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Some good money up for grabs this week at Invercargill, poor fields for what is probably their big day of the year, the cup field ain't too bad though but then heaps of money at Ashburton for some average run of the mill horses, nice for those who are cashing in though while its there, but is having the Ashburton and Invercargill programmes within 2 days of each other smart, seems Invers has been affected considerably, is this perhaps another example of poor decisions by HRNZ ?

No. The example i used was the punter was breaking even with their betting and the rebates were the profit they used to justify the time they spent betting. I'll give you an example that related to myself that i have used previously to illustrate the point i make.. When covid hit and nz harness was temporarily suspended and the job i was doing was not paying as well due to covid,,i thought well i need to generate some more income from betting so i thought why not expand into doing it on queensland harness racing,who at the time were still racing through covid. so i spent 3 months analysing the queensland form every harness race run in queensland.then started betting. The plan was to generate a profit in the betting or at the very least break even and get rebates.So i decided to do that for myself and had 2 accounts and contacted the tab and said,how much do i have to spend to get rebates. They said over $90,000 in 12 months. I said so if i do that in a couple of mionths you will give me rebates. They said yes. So i did. it took me 3 months to reach the $90,000 level on each account,about $1000 a day spent on queensalnd harness on 2 different accounts($2000 a day total). well the profit i had hoped for from the betting was not as good as i hoped,it was only around 2%profit, but i thought once i get the otherr 2%from the rebates it would make it worthwhile. so what happened. I rung up the tab and said to them,when are you going to put me on the elite punter rebate thing like you promised and they said maybe next time when they look at who new they invite into the elite punters thing. Well when i still got nothing the following month and was still spending my $1000 a day on both accounts($2000) on queensland harness racing i rung them up again. There response was words to the effect,go away,we aren't interested in you as an elite customer even though you have reached the spend threshold to qualify. also the % rebate for betting in australia i had been told by the nz tab would not have been as high as betting on nz racing. But anyway i said to them,,if i were to qualify for the rebates it would make it worthwhile for me to spend the time i do on betting on queensland,but if i don't it won't. i said that to them,wouldn't it make sense for you to give me the rebates you promised of about $400 on each account per omth and you keep receiving the few thousand amonth in take ou %.The take out % would have been about $12,000 per moth for them,but i don't know for sure how the aussie and nz tab broke down who got what of that. Anyways they rung me back and said,words to the effect we don't care . so what did i do,of course i stopped betting. so for the sake of paying me about $800 a month like they promised,they lost out $12,000 in profit. the moral of my story is people who bet,especially who bet larger amounts than i used to,factor in the rebates into how much they spend in total and very obviously how much it effects their profit/ loss figure. thats why i call people who work at the tab and make the ddecisions like they are on rebates dumb. they seem to want to treat every customer the same,where as in reality every customer is unique and has their own betting habits. A clever business would factor that in and operate in a way that generates the most profit for that business,a dumb business would do what entain and the tab before them have been doing. like i have also said of others and just how much the recent dcsions will impact turnover from the punters i know. the only logical explanation for the sheer stupidity of it all is maybe there is different departments/divisions(whatever the word may be) within the tab where you get people getting bonuses based on their department. And those in one department only care about the bottom line for their department because thats what effects their bonuses and couldn't care less about the overall bottom line of the business.

He’s been inundated with messages from people around the world after helping save Sunday’s Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) at Sha Tin, but Chris McMullen has deflected praise for his role in the incident. Images and video of the Jockey Club’s assistant starter stepping in to tackle a protester who ran onto the track as the Cup field turned for home went viral on social media, with McMullen drawing praise for his quick thinking. The Cup, won by champion galloper Romantic Warrior for a...View the full article

You are right, they continue to make very poor decisions and are not in the best interests of racing in NZ! As I mentioned many times Entain is not interested too much in racing but that doesnt give HRNZ any excuse for the poor business decisions that have been made! Is there anyone that actually has confidence in HRNZ in their decision making and if so why? We can take it that no one has, if we get no support for them!

haven't you just said they are making dumb decisions,without actually using the word dumb.

