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Thoroughbred Racing forum discussion.
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I agree with what you have said. I never said big money 2 year old races are likely to decrease. I agree connections of 2 year olds should have been beneficiaries in scale similar to all the other sectors as regards the boost in stakes as a result of the entain deal. But,if you want specific examples of a pointless waste of increased funding on 2 year old racing,i refer you to the diamond creek farm 2 year old race at invercargill. Its stake was increased form $60,000 2 years ago to $110,000 this year. So they gave an extra $50,000 to a race to promote the 2 year olds. But what did the extra $50,000 achieve. More starters,higher turnover,more media exposure,increased breeding numbers? No,it got them nothing extra. Did they get even 1 more starter because of the extra $50,000. 2022,2023 and 2024 all had 8 starters. Now if HRNZ had plenty of money to give away then sure,but they don't so they need to be making common sense calls. Then you have the emphasis on the large 2 year old bonuses. It was not a common sense call because where are the benefits to warrant the 1.5 million $ spend over 2 years? At most you were going to get maybe 40 recipients of the bonuses each year. Mostly wealthy people who could afford to breed in the future if they wanted.Those type of people already know they are not in it for the money. i'm not saying they shouldn't be rewarded,but isn't it obvious you should be prioritisng retaining breeders across the board. You can overspend today,but you can guarantee you will pay for it in the not too distant future. Thats going to happen. wheres the realistic future thinking? -
Back in the 70s and 80s the "Cup" races at the likes of Methven, Ashburton. Timaru. Rangiora, Orari etc were class 4, 5 or 6 fronts, and they provided great racing as horses strived to get through to open class. That class of horse hardly seems to exist these days, and anyone can race in so called open class races. I'm not involved enough with harness racing these days to know whether it is a handicapping problem or something else. As a casual observer I do wonder whether the trots might be better served by reverting to a wins based structure so the general public know what's going on. For example, perhaps have 3 win fronts with conditions, so horses can still drop back a bit but the public can still understand it. Obviously the 2yo approach hasn't really worked. The real problem seems to be the lack of depth in the open class ranks. The days of having the likes of Bonnies Chance, Armalight, Locarno, Hands Down, Sapling, Lord Module etc regularly racing against each other are long gone. Ironically they didn't keep going year after year because of massive stakes but more because their owners enjoyed the challenge and the thrill of it. We really do seem to have lost our way. I know I no-longer find harness racing interesting at all, which is sad. The only really "innovative" thing that has happened in harness racing in recent years is the return to grass track racing. Perhaps they need to revert to some of the other "old" ways as well. -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
David Greene leading Goldiluxe, who went on to record the Hamilton horseman’s 100th training victory at Ruakaka on Wednesday. Photo: Race Images A pair of Group winners take pride of place so far in the training career of David Greene who this week hit a notable milestone. The Te Rapa-based horseman sent out his 100th winner on Wednesday when Goldiluxe scored at Ruakaka in the style to befit the occasion and, for good measure, stablemate Flamboyance finished runner-up. Ghibellines mare Goldiluxe was sent out at less than even money in her 1400m maiden contest and won accordingly, romping home in the hands of Sam Spratt to bring up Greene’s century. “To be honest, I haven’t really given it too much thought, but it is nice and a reflection of an awful lot of work that a lot of different people have put into the stable over the years,” he said. Greene was involved in the industry on a smaller scale before concentrating on training. “I’ve been full time at Te Rapa for 12 years and we played around with a couple of horses before that,” he said. “We were out on the farm at Tahuna (about 15 minutes out of Morrinsville) and Heidi (wife) and I were mainly pre-training and spelling horses back then. Heidi has been key to everything.” In the ensuing years, the stable’s flagship performers have been top-class mare Stolen Dance and the well-performed stayer Justamaiz. A daughter of Alamosa, Stolen Dance was successful on nine occasions and placed a further six times from 21 appearances for Greene. She claimed top honours in the Group 2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) and the Group 3 Eagle Technology