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I would have said the same but I had a beer recently with an ex-international cricketer. The insight I got on the level of sports gambling that goes on outside licensed agencies is that it's phenomenal.

Lives a pretty quiet life in Methven. Takes the odd racing and sport photo here and there for a few of the local community rags.

there must be a point when they hit rock bottom,maybe this is the year,maybe not. Either way the numbers being bred in the last 2-3 years will not be able to sustain the level of racing they currently have. its just common sense that if they are struggling with so many small fields now,imagine what it will be like when they take away 10-20% of the numbers coming through. thats why hrnz should be planning how to adjust to whats coming.its understandable they have been trying to encourage people to breed their mares in the last couple of years,even if they have failed ,but they surely should be transparent about what there plan is , in the future, to adjust the racing calendar to come into line with less horse numbers.Or maybe they don't have one and will just wing it

With a last-to-first rally, Kentucky shipper Brotha Keny wore down his fatigued 3-year-old rivals to post a half-length victory in the $300,000 Zia Park Derby on Land of Enchantment Day, Nov. 25, at Zia Park in eastern New Mexico.View the full article

Do you know that for sure? Why did HB sit on their hands for so long

I wonder who those 200 offshore bookies are, sounds a bit far fetched.

If you weren't near the pace and in the inside two lanes you had no chance. Even Bevan Sweeney had to hold back his enthusiasm for the day and commented on it. The helicopter drying part of the track out earlier in the week wasn't a good sign either.

Of course. I wasn't there and haven't watched any races so I don't know but hadn't heard any complaints.

Are you serious?

Ellerslie - too much pure sand, grass root matting (due to the sand and irrigation) and insufficient camber on the home bend. Awapuni - too much pure sand - same issues with the grass as Ellerslie.

What was wrong with it?

It isn't actually but you must attend the Colin Wightman school of facts - called The College of Hunches and Anecdotes! As you said in an earlier post if you buy well bred yearlings you are more likely to have black type success. LOL make your mind up! You spruiking Waipuk before now you are being derogatory.

Not disputing that, but it must have the next levels, as per Aus. There is a very loud anti chorus on these social media sites towards racing in Auck/Waikato. In fact there seems to be a very loud chorus towards any initiatives that are made, much of it based on idle speculation. Does anyone really know the reasons for, the mistakes made in laying a new track at Awapuni, why nothing happened at HB for so long, why the Ellerslie track has its early problems I don't mean idle speculation but facts,

Waipukurau didn't provide a fair surface. The track and facilities for horses - yes. Not the grandstands. You might want to race your horse on what are virtually paddocks that have inconsistent surfaces. But the majority of owners I know who have invested a considerable amount into purchasing and training theirs don't!

Does it work that well? Or is it something else? You can still have a centralised racecourse as an entry point - i.e. you mix your racedays aiming at different demographics. Waipukurau has a population of 4,700 people and is only 35min from Hastings. Put some free buses on like they do in Whangarei for Ruakaka which is roughly the same distance.

Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray took out the 2023 edition of the A$304,000 Jericho Cup (4600m) at Warrnambool with Nassak Diamond (Roc de Cambes), and on Sunday they will be seeking to usurp their former stable runner in the marathon feature with Tempest Moon (NZ) (Turn Me Loose). Ritchie is in Australia with the daughter of Turn Me Loose, who like Nassak Diamond, carries the familiar silks of owner The Oaks Stud. The Cambridge trainer is excited to be back in Warrnambool and said the city gets in behind the race that honours past servicemen. “It is a fantastic week here,” Ritchie said. “They have the light infantry go through town and when Nassak Diamond won, Colm, Rick (Williams, The Oaks Stud general manager) and I all got a kick out of it because they play the last post, there are 8,000 people on course and nobody says a word, it is eery. They really show a lot of respect to their returned serviceman, as do we. “It is a unique race being three miles and when Nassak Diamond won it two years ago I wasn’t sure if there was another lap to go or not. “It is nice to come over here with a New Zealand-trained horse again and have another go.” The five-year-old mare has won just one of her 13 starts to date, but Ritchie believes she will lap up the marathon distance and has taken heart from her last two runs, where she was fourth at Taupo over 2600m before finishing runner-up to I’m A Dirty Rascal (NZ) (Galileo) in the NZB Airfreight Road To The Jericho (3000m) at Riccarton. “She profiles as the right style of horse, she wanted to go another lap again after the winning post at Riccarton and at Taupo in her last couple of starts,” Ritchie said. While confident in his charge, Ritchie believes Nassak Diamond is the horse to beat in the race, having won over two miles earlier this month. “You are taking on a great deal of jumping style horses over here, but the one to beat might be The Oaks Stud’s other horse, Nassak Diamond, who is with Michelle and Paddy Payne now,” he said. “Either way, if The Oaks Stud win the race, we will be having a drink on a Sunday night.” A day prior back in New Zealand, the stable will welcome the return of another stayer, Group Two winner Mahrajaan (Kitten’s Joy) in the Gr.3 Bayleys Great Northern Challenge Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie. The winner of the Gr.2 Auckland Cup (3200m) and Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) was set to contest last year’s Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), but those dreams were dashed after he was withdrawn on veterinary advice, and he wasn’t sighted publicly until a 1100m trial at Ellerslie last month where he finished third behind Group One winner Provence. Ritchie said the son of Kitten’s Joy has thrived during his hiatus from racing and he was rapt with his resuming trial. “It has been a long road back,” he said. “He now looks like an open sprinter, he has put natural muscle on. We have given him a lot of required time, most of it partly because he can’t handle wet ground.” Ritchie doesn’t expect his charge to be competitive over a mile this weekend but said it will help him progress towards some staying targets in the coming months. “I am looking forward to him getting back to the racetrack, but I will expect him to be uncompetitive in those first couple of runs that he has as he works up over those further distances,” Ritchie said. “He holds a nomination for the Wellington Cup (Gr.3, 3200m), which he would need everything to go 100 percent right on fitness levels, but his main goal will be the Auckland Cup to try and do what he did last year.” Mahrajaan will be met on Saturday by stablemate Nereus (NZ) (Savabeel), who will be second-up after running fifth over 1400m at Tauranga earlier this month. “He had his first run a couple of weeks ago and he is working towards those summer cups,” Ritchie said. “Nereus is a lovely horse. He has won a couple of Cups for us and this is just a stepping stone. I am sure we will get him to 2000m in a race like the Awapuni Gold Cup (Gr.2, 2100m), which he has won before. “He didn’t really run the two miles out in the Wellington Cup, so we have stayed away from that extreme distance. Over 2000 to 2400m he will find his niche area right through the summer and autumn.” View the full article