For the trainspotters, the block of land just to the left of the red marker

Andrea Atzeni is hoping Super Unicorn is up to the task when he goes for a brilliant hat-trick in the Class Three Sea Eagle Handicap (1,650m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday evening. The Sardinian is fresh off a brilliant second on Giavellotto in Sunday’s Group One Hong Kong Vase (2,400m), finding just Sosie too strong when trying to defend his title. “It was a brilliant run – we had a nice trip following the winner but it was a bit of a messy race,” said Atzeni. “We didn’t go much of a gallop,...View the full article

It will be interesting to see what this sort of thing is going to look like?

Racing hub site revealed - Cambridge News www.cambridgenews.nz Dairy land tagged for mega racing hub Waikato Thoroughbred Racing has secured a conditional deal to buy 150 hectares south of Hamilton, marking the first major step toward relocating and modernising the region’s thoroughbred racing operations. Chief executive Andrew Castles told The News the deal follows a year-long search for prime Waikato land. He said it was a once-in-a-century opportunity to reshape the industry. The “super club,” formed in 2023 through the merger of Waikato Racing, Cambridge Jockey and Waipā Racing clubs, has chosen a dairy farm site bordering the Waikato Expressway to the north and the Te Awa River Ride to the south, with Pencarrow and Duncan roads on either side. “If you asked me where the optimum site would be for a 100 year build to secure the future of thoroughbred racing in the Waikato, I doubt you could find a better site,” said Castles. The club’s due diligence included aerial surveys, environmental assessments and infrastructure analysis – Castles even flew over the property by helicopter. The current landowners will continue dairy operations until contractual dates are met, beginning with the 2027 dairy season. Environmental studies are underway and, led by BCD Group, will cover water supply, wildlife, roading and electricity demand. One of the key drivers behind the move is growing pressure on the Cambridge training centre, where housing intensification and traffic congestion are making daily training more difficult. To fund the new site, the club would sell its existing land in Hamilton, Te Awamutu and Cambridge. The proposed development would replace Te Rapa’s ageing infrastructure. Plans include flexible event spaces, equine rehabilitation and veterinary facilities, and capacity for up to 1500 horses. The scale of the site also allows for future projects such as a national sales centre. “Gone are the days of the grandiose grandstand. It will be a modern, multi‑purpose facility that can double as an event centre,” said Castles. The location near Hamilton Airport is seen as a strategic advantage. It is expected the airport will expand international services over the next decade. “I believe it will be a proper international airport,” Castles said. It would make it ideal for international buyers and horse movement between countries. Board chair Bruce Harvey said the economic benefits outweigh the loss of dairy land, citing job creation, construction activity and regional growth. The shift from bovine to equine agriculture would bring greater employment and economic activity, he said. “It would outweigh the loss of 150 hectares of dairy land.” Engagement is now underway with neighbours, iwi and Waikato District Council, where the land is situated. Politicians, including Racing Minister Winston Peters, have all been in the loop. An open day is planned for next month. The project remains firmly thoroughbred-focused. Castles emphasised the mandate given by members to pursue long-term industry sustainability. Cambridge is already the largest training centre in Australasia, while Matamata ranks among the top five. Together they support thousands of horses. Te Awamutu’s future is still uncertain amid stalled plans for a waste-to-energy plant. Both Castles and Harvey credited the 2023 merger for enabling the project. “We wouldn’t be having this discussion if you had three separate clubs,” said Castles. “We have to acknowledge the foresight that past club members had,” said Harvey. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Matt Ballesty said the project had benefits for the country. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to design a venue that works for today’s participants and future-proofs the industry. “The site offers a future racing and training precinct with a broad range of amenities – not just a racetrack. Multiple club members, local residents and the wider community will benefit from an enhanced, shared asset,” said Ballesty.