Stakes (1600m) and consecutively finished runner-up at Group One level in the Zabeel Classic (2000m), Thorndon Mile (1600m) and Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m). “She’s been my favourite horse so far, she was very special to me and the stable,” Greene said. Following a change in the ownership group, Stolen Dance joined the now retired Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman and the mare signed off her career with a deserved success by going one better in the Thorndon. Justamaiz was a tough staying son of Guillotine who won eight races with his most notable successes on his home track at Te Rapa. “He won the Waikato Cup (Group 3, 2400m) and also won the Counties Cup (Group 3, 2100m) when it was held here so it was two local Cups for us,” Greene said. “You’d love to have a stable full of geldings like him that can have long careers and he was another real favourite.” Justamaiz also finished third in an edition of the Group 3 Wellington Cup (3200m). Greene’s most recent winner Goldiluxe broke through at Ruakaka at her fifth appearance. “She had been knocking on the door of late, she was pretty close to breaking her maiden at Pukekohe and then got tripped up by a track that was wetter than we expected at Rotorua,” he said. “It was a well-earned win for her, and the other horse (Flamboyance) is progressing well and keeps getting better with every start. “He has been a bit of a slow learner, but it looks like he’ll make the grade.” Horse racing news View the full article -
The biggest problem is totally that there are very few new owners coming through! Does anyone know of any new owners in the last few years? I don’t, and that is one of the biggest issues that will see harness racing die out! the costs are just too prohibitive for the average person to be able to afford to race a horse for any amount of stake money! The stake money is also going to decrease massively once Entain decide they have enough of propping the racing up financially, as they will not be getting enough wagering due to their flawed business policies. Does anyone seriously believe that Entain’s involvement will ensure the future viability of harness racing in NZ? If so, why? -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Talented steeplechaser Raucous has continued to improve with age, and Paul Nelson and Corrina McChief Stipeal are hoping to have another successful season with the 10-year-old, kicking off on Saturday at Te Rapa. The son of Nom De Jeu lived up to his name in his early years over the fences, but a more professional version arrived at the races last year and the results followed with two victories and four minor placings, including third in the Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4800m). “He’s a lot saner than he used to be in previous years, so hopefully that’s a good sign,” Nelson said. “He’s had a couple of jump-outs and had a good school this morning with Hamish McNeill (jockey), Hamish came down and did about 12 others as well.” Te Rapa has been a happy hunting ground for Raucous, and he will travel from Nelson and McChief Stipeal’s Hastings base to carry the 70.5kg topweight in the Ken & Roger Browne Memorial (3900m). “He’ll probably need this run, there’s a couple in there that have had a run already and he could be found wanting a bit at the end,” Nelson said. “We’ll be looking to possibly head back up to the Waikato Steeplechase (3900m) or something similar.” Six-year-old mare Foxalot will also make the journey north to contest the Modern Transport Group Hurdle (2800m), her second start over the fences and will carry the bottom-weight of 63kg under Portia Matthews. “I don’t like starting a maiden in with open horses, but she needs a run, and she’ll be running with experienced horses in a small field which will be good for her,” Nelson said. “Some of them are only one-win horses, so that makes it slightly easier.” Meanwhile, back in Hastings, Nelson’s star jumpers The Cossack and Nedwin are also in work, but will appear on the scene slightly later with the more lucrative features in mind. A son of Mastercraftsman, The Cossack is one of the highest-earning jumpers in recent years to come out of New Zealand, recording 17 victories, nine of those at prestige level, and north of $610,000 in stakes. “The Cossack won’t start jumping for a little while, we might give him a couple of runs on the flat if we can find a wet track for him and then he’ll start a bit later on in the season,” Nelson said. “Hopefully he’ll be there at the end of the season when all the money comes in.” The nine-year-old’s stablemate Nedwin made a strong case in his own right last season, adding the Waikato Hurdles (3200m) and Great Northern Hurdles (4200m) to his burgeoning resume, which also includes six successes on the flat. View the full article
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