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Unless you have been to the races with family from a young age I think a day at the races as a form of entertainment can be a foreign idea.  Social event usually means going as a group, and generally consuming alcohol.  Clubs really must be responsible hosts and ensure food is available.  This is where the race day packages are a good idea.  I think all of these packages should include food.  If they are sold a fair way out it gives the customer time to budget for drink, food and betting.  I think all race day packages should include betting element of some kind ... punters club, easy bets, or betting vouchers.  I think a host or racing personality should be assigned to each group to explain racing jargon and bet types.  A lot about racing is confusing.  You won't get repeat custom without a good experience.  

In-form miler Gringotts has history against him in The Ingham. Already needing to set a modern-day weight-carrying record to win the $2 million The Ingham, favourite Gringotts will now have to do it from the outside barrier. The Ciaron Maher-trained five-year-old has come up with gate 24 in the capacity field of 20 plus four emergencies, adding a fresh layer of difficulty to his task of lumping topweight of 61kg, eight kilos over the minimum. The last horse to successfully carry a comparable impost was Monton, who won the 2011 renewal with 58kg. Despite the draw, Gringotts remains a $3.80 top pick and has been unstoppable carting similar weights at his past two starts when he has captured the Big Dance and The Gong, both over a mile. His presence is regarded as a blessing and a curse by connections of rival runner and defending The Ingham (1600m) titleholder, Robusto. The Bjorn Baker-trained gelding carried 59.5kg when seventh in the Festival Stakes (1500m) last start but with Gringotts so high in the handicaps, Robusto drops to 54kg on Saturday. “The best part about him (Gringott’s) being there is he’s pushing the weights down a little bit,” Baker’s racing manager, Luke Hilton said. “I think weight pulled Robusto up a bit the other day. “He was a little bit flat, but he was going from 1300 to 1500 and now he is going from 1500 to 1600, and he’s third-up.  “He is ready to run a peak.” Robusto won last year’s The Ingham from barrier four and has gate six on Saturday, while stablemate Amor Victorious has drawn three. However, the latter’s chances could hinge on track conditions as his best form is on ground rated a soft 5 and better, and rain and storms have been forecast for Sydney during the backend of the week. Amor Victorious finished unplaced on a heavy surface in The Gong and Hilton felt it brought him undone.  “He doesn’t like a really heavy track. He gets through it softish, but it just got too heavy for him the other day,” he said. “He took good benefit out of it, he’s had the two runs now and we are still really pleased with him. Back on a drier surface he could definitely measure up.” View the full article

Here To Shock is trained by Ben, Will and JD Hayes – who provide the only three runners backing up from the inaugural edition of the $1 million slot race. They will also saddle up last year’s runner-up Arkansaw Kid and 2024 fifth placegetter Roll On High, who is also owned by Slade Bloodstock and was previously trained by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman. The presence of Private Eye casts a huge shadow over the event and he is $2.25 favourite with Sportsbet. Slade quipped the best chance of Private Eye’s rivals beating him would involve his float breaking down. Here To Shock hadn’t been over-taxed in terms of starts and that had led to him racing at his peak later in life. From the moment Here To Shock began racing he showed talent, but he was his own worst enemy according to Slade, as he didn’t want to settle in his race. After he started his career with Brent Stanley, he was transferred to Lindsay Park and Slade said it was Ben Hayes’ intuition which helped turn his career around. “He was also maturing but Ben suggested earmuffs and that played a big role in settling him down,” Slade said. Slade pointed out that Here To Shock netted $2 million prizemoney as a seven-year-old gelding last season. Here To Shock became his syndication group’s third Group 1 winner when he was successful in the Waikato Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa in February this year. “In ability, he’s behind the other pair of Group 1 winners Alinghi and Moment Of Change, but he’s a bit unique; they didn’t win $2 million in a season,” he said. “The key to him is that he’s a fairly lightly raced for an eight-year-old having only had 42 starts whereas most horses that age have had a lot more. We’ve never really had any dramas with him.” Here To Shock started his 2025 spring campaign with a first-up third to Private Eye in the G2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield but he had three unplaced runs before he led throughout to win the Testa Rossa Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield at his latest start. Here To Shock also competed against Private Eye in the Moonga Stakes over 1400m at Caulfield two starts ago, finishing sixth behind him. Slade said Here To Shock’s form is better than it looks as ratings-wise he is running up to his best, but he is carrying more weight. “If you look at his times and ratings he ran up to his usual mark, but he was in races he couldn’t win with the weight he was carrying,” he said. “He was in form but he also didn’t look good in the coat; he was one of those horses which didn’t come up in the spring. I looked at him at Lindsay Park the other day and his coat is magnificent and I think he’s coming into his own.” Slade pointed out that Here To Shock will again have to carry a kilogram more weight than Private Eye, making his task harder. “Private Eye had a year in the wilderness and we had a great year so we’re paying the price for that,” he said. “How are we going to beat him? I’m not sure. He might get caught in traffic. “Last time against him we didn’t lead, which even his jockey Mick Dee said was the wrong thing to do. The other day Mark (Zahra) summed the race up the other day and used the catch-me-if-you-can tactics. Here To Shock can take a sit these days, but he is also capable of setting a fast rolling tempo, which could be the case with Daniel Stackhouse riding him on Saturday. Stackhouse rode Here To Shock in last year’s The Supernova, when he sat second behind the front-runner Buffalo River in the run and then defied the challenge of his stablemate Arkansaw Kid in the closing stages of the race. Here To Shock will follow the same path to New Zealand for the Waikato Sprint (1400m), which will be run at Te Rapa on February 7. Here To Shock has Cavallo Park Stud’s slot in The Supernova, while Roll On High has Yulong’s. View the full article

Remember the focus on the whip rules when first applying to amateur riders whereby they cannot take their hands off the reins when slapping them on the shoulder.

And they are being bred here yet, NZ greyhounds are being desexed before being passed on.  Some of them would have a bit of age on them when they perform that surgery too.

It's great, isn't it.  Politicians vote on closing an industry down without a thought of any consequences.  I wouldn't know who is doing the work.  I think there are still some in denial and hoping it won't happen.

I think the rehoming places are already quite full, not sure if some dogs are still going to America as pets, and wondered if anyone had any idea about how many are finding new homes at the moment.  The Christmas Parades would have been a likely place to offload some, I would have thought.  Showcase what sort of pets they make, hand out pamphlets and spend time chatting to potential buyers.  Not quite the puppy in a basket as a Christmas present but, still a novel gift.  Santa's Little Helper made it into a few storylines with Bart Simpson. Surely the ideal would be to have the greyhound adoption facilities empty when the racing stops.  These places can't be expecting to stay open much after industry ceases.  There must be a date when any remaining greyhounds are put to sleep.

9am this morning.

Year   Stake  No of starters 2018  100k      8 2019  100k     13 2020  100k     14 2021  110k       12 2022  140k      7 2023  175k      8 2024  175k      8 2025  175k      7