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Speaking before the CHRB during its Nov. 19 meeting in Sacramento, Calif., an executive from the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association spotlighted three incentives aimed at reversing years of contraction in the state's breeding industry.View the full article

Crown backs $11.7m of racecourse-edge project with underwrite Four new contracts brings the total number of agreements to nine, with 690 homes backed for a total $165.9 million by Alice Peacock18/11/2025 Share     Stage 9D of Trackside, the final phase of the Gillies Group's Wallaceville Estate development. Photo: Gillies Group   The group behind a residential development in Upper Hutt says the backing it received from the Government was “indispensible” in enabling them to start building.https://bitofayarn.com Gillies Group is one of four developers to receive a residential development underwrite agreement in the latest round of Ministry of Housing and Urban Development contracts. The pre-sales commitment from the Crown to bail out developers unable to sell homes helps them secure bank finance for consented, costed and ready-to-commence projects. https://bitofayarn.com The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s Charles Mabbett says the four latest developments to be approved will deliver around 270 homes. The four agreements bring the number of residential development underwrites to nine, with the value of the contracts for 690 homes totalling $165.9 million.    The limited-time initiative was introduced in October 2024, intended to support the residential development sector while the economy recovers by offering a financing bridge to successful applicants.https://bitofayarn.com A total 53 applications have been received, 25 of which are not progressing due to ineligibility or failure to pass the Government’s assessment process. https://bitofayarn.com The ministry agrees to purchase the underwritten dwellings in the case that the developer is unable to sell them on the open market after an agreed marketing period. The ‘underwrite price’ is lower than market value. Trackside is the final phase of Gillies Group’s Wallaceville Estate. It comprises 64 lots in a greenfield development integrating parks and bush into a residential setting and flanked at either side by train stations. The homes are a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom houses and units. Sales manager Jamie Gillies says the underwrite supports the 30 homes that make up stage 9C. Earthworks are complete and building is underway, with five homes pre-sold.  Stage 9D – the other section of the Trackside development – was built first and all but one of the 34 homes are sold. Stages A and B targeted first home buyers and were part of the KiwiBuild scheme.https://bitofayarn.com   Gillies Group is “well underway” in having the rest of them sold without the Government having to act on its underwrite, but Gillies says this doesn’t mean the backing agreement wasn’t a crucial aspect to get it started.  “Given the timing of when the underwrite was available, it was indispensable. It allowed us to start that development when we wouldn’t have otherwise been able.https://bitofayarn.com “That was because of bank funding; they’re requiring you to get so many pre-sales before starting. It allowed us to go to the bank with 20 pre-sales underwritten for 20 of the houses, albeit at significantly reduced rates than what you’d normally sell them for, and say to the bank: ‘Look, worst-case scenario we’ve got the residential development underwrite behind us’. “So that allowed us to get the funding to get on and start the building.” Gillies notes it’s a lot easier to get funding now than it was 18 months ago. The market is much smaller for homes built off the plan because most people buying a home to live in don’t want to wait up to two years for a house to be built. Buyers are typically speculators and investors.https://bitofayarn.com “This programme has done exactly what it was supposed to do, which was to bridge the gap between a market that had fallen … and stabilisation. Getting confidence and financing from the banks and third party lenders was at that point really difficult.   “In a market where there was no building going on, it’s kept a lot of families employed. So it’s been a win-win for everybody.” Mabbett, from the ministry, says the residential development underwrite supports developments that align with local market demand and have a low risk of the underwrite being triggered. If it is triggered, homes could be sold to community housing providers, iwi or sold to the open market. “Developers with eligible projects are welcome to apply for an underwrite. Each eligible application is assessed against the residential development underwrite’s objectives and assessment framework. The highest-scoring applications progress. We expect to make further underwrites as eligible applications are received and processed.” The three other successful applicants in the latest round of underwrites includes CG Waimarie Limited, which is at the helm of the Waimarie development in St Heliers, Auckland; Modus Group, which delivers medium-density developments in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown; and a company named CS No.2 Limited. Two of the three companies did not respond to a request for comment. The other did not wish to comment, due to concerns that advertising its Crown backing would put off prospective buyers.  Residential development underwrites were also used for the former Labour government’s KiwiBuild scheme, which was aimed at boosting affordable housing supply for first time buyers.  The underwrite scheme was later widened out to support stalled affordable housing developments.