New racing home eyed - Cambridge News www.cambridgenews.nz The search for a greenfield site to house Waikato’s racing industry appears to have narrowed to land immediately south of Hamilton – and an announcement understood to be only days away. Waikato Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Andrew “Butch” Castles declined to comment citing the sensitivity of ongoing negotiations. “I can’t be clearer — it is very delicate and I am not in a position to comment,” he said. Industry sources suggest agents acting for the club have identified flat land near the Waikato Expressway, capable of accommodating a single, purpose-built hub for racing and training. This move follows a landmark decision at last year’s annual meeting, where members of the newly merged Waikato Thoroughbred Racing – formed from Te Rapa, Cambridge, and Waipā racing clubs – endorsed a grand plan to sell existing assets and secure a “super site” of between 125 and 200 hectares. The preferred site needed to sit in a triangle from Hamilton north, down to Te Awamutu, and across to Cambridge, they decided. It needed good access to water, with the right kind of topography and non-peaty. A new site would eventually replace the racing and training venues in Hamilton, Cambridge and Te Awamutu. If the purchase proceeds, it would trigger a cascade of property sales, beginning with the 34ha site in Te Awamutu where the Waipā club raced from 1915 until the 2020-21 season and where around 100 horses still train. Cambridge with 61ha and Te Rapa with 50ha would have to remain operational until the new hub was completed, thought to be by 2035. The News understands the proposal has high-level government support and would be largely self-funded. Cambridge – which celebrated its centenary in 2019 – is home to the Southern Hemisphere’s largest thoroughbred training centre, with 1300 horses regularly working on its 13 tracks. That includes the country’s first synthetic all-weather horse racing track. The Polytrack surface is made from a mixture of silica, sand, carpet fibres, rubber and wax. Its $13 million cost was partly funded by the Provincial Growth Fund and was opened by racing minister Winston Peters in July 2021. Te Rapa in Hamilton, meanwhile, is Waikato’s premier racecourse and event centre, once spanning more than 150ha during racing’s heydays when thousands of punters flocked to race days. Racing first started on the course in 1924. Urban expansion in both Hamilton and Cambridge has steadily encroached on both venues, making the land increasingly valuable for residential and commercial development. The club is hoping to secure a private plan change to rezone 6ha for medium-density housing. Board chair Bruce Harvey said after last year’s annual meeting a greenfield site would centralise operations and future proof Waikato’s racing industry. Challenges at Cambridge – where new housing has added traffic to roads used by horses – and the need to bring Waikato’s racing fraternity under one roof were key considerations. For Waikato Thoroughbred Racing, the solution lies in creating a modern super hub – a facility that secures the industry’s future, provides world-class infrastructure, and ensures the region remains a powerhouse of New Zealand racing. Trainers would be able to either hire or lease land at the super hub while there would be an opportunity for racing-related ancillary businesses. The main racetrack would be sand-based but there would also be options for synthetic racing and training tracks. While officials remain tight-lipped, industry insiders describe the proposal as “exciting” and potentially transformative. With racing already contributing more than $500 million to the Waikato economy and supporting 3800 full-time jobs, a centralised hub could be the game changer that secures the industry’s future.

Oh right. Get it now.

Donovan Cooper is back next week i believe.

On a similar vein I notice the Stridemaster results are very slow now. Fridays meeting at Addington still hasn’t got the results posted from race 8 on. They always use to be posted on the same night. Also I notice they don’t have the stridemaster link from the results page now. It was really good the way it was, I don’t know why they have changed it.

Thats what I said.

Methven on Thursday, good to see that they havent gone for a full program of the ridiculous mile racing that they have been having in recent years! Still some over the sprint but they appear to have shown some common sense . Hope they have a great turnover on Thursday as they are a good hardworking club and deserve it, but betting will be stifled by the Bookies as per usual!

Maybe not, but they certainly haven't spelt out the financial reality of what they are proposing leading to any different than the former result.

By Jonny Turner Is 20m a long way in a Group 1? That’s the question harness racing fans will need to ask themselves ahead of the Group 1 Ascot Park Hotel Invercargill Cup on Friday. Race favourite and defending champion Republican Party will be back in the south ready for a repeat of his brilliant 2024 victory in Southland’s biggest race. An outstanding fresh-up victory at Addington last week left no doubt about what kind of shape he is in ahead of his title defence. That means considering whether Republican Party is fit enough or good enough to go back to back is a rather pointless exercise. But the key factor looks to be how much of an influence moving back from a 10m handicap last year to 20m this year is going to have on the six-year-old. A swift getaway set up last year’s win and with how Republican Party has been beginning in his recent standing starts, his manners have to be considered a big plus. On the other side of the equation is that the star pacer will still be giving away a head-start to genuine open class horses. Among them is the rising star of New Zealand’s open class ranks in The Lazarus Effect. There was little doubt about the pacer’s potential beforehand, but he confirmed his star status with an outstanding effort to finish second to Kingman in his first taste of Group 1 racing in The Christian Cullen. Trainer-driver Bob Butt tuned The Lazarus Effect up for his Invercargill Cup tilt with an effortless win in the Geraldine Cup. The Lazarus Effect shares the front line with another serious winning threat in We Walk By Faith. The Hayden and Amanda Cullen trained pacer was comprehensively beaten by Republican Party at Addington last week. However, in their prior meeting in the New Zealand Cup, We Walk By Faith beat Republican Party home off level marks. Punters will need to consider how much to read into that last run from We Walk By Faith, who raced keenly in the lead in full blinds. Wedged between the front-markers and backmarker Republican Party is Alta Meteor, who split Republican Party and We Walk By Faith at Addington last week. To see the Invercargill fields click here The five-year-old is part of a powerful squad Stonewall Stud are hoping can add to their great recent run on Southland’s premier days. View the full article

