All Activity

Agree about GRNZ but his argument that racing is a dangerous sport where horses and humans get injured and die, while correct, has nothing to do with beating horses for entertainment. It is moot. Didn't really seem to have much else to offer.

And Waipukurau paid it? Unbelievable!

Really. How can they keep preaching transparency, consultation and collaboration and doing the opposite?

i've nothing against the methven club,but simply are pointing out they really aren't doing the owners of horses who support their club any favours with the poor stakes they often pay out.. why does a club that is so asset rich run such poor stakes. 3 x $10,000 non win races and 9 $8000 races. Would it not be better for clubs like oamaru and timaru to run more meetings and give those clubs extra days,as they pay out much higher stakes for mid week meetings, and take a day or 2 off the methven club who often pay the poor stakes. Owners would be better off or is methven simply taking for granted the support anyway because the horses won't have to travel as far. its bizzare. And how come cambridge are running a meeting with only $8000 stakes on a thursday as well.At least cambridge have the awful financial state as an excure,what is methven'ss.

pardon! CRIMINAL! Ned Kelly had Guns when he robbed you! This lot with the stroke of a pen...

No idea. Like a lot of these things it's a secret. Not sure, but I think I've worked out what this is saying. As it stands, Entain have a revenue shortfall of $26m in covering the current $150m guaranteed payment to TABNZ, GRNZ are saying that 44m of that revenue comes from betting on greyhounds and that will go half to Entain and half to the codes at the end of the guarantee period courtesy of the government banning greyhounds (assuming that money is still bet either on overseas dogs or elsewhere). There is a further $75m (estimated recovery from the monopoly legislation) which the government has "gifted" to Entain and the codes. $44m + $75m = $119m, the amount highlighted in the headline to the above article. As it stands though, that means that if the guarantee ended today, the payment to TABNZ would be less than half what it is now + half any gains from the monopoly legislation.

Fantastic! They all got pissed,danced to something hip & had a great time , that's great for the game . You dont watch enough gangster films if you dont know what a fugazi is.

I think in the main pacers races at Alexandra Park a rating 90 is racing some who are in the 50s, they call noms and then make the fields but is that competitive like for like racing, can't blame connections putting horses up for racing but a 35 points variance, that's a lot, at least the Cup at Invercargill is rating 70 with handicap, good they didn't have to adjust to a 55+ or something, just to make up numbers.

so i didn't think the harness 5000 was a bright idea from the start and its proved worse than even i had anticipated. A 4 horse field running in the 3 year old fillies race with one of the starters not having run any better than 10th in non win races in recent starts. a race where a couple of horses that ran in the trotting derby can race against maidens. A race where a rating 82 horse takes on a 10 horse field which includes a totally out of form non win southland horse. the idea of including 3 year olds was dumb,,but not even i realised just how comical it would turn out. anyone with any brains would have realised that you would get full fields in the 5 year old and older,because that was for horses aged .5,6,7,8,9,10,11 plus . So all those grouped into one. But the 3 year olds, who already are getting preferential treatment with their penalty free wins and age group races they can run in,supposedly considered to deserve their own race .. there was many things that this series of races had wrong with it concept wise and they have just played out pretty much as expected,if not worse. So you've had this harness 5000, the 2 year old bonuses and the harness plus schemes and the promoting bonuses that you knew would be cancelled in the future like the nz bred based sire bonuses. everyone of them anyone with much sense could have told you beforehand, there were major flaws in the concepts. this is yet another,i told you so moment. why should people have any conficedence in the decision makers when they get it wrong all the time.Beats me.

You obviously have a closed mind and didn't listen to what he said. Regardless he is right on a number of things - the majority of viewers don't see what the stipes have to find in the bunker reviewing in slo-mo HD video nor do they care. Also the micronority Anit-Racing brigade are ANTI-RACING fullstop. They won't stop at whip strike counts. That's where GRNZ got it wrong they should have focussed on positive metrics e.g. the number of dogs NOT injured rather than the micro-percentage that were. PS: you must have found the racing from Hong Kong totall abhorrent. I guess you watched reruns of The Dog House instead.

Agree re unevenness of the fields and where maidens race race winners. Probably racing over the short distance might help a wee bit, but many are going to be out classed. The first race for 3 year old fillies with 4 lining up is just ridiculous, but then again this series wont be run again. Someone will wake up to the fact that the funds are going to come to an end and hopefully get serious about the coffers?