Cost is the relevant factor. All the propaganda about the Trackside system being state of the art is bull****. Singapore racing had the system a dozen or so years ago. AI can now view a race preferably in HD and translate the colours from a frame into names and even when the colours are similar with a little human intervention can decide which is which. Why bother with GPS and all that if it is too pricey. Many years ago NZTR decided it was too expensive so I assume now it is realistic. If not that means a few dollars less for stake money.  

Why would that be @Freda ?  The Hunter I spoke to a couple of weeks ago seemed very happy with life.

We may never know because it hasn't happened in a timely manner.  Now we are in a frantic race against time. Which highlights my point about Racecourses being run like amatuer hobbies instead of businesses.  The statutory minimum annual wage in NZ is $49,000.  If a Club can't earn enough to pay employees to do the work then someone needs to subsidise them. What would you rather have?  A racecourse every 50 to 100km or a much smaller number that pay their way and provide professionally run businesses that provide safe racing and training facilities? I remember in my rugby playing teens the town I lived in with a population of just of 3,000 had 5 rugby clubs - Excelsior, St Marys, Kiwi, Kokatahi and one other I can't remember the name of.  Today it barely has one!  The population of the town has grown but not by much.  Not one of those clubs owned their fields as the local ratepayer provided them and maintained them with professional amenity horticulture experts (some who helped out at the local Racing Club) but they all had Club rooms.  Over time the stalwarts of the Clubs have passed on as have their "ladies in the kitchen", membership has dropped and the Club rooms have been sold and the Clubs themselves amalgamated.  The Rugby fields are still funded by the local ratepayer and maintained by the council - the Clubs can't afford to do it.  Their income is probably about the same as what it costs to train a race horse.