You don't want to do that with a solid stayer with no turn of foot do you? You'll just get out sprinted. With those horses, and S'NS may be one, you have to make them stay and hope you can out stay them.

Yes, that's a good example of what I mentioned above. They already dictated that without significant consultation or consensus building.

Patience, a diminishing commodity in the modern environment, remains a key marker for Raumati couple Christopher and Susanna Grace, two of New Zealand racing’s longest serving and most successful participants. No better example is the latest star of the Graces’ home-bred racing string, the Andrew Forsman-trained Hinekaha, who completed a hat-trick with her all-the-way win in Saturday’s Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa. Midway through last season, the daughter of Savabeel was being touted as an Oaks or Derby prospect, but even after winning the Listed Grangewilliam Stud Oaks Prelude (1800m) in early February, the decision was made to scrap any such plans. “Susanna and I don’t go to the races so much these days, but we were getting very nervous about putting her under too much pressure, so we drove all the way up to New Plymouth to see for ourselves,” Grace said. “She duly won the race, but my observation to Andrew was that while she looked alright in front, she was getting very light behind. We decided that she could have one more run, but if she didn’t perform that would be it for the season.” That race was the Gr.2 Avondale Guineas (2100m) at Ellerslie, and the decision was easy when Hinekaha finished well out of the placings and she went to the paddock at the Graces’ Surrey Farm property in Bulls. “That has been the making of her,” Grace said. “She developed and put on 50 kilos under the care of our very capable farm managers David and Kylie McKinnon, and she was a different horse when she went back to Andrew.” A first-up fifth was followed by wins over 1400m in Rating 75 company at Ellerslie and Waverley, which prompted the decision to step up to last Saturday’s weight-for-age fillies and mares’ feature. “In my lifetime not often have I seen a Rating 80s horse beat those in the 100s at weight-for-age, so after discussing the best tactics in the small field it was the sensible thing to do, go to the front and take away the chance of the race becoming a sprint home. “The name Hinekaha is Maori for strong woman and knowing our mare could stay, we decided we had to be brave. “Craig (Grylls, jockey) got it exactly right and it was very satisfying for all of us to see her win like that.” Those involved in Hinekaha include Mount Maunganui retirees Michael and Priscilla Hurley, friends from the Graces’ farming days in Hunterville. “We used to race our horses by ourselves but a few years ago we decided to keep a 50 percent interest and take in others to race them with. “Others include a team of younger Wairarapa people who have had 15 wins from 31 starts with three horses of ours, and now it’s wonderful to have the Hurleys in this mare.” Virtually all bar the Graces’ dual Australian Group One winner Shillelagh and others related to her are connected to the first horse Grace bought as a young man at the National Yearling Sale at Trentham. Named Hakawai, she died before Grace was able to breed from her, so he deferred to the same source and bought a close relation from Australian trainer Colin Hayes. From that Without Fear mare, Clearness, the Graces founded a dynasty and in the case of Hinekaha, a particularly strong line with her dam, the Fastnet Rock mare Hinerangi, and second dam Hinemoa are also stakes winners. The Graces’ gold, green and white colours have also been carried by close relations such as Gr.2 Wellington Cup (2400m) winner Graphic, Gr.3 Manawatu Cup (2300m) winner Tullaroan and Listed Wairarapa Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) winner Reputation. While the Graces are keenly anticipating further feature racing with Hinekaha, they will also be involved as vendors at next month’s Centenary National Yearling Sale with two lots. Catalogued close together as Lots 443 and 453 in the Little Avondale Stud draft on the second day of Book 1, they are colts by Proisir from Galway and by Savabeel from Glimpse. “We sell all our boys when we can and sell the fillies if we don’t need them,” Grace said. “We couldn’t afford to race all the horses we breed.” View the full article

