborne, Wairoa, Waipukurau, Blenheim (Waterlea), Motukarara, Waikouaiti, Omakau
On Monday, the government announced the NZ racing industry will receive a $72.5 million support package to ease the financial strains of COVID-19.
Deputy Prime Minister and Racing Minister Winston Peters says it will be the "first step towards a long term restoration of racing".
"We can't guild the lily," Peters says. "The racing industry has been hit by the perfect storm of COVID-19, while in a weak financial state and in the midst of a reform programme.
"As a result, there is a genuine risk of insolvency and the industry losing the future gains of its reforms.
"The Government has a respond, recover, and rebuild strategy for COVID-19. This announcement is the first step towards a long-term restoration of racing."
Join Newshub at 6pm for more on this story.