Sarah Sharp Farish was deeply devoted to her family and to many causes she held dear, including preserving and enhancing the Gasparilla Island community on Florida's Gulf Coast and her family's Gasparilla Inn located there.View the full article

Ted Noffey, the presumptive champion 2-year-old male of 2024 after a 4-for-4 campaign that culminated with a victory in the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar, will take things "very easy" this month, trainer Todd Pletcher said.View the full article

Fantastic for him , he throughly deserves it if he won it. 2 & 3yo racing in NZ is mostly dominated by expensive Aus breed stock , if it isn't why are they pay such huge sums of money for them? So they can win at Waipuk?

Oh yes it is , if its providing the safe and fair surfaces you speak of! Youre confusing flash decked out Flemington type facilities with what the industry really needs.

I agree entirely with that, so what is considered a focus on the horses first?

Not true! Every sport needs an entry point (localised, country racing etc) , why do you think it works so well in Australia?

PUBLISHER, CD-2nd, 11/20, 6 1/2f (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-84 (2nd) (c, 3, American Pharoah–Indian Pride, by Proud Citizen) O-Gus King and the Estate of Brereton Jones. B-Brereton Jones (Ky). T-Steve Asmussen. J-Irad Ortiz Jr. This spring he was perhaps America's best-known maiden, finishing second in the GI Arkansas Derby to earn a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby starting gate. Nearly seven months later, he's still a maiden. Last week he was an odds-on runner-up in his return to maiden company, and now has been second, third or fourth in eight of his 11 starts–four of them in stakes races. CLAIRITA, CD-8th, 11/21, 1 1/16m (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-85 (f, 3, Gun Runner–Here Music, by Dehere) O-Rigney Racing. B-Lee and Cheryl Mauberret (Ky). T-Phil Bauer. J-Gabriel Saez. A decent enough third in her debut on dirt, she was entered for the turf–but perhaps Mother Nature did her a favor. On a very sloppy track she clearly handled well, she was head-and-head with two rivals at the 1/4 pole before splashing her final quarter in :24.65 and opening up by 12 lengths at the wire. CRISIS MANAGER, CD-2nd, 11/20, 6 1/2f (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-88 (g, 3, Liam's Map–Wilburnmoney, by Wilburn) O-Highlander Training Center. B-The Elkstone Group (Md). T-Tom Amoss. J-Jose Ortiz. Highlander Training Center northeast of Dallas is known for its prowess in preparing young horses for others, but also has won 22 races in its own colors this year. Highlander owner Larry Hirsch signed the $190k yearling ticket for this 3-year-old, who has improved since his return from a seven-month break and took these wire-to-wire in the mud. THOUGHT CONTROL, GP-6th, 11/21, 5 1/2f Beyer Speed Figure-91 (c, 3, Gun Runner–In It for the Gold, by Speightstown) O-e5 Racing Thoroughbreds. B-Fifth Avenue Bloodstock (Ky). T-Saffie Joseph Jr. J-Micah Husbands. Coming off the bench, both Thought Control and runner-up Viking Sun showed substantial–and improbable–improvement over their debuts. And they didn't look that visually impressive over Gulfstream's Tapeta. But the clock told a different tale: the 1:03.51 final time was nearly a full second faster than a 5 1/2-furlong race also on Tapeta a half-hour earlier for older fillies and mares who consistently run Beyers in the mid-70s. MAXIMUM BOURBON, CD-7th, 11/23, 6f (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-94 (g, 3, Maximum Security–Unbridled Reward, by Warrior's Reward) O-Bourbon Lane Stable and Seidman Stables. B-Nicholas Lotz and Mr. and Mrs. Troy Reed (Ky). T-Brendan Walsh. J-Tyler Gaffalione. The 3-year-old finally made an appearance in late November after 18 published breezes, and made it count with a front-running 7 1/2-length romp. The $90k yearling buy earned $37,868 from the purse and was claimed for $50k, so while the original partnership didn't recoup its investment, at least it got a thrill. You can look for him at Fair Grounds; Joe Sharp trains him now. The post Five Fastest Maidens, Presented by Taylor Made: Nov. 17-23 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Yes however one begets the other. I imagine ENTAIN are frustrated with the lack of quality product being produced in NZ. NZTR need to focus their resources on improving that.

Yip