Who is the "Independent Consultant"?

New Analysis Details Government Annual Gift Of $119m To Multinational Gambling Company June 23, 2025 Press Release – Greyhound Racing New Zealand The analysis, prepared by an independent consultant, details the financial help required for Entain to meet its funding guarantee of $150m per year to the racing industry.https://bitofayarn.com Greyhound Racing New Zealand has released new analysis detailing the extent to which the Government is financially supporting a multinational gambling giant. It comes as the Government is expected this week to pass the Racing Industry Amendment Bill into law, creating a digital monopoly on gambling for Entain. The analysis, prepared by an independent consultant, details the financial help required for Entain to meet its funding guarantee of $150m per year to the racing industry.https://bitofayarn.com The funding guarantee, combined with a guarantee to retain approximately 450 TAB staff until June 2025, were set under the terms of the agreement when the TAB’s betting business was outsourced to Entain in 2023. The passage of legislation to block New Zealanders from gambling offshore will boost Entain annual revenues by at least $75m per year. The retention of gambling on Australian greyhounds after the ban comes into effect, will preserve Entain gross betting revenues of approximately $44m per year.https://bitofayarn.com Without these actions by the Government, Entain would be faced with an estimated revenue deficit of $26m per year. Greyhound Racing New Zealand CEO Edward Renell said: “The Government has chosen to bail out a multinational gambling company at the expense of ordinary Kiwis. “It will shamelessly pass laws and create digital monopolies so Entain can meet its funding guarantees and obligations to private shareholders. “Entain won’t need to compete to win new revenue as it was brought in to do. It will be gifted it by banning Kiwis from using non-Entain betting providers and retaining gambling on Australian greyhound racing. “The decision to keep taking money from Australian greyhound races, but strip thousands of regional Kiwis of their livelihoods and passion, is depressingly cynical and hypocritical.https://bitofayarn.com “Gross income of $44 million dollars each year will now be sliced up between the Government, Entain and the equine codes and not go to the thousands of trainers, owners, and breeders involved in greyhound racing. “It’s a reverse Robin Hood. The Government is taking money from the provinces to save face on a bad deal and keep the money flowing into Entain, thoroughbred and harness racing.” Notes: Timeline of Entain – TAB deal: March 2023: TAB and Entain agreed to enter a strategic partnership agreement where TAB has delegated its betting and wagering functions to Entain. May 2023: The partnership was approved by then Racing Minister Labour’s Kieran McAnulty, outsourcing TAB’s monopoly betting operation to Entain for 25 years, a UK-listed multinational. 50% revenue share between Entain and the TAB. May 2023: TAB sought a variation to its authorisation of its arrangements with Tabcorp to reflect strategic partnership with Entain. June 2023: The partnership officially started on June 1, 2023.https://bitofayarn.com Entain Guarantees under the terms of sale: Entain provided TAB $150 million upfront a with a guaranteed $150 million for the first five years. $10 million sponsorship for racing carnivals. On passage of the Racing Amendment bill into law: $100 million payment from Entain, $80 million to be shared between thoroughbred and harness racing Entain committed to no forced redundancies for first 24 months of the agreement, due to expire this month (June 2025). Book value of Entain’s TAB licence assets, if the Racing Amendment legislation goes through: According to Entain’s March 2025 annual report, the estimated value of the New Zealand TAB licence assets was $2.7 billion NZD, including the potential introduction of the legislation. About GRNZ Greyhound Racing New Zealand is the governing body for greyhound racing in New Zealand and provides governance, support and assistance to the affiliated clubs in the sport of greyhound racing.https://bitofayarn.com The decision to end greyhound racing has significant economic and social consequences. The sport provides 1,054 full-time equivalent jobs and contributed $159.2 million to the economy in FY23. The Government announced on 10 December 2024, an intention to legislate to ban greyhound racing in New Zealand from 31 July 2026.

I did find this but I'm still not clear. https://business.scoop.co.nz/2025/06/23/new-analysis-details-government-annual-gift-of-119m-to-multinational-gambling-company/

The simple test is go to the original article and view what parts were highlighted in bold. The bolding comes from BOAY.

I'm not 100% clear myself. I'd like to see that report. Does anyone have it?

