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Dollars and Sense with Frank AngstView the full article

Pretty decent but the godson kitty litters him

Greed and narrow mindedness.  We can't encourage someone we don't like, despite their product.  Also despite any starting gate sponsorship they might offer a track we'd like to make surplus. We live in a complex world of weird personalities.  I've seen a bit over the last decade I wish I hadn't witnessed.  Everyday in racing I'm seeing some mental shit. You are definitely right.  A tiny home, or multiple tiny homes, should be used in every stable, stud, training facility etc for housing staff and families, if only for security.

They clearly do not want place bettors whether it is tote or fixed! The pools on place tote is significantly lower than tote win pools now and it did not used to be this way! It has occurred since some moron thought they would get rid of showing any place odds both fixed and tote!! Total lunacy and just one of the many idiotic decisions that has been made by TAB to put the NZ punter off. The Brains Trust is missing on many occasions.  

Interesting industry. Sort of industry racing could combine with. e.g. display over the Riccarton carnival but do a deal  to display or promote at any meeting. I note there was a tiny homes expo at Mystery Creek around Nov 1 2025. Are clubs too greedy they don't go for these mini expos? Can't find any race sponsors for tiny homes or cabins. Trainers and stud owners for one could be a market,

i don't think you can use bonus cash or bonus bets on tote pools,but yes the bonus bets and bonus cash  is inflating ff turnovers.  as you and i have pointed out before,if the tab assess the need for restictions based solely on whether a punter is profitable on ff betting or not,they fail to factor in the big pictute of the overall contribution to the racing industry by each individual punter,,whether it be tote betting takeouts the tab receive,ownership,sponsorship,etc,etc. and  the tab/entain have demonstrated they are willing to cut off their nose to spite their face type of thing. I can only assume that within the tab there are people who receive bonuses based around how much profit they can gwenerate within ff and those people couldn't care less that they are losing a punters tote turnover because of their decisions,because it doesn't effect the assesment of their bonuses. its the only explanation i could come up with for what i call the level of stupidity as regards  some of their decisions around  individuals in the past. i think your right. clearly they have a strategy to kill off all tote each way tote betting,especially tote place bettingi. The pools are so pitiful sometimes that theres simply no point in having place bets on the tote. The tote betting,especially the tote place betting,these days is just for the $1 ew punter. If you used to spend a  hundred or two a race,or now days even a $20 place bet,then you would have flagged tote betting long ago as you cut the odds too much.   and the powers that be still haven't said what the total betting or attendance figure were for nz cup day.Obviously they can't spin that to make it sound positive enough for them. And i wonder how the breeding numbers are going.They must one day hit rock bottom,but that doesn't seem to have happened yet.I wonder how bad this year will be. Drive past a couple of the studs and i think you will see the answer.Where have all the horses gone?

Quite true.

Bellatrix Star (Star Witness) has defied early predictions and is set to be back at the races as early as Saturday at Caulfield after a stunning recovery from a fractured neck. The spring’s best jockey, Mark Zahra, has been confirmed as taking his first ride aboard the now four-year-old as she races for the first time in more than a year in the A$175,000 Listed Doveton Stakes (1100m). Such a comeback was something her connections dared not to even dream of at the start of the year when she broke her neck in a training accident at Cranbourne. In early January, after a spring where she had run second in the Gr.1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington, Bellatrix Star reared and fell when exiting the pool, with the early prognosis indicating her racing days were done. Trainer Mark Walker’s assistant Ben Gleeson explained that her future looked certain to lie in the breeding barn until connections took another x-ray of her neck and, to their surprise, found the injury had healed. “It was just in a tricky enough position that all sorts of things could come about from it,” Gleeson said. “We weren’t sure if she was ever going to be able to be ridden again let alone get back to doing everything she is doing currently. “We were going to retire her when she was out cantering in the paddock and we just thought we’d take a precautionary x-ray and it basically showed it had all healed, much to our surprise. “We’ve been pretty level-headed the whole way through about where we are going to get to so, provided she has a smooth week at home, this weekend is exciting, although we’re just trying to keep a lid on it at the moment. “We’ve still got no idea whether she is going to come back the same horse, but she ran through the line last Thursday in her trial and that gave us enough inclination that she’