It's no surprise that Italian-born jockeys are doing well at the current meet at Del Mar. They have been making their mark in Southern California for some time now. Antonio Fresu is second in the standings and Umberto Rispoli is third. But who is the leading rider? The answer might surprise you. The 46-year-old veteran Mirco Demuro, who left Japan earlier this year to try the Southern California circuit, went into the weekend at Del Mar on top of the jockey standings with 10 winners. He has had just 22 mounts, good for a 45 percent winning clip. While Demuro has had considerable success riding in Italy and Japan, no one could have expected that he would do this well at the Bing Crosby meet. At the recently concluded Santa Anita meet, he finished in eighth place in the standings with just seven winners. “Yes, of course, I was discouraged,” he said. “It's not easy. You move and go to a new country and you're already 46 and people look at you like he's not young, we don't have anything for him to ride. But I had the support of Richard Mandella. People saw that he was using me using me and, thank God, we got some winners. That made it easier for me to grab rides for some more trainers. Still, nothing is easy. You say, 'Now, okay, I'm winning and the wind is at my back.'  This is a hard job. You have to prove yourself. You have to prove to people that you will try hard and that you are good.” Demuro started riding in 1994 in Italy and was the leading rider there from 1997 through 2000. He wanted to try something different and was torn between coming to the U.S. or Japan. He chose Japan and went there in 1999. In 2003, he won the Japanese Derby with Neo Universe (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), becoming the first non-Japanese jockey to win the race. He said his career really started to take off in 2011 when he won the G1 Dubai World Cup aboard Victoire Pisa (Jpn) (Neo Universe {Jpn}). “That win definitely changed my career,” he said. “I was leading jockey in Italy and then I went to Japan. Japan is a small island and nobody knows you. Everybody watches the Dubai World Cup. It's like the Arc de Triomphe or the King George. When you win a race like that everybody starts to say, 'Oh, who is that guy?' It was a big step for my life.” But he said his business started to decline over the last five years in Japan. The reason why? They thought he was too old. “They weren't using me as much,” Demuro said. “The excuse was they said I was getting old. But I didn't feel that way. It's good to have young jockeys and they will get their opportunities. I got my opportunities when I was young. But I don't see myself as an old type of jockey. I think I can still compare with these guys.” He had always wanted to try to make it in the U.S. and with his business slumping in Japan he figured the time was now. He made his U.S. debut on July 18, 2025. One of the reasons he thought he could make it in California was because he had a good relationship with Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, who has put him on two winners at the meet. For Mandella, he also won his first graded stakes in the U.S., guiding Brave Deb (Authentic) to a win in the GIII Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita. “I have a long relationship with Richard Mandella,” Demuro said. “I was here when I was 17 years old and that was my first experience abroad. We've known each other for a long time. When I left Japan I came to California because this is always one of the places I wanted to ride. Richard was the first person who gave me a chance. I'm so grateful that he gave me that chance. And I am so happy to work with him.” He has also ridden winners at the meet for Chief Stipe O'Neill, Paula Capestro, Leonard Powell and Genaro Vallejo. “I am riding for the good stables now,” he said. “That's the key. I am getting good horses to ride and that is making everything easy.” He has had the most success with Powell, winning three races at the meet for him. “The thing that is very refreshing is that for a jockey with all his experience and all the recall he is very open-minded,” Powell said. “This was like a fresh start for him. As soon as he got here he knew that he had to adapt his style of riding to U.S. racing and he made the adjustments pretty fast. He's smart enough to know what he knows and what he doesn't know about U.S. racing. He's already had a lot of success in Japan, which is a very strong colony. I think he has all the tools to succeed here.” Meanwhile, his Italian compatriots have proven to be his toughest foes at this meet. “I've known Umberto for a long time,” he said. “When he started to ride I was already the leading jockey in Italy. We rode together in Italy, France and Hong Kong. I didn't know much about Antonio because when he started to ride I had already gone abroad, so I hadn't ridden with him before. My sister was his first agent in Italy. They are both very nice persons. They have different personalities. Umberto likes to talk a lot. Antonio is more quiet because he is from Sardinia. They are both very good riders.” Now that he has momentum, Demuro is allowing himself to dream big. While he is delighted to be on top of the Del Mar standings, he wants to rise to the top of his profession and ride in Grade I races like the Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup races. “My dream is to become one of the best jockeys in the world,” he said. “To complete my dream I have to win group races in the United States. I've only ridden in the Breeders' Cup on Brave Deb and I have never ridden in the Kentucky Derby. That's always been one of my biggest dreams. I went to Japan when I was young because, as everyone knows, racing over there is very important and they have a lot of nice horses and big owners. I had the chance to go to Japan or to come to the U.S. and I chose to go to Japan and I was successful there. My last five years there I wasn't doing as well as I expected. I am 46 years old and I said to myself this is the time I have to go to the United States if I want to fulfill my dreams.” The post Mirco Demuro Rises to the Top of the Del Mar Standings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Poor Hunter.  He does a fine job, but would rather not be doing that.

Absolutely

Your argument falls down on one fundamental point.  Not one of the successful or unsuccesful (by your determination) were accumulating enough savings from profits to maintain their assets.  They got by for a long time with the assistance of donations and club member volunteer labour.  Some Clubs ensured the inevitable came quicker than others by investing in the wrong assets and not the core racing assets e.g. tracks. Another reality is that Trainers, Owners and Jockeys were largely subsidised by the efforts of those Clubs, their business donors and their volunteers.  Every time I hear someone say that a Training Centre runs at a loss the first thing I think is well those that train at it aren't paying enough.