That bloke sure is a good example of the "micronority" and from the right demographic that is most likely to believe that violent bashing of horses for human entertainment is ok. He probably believes that smacking kids is ok too. Might have been smacked himself as a kid which could explain his attitude.

But what does that statement actually mean? From my literacy challenged position it seems a nonsensical statement.

Fan favorite Skelly has been retired from racing, Frank Alosa, bloodstock agent for Red Lane Thoroughbreds, confirmed Dec. 15. The hard-knocking 6-year-old gelding won 12 of his 25 starts and retired with a record of 12-7-1.View the full article

Cool. So the @Comic Dog edited your post with a cut and paste from here. It used to bug me but not anymore - I just find his duplicity extremely amusing!

The link is still there. So, did someone other than you edit your post?

It wasn't me. I just posted a link which was replaced. I would never cut and paste anything from this site for various reasons.

Cripes. This is a bit of a worry. Might be worse than I thought. Greyhound Racing New Zealand has commissioned an independent financial analysis of the decision to ban their code and how it would impact Entain’s operations, but also took a wider look at the company’s situation. It estimates a total investment by Entain in New Zealand of $350-$400m over the first five years, up to $400-450m if the legislative net was implemented. This means Entain needs to accumulate about $400m in net income to break even on its investment in the monopoly, but the report estimates its earnings before taxes and other expenses are “approximately zero” – even before the minimum guarantee top-up is considered. https://bitofayarn.com

Jan @Trojan looks like you have upset the @Comic Dog by allegedly "putting the slipper in" to Butch. Your post seems accurate and fair although Butch would say the Hawkes Bay issues rest with Balcombe.

Graham Richardson and Rogal Norvall’s star filly Lollapalooza (NZ) (El Roca) is set to be joined in the Gr.2 Hallmark Stud Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day by her rapidly emerging stablemate Fleeting Star (Cool Aza Beel). Given Lollapalooza’s penchant for the Ellerslie track, the Matamata training partners were keen on the three-year-old feature even before she finished second to Well Written in last month’s Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas. That’s where she won the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) in September, followed by a close second in the Gr.3 Sunline Vase and a luckless fifth in the Gr. 2 Soliloquy Stakes. Fleeting Star threw her hat in the ring for the Eight Carat Classic when clearing maiden grade at last week’s Ellerslie twilight meeting, having also finished third there twice beforehand along with second placings in her only two other starts. “She’s a filly that we’ve always liked and hadn’t done much wrong in her four previous starts, so she deserved that win last week,” Richardson said. “We’ve had a race like the Eight Carat in the back of our minds for a while, and now that’s cleared maiden grade she deserves her chance at black-type now.” Fleeting Star, a daughter of former leading two-year-old Cool Aza Beel who Richardson bid $80,000 for in Book 1 at last year’s National Sale, is part-owned by a Richardson Racing Syndicate, as is Lollapalooza, whose $30,000 price tag from Book 2 of the same Karaka sale makes her a genuine bargain. After seven starts the El Roca filly’s stake-earnings stand at a tick under $250,000, and her co-trainer is looking optimistically to upcoming features. “I was very proud of her second in the 1000 Guineas. There’s no doubting Well Written’s class, but our filly never stopped trying and had all the others covered over the final stages. “She had two weeks off after getting home from Christchurch and her work since coming back in has been very good. “She’ll run in the special trial before the first race here on Friday and that should top her off nicely for Boxing Day. “Vinnie (Colgan) stays on her in the Eight Carat and we’ve booked Opie (Bosson) for Fleeting Star.” As New Zealand Bloodstock sales graduates, both fillies are qualified to run in the TAB Karaka Millions 3YO and the NZB Kiwi. “Lollapalooza has had those races on her programme right through and if Fleeting Star continues to step up we’d have to consider her as well.” Richardson and Norvall, who produced Britannia Gold (NZ) (Ten Sovereigns) for a narrow but impressive fresh-up win at Te Rapa last Saturday, will have relatively light representation at Friday’s home track meeting. “The best of ours is Buccino, who kicks off a new campaign in one of the maiden 1200 races. We’re happy with the way she’s coming to hand. “She’s a five-year-old now and has a had a few starts, but she’s been placed in half of them and when you combine her experience and maturity, her turn can’t be far away.” View the full article