Standardbred Breeding

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