Politics

You often wonder about some posters, after a while not hearing you wonder what become of them, just like talk back callers, some just lose interest and some die, not easy to post then, we do miss old TAB man, i couldnt convince him that Auckland is the biggest arsehole place, but I can assure you if I die I will no longer post, lol. But there could also be other interest that tickle me fancy lol if I disappear.

Why spoil the fun. Lol  

The Jockey Club has announced that total prize-money at its 15 racecourses will rise to £61.47 million this year, up from a budgeted £58.1 million in 2025.  The increase can be attributed mainly to the fact that overall prize-money at the Betfred Derby Festival is to be boosted by £1.375 million in 2026.  In addition, a total of 322 fixtures will be staged across The Jockey Club over the next 12 months – up from a scheduled 319 last year. The third contributor is an increase in prize-money for Class 1 and developmental races, made possible due to boosted funding from the Horserace Betting Levy Board for 2026 and increased investment from The Jockey Club's own funds, demonstrating support for the long-term growth of the horse population. Of the £61.47 million, a total of £31.7 million will come from executive contribution – the amount The Jockey Club puts in from its own funds – up from a budgeted £30.6 million in 2025.   The announcement means that average prize money of more than £190,000 per fixture is scheduled to be offered this year, up from £182,000 in 2025.  Jim Mullen, Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, said: “We're pleased to be able to increase prize money across our racecourses and have worked hard throughout our budgeting process to ensure this is possible. Prize-money is part of the essential foundation of our sport and we recognise the crucial role it plays as an incentive and reward to all participants. “Going forward, the challenge is to maintain the commitment to invest meaningfully to drive the sport forwards. For The Jockey Club, prize money now accounts for more than 70% of our overall profits, up from 55% in 2019. It would not be sustainable for that trajectory to continue and that's why we announced in December plans to invest in the growth of our key festivals and to tackle efficiency.”   The post The Jockey Club Reveals Record Prize-Money Of £61.47 Million For 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Stellar Summer Sale Closes out Karaka 2026 29 January 2026 Stew McGregor leads his yearling (Lot 958) around the Karaka Sales ring. The final session of NZB’s 100th National Yearling Sale took place at Karaka on Thursday, with a strong inaugural Karaka Summer Sale. 112 yearlings sold for a total aggregate of more than $3.4 million at an average of $30,612. Six lots sold for $100,000 or more which added to a solid clearance rate of 81%. NZB Managing Director Andrew Seabrook was elated for all those involved in the historic week. "To sum it up, this week we've turned over $9.6 million more than last year, with 79 less horses catalogued." "We're just over the moon, seeing these results from the new format.  "The Karaka Summer Sale today was one of the strongest sessions, almost matching Book 2 results from last year. "It's just been a phenomenal week all around, celebrating such a big milestone in New Zealand thoroughbred history, and returning almost $96 million back to breeders. "Our vendors have done an incredible job presenting their yearlings, our buyers supporting the Sale so well and our whole NZB team who have all contributed to its success. "We're looking forward to the demand for our yearlings continuing to our Online Yearling Sale, where of course the outstanding filly Well Written was purchased from." The top lot of the day came when first time vendor Stew McGregor offered his sole yearling. The colt by emerging sire Armory out of Satono Aladdin mare Hanako (Lot 958), was knocked down to John Foote Bloodstock for $130,000.   “We’re so, so thrilled,” commented an emotional McGregor. “To have that amount of people and trainers come through and inspect him, it’s really neat. We hope he’s got an exciting future for us to follow.” The well-known Waikato Hunt member praised his surrounding stud farms for all their help. “Dean Hawkins, Windsor Park Stud and others around me have been instrumental in helping me along the way,” added McGregor. “It’s a team sport, alright.”   Westbury Stud were leading vendors & their resident stallion Redwood was leading sire.  Pictured: Lot 958 The leading vendor by aggregate and average for the Karaka Summer Sale was Westbury Stud who sold seven lots for $432,000 at an average of $61,714. The leading buyer at the end of selling of the final session was Victorian trainer Patrick Payne, having purchased three lots for $236,000. This included Lot 938, a colt for $100,000 out of the leading sire of the session in Redwood. All yearlings purchased are eligible for the Karaka Millions Series featuring the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), followed by the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) as well as the NZB Mega Maiden Bonus Series with $1m in bonuses up for grabs across 40 maiden races each season. The Karaka Summer Sale is further boosted by a $200,000 Karaka Millions bonus. For the first Karaka Summer Sale graduate home in both the 2027 $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO and 2028 $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO, $100,000 will be split evenly between the vendor and purchaser for each race. Entries close Monday 2 March 2026. To enquire about Passed Lots from the Karaka Summer Sale contact Patrick Cunningham on +64 21 181 5898 or email Patrick.Cunningham@nzb.co.nz, or Andrew Buick on +64 27 555 0640 or email Andrew.Buick@nzb.co.nz.  Attention now turns to the National Online Yearling Sale, where superstar filly Well Written (Written Tycoon) was purchased for $80,000. Set to take place on Gavelhouse Plus, with bidding closing from 6pm on 14 April. Entries open early February via NZB’s portal. View the full Karaka Summer Sale results here.   Catch the highlights and Lot-by-Lot footage from the Karaka Summer Sale here.

Mark Newnham is four strong for Sunday’s Classic Mile at Sha Tin and hopes his squad of Invincible Ibis, Infinite Resolve, Crimson Flash and Winfield can get the job done as he goes for back-to-back wins. My Wish provided Newnham with his breakout Hong Kong victory 12 months ago and after a stellar campaign that has seen him rise through the grades, Invincible Ibis looks to be his biggest chance of repeating the dose. Beaten off a rating of 55 for his opening run of the campaign in September...View the full article