Cranbourne trainer Gavin Bedggood will spend Christmas on this side of the Tasman as he prepares his Group Three winner Kingswood (Roaring Lion) for Group One action at Ellerslie on Boxing Day. With a view towards Kingswood’s prospective stallion career, Bedggood is heading to New Zealand in the hope of securing an all-important elite-level scalp to enhance his credentials prior to transitioning to stud duties. The British-bred six-year-old hails from a rich pedigree, being by ill-fated Group One-producing stallion Roaring Lion and out of multiple stakes winner All At Sea (Sea The Stars), a daughter of three-time Group One winner Albanova (Alzao). Kingswood is also the half-brother to dual Group One winner and Champion European three-year-old stayer of his year Eldar Eldarov (Dubawi). “He is a stallion and he has got a great pedigree,” Bedggood said. “He is probably not commercial in Australia but if he were able to win a couple of good races over in New Zealand, he might be able to find a future home over there when he is finished.” Kingswood has already accrued a solid record, placing in the Gr.3 Gallinule Stakes (2011m) at the Curragh in Ireland as a three-year-old before continuing his racing career in Australia last year where he had two starts for Maddie Raymond before joining Bedggood’s barn. He won his first two starts for the Cranbourne horseman last spring, including the Gr.3 Coongy Cup (2000m) at Caulfield, before a near 12-month hiatus from racing after he underwent surgery earlier this year. “He came back in the autumn and did three weeks work and we weren’t 100 percent happy with him,” Bedggood said. “We sent him off for an MRI and they found the very beginning of a hairline fracture. They put a screw in and he hasn’t had an unsound day since.” Kingswood resumed with a runner-up effort behind subsequent Group One performer Golden Path (NZ) (Belardo) over 1700m at Flemington in September, and he returned to the iconic track on Melbourne Cup Day to win the Listed Kirin Ichiban Plate (1800m). “He was good there and he got perfect ground for him,” Bedggood said. Kingswood has had just the one run since, finishing fourth in the Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m) on unsuitable footing. “He is a little bit of a Goldilocks, he doesn’t want concrete ground and a track like Ballarat was too rain-affected for him,” Bedggood said. Bedggood is now looking forward to testing his entire’s talent against some of New Zealand’s best at Ellerslie next week. While he has yet to campaign a horse in New Zealand, racing on this side of the Tasman is nothing new for Bedggood, with the former jumps jockey having ridden at Ellerslie a little over 10 years ago, and he doesn’t expect the right-handed track to pose any concerns for his charge. “I came over 10 years ago to ride at the Northern meeting where I had a ride for Mark Oulaghan,” he said. “I have been there and had a look at the track before and it shouldn’t pose any issues, the horse has raced in that direction in Ireland and Sydney.” Bedggood will meet Kingswood at Auckland Airport on Sunday morning and he will base himself at Pukekohe in the lead-up to the Gr.1 Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic (2000m) on Boxing Day. “He flies out late Saturday evening and arrives on Sunday morning,” Bedggood said. “I will come over for the week and hopefully we can get a result.” Depending on his Boxing Day performance, Bedggood said Kingswood may stay in New Zealand in pursuit of other feature targets. “We will reassess after this one, but there is the Herbie Dyke (Gr.1, 2000m) at the beginning of February, which could be an option,” he said. “There are also races for him through the autumn, which we would strongly look to come back for if he was competitive on Boxing Day.” View the full article

You miss the point I made. None of them have spelt out the financial reality. None of them have put the numbers in their face and said what do you want? A long slow death or racing to continue?

Well Rooke learnt that the horse doesn't have a turm of foot (you need one to win a MC) but is a solid stayer. So why the hell sit back on a slow pace? In my opinion thats what is killing NZ racing. Get to the front, stack, sit, sprint.

The basis of your analysis is that the punter loses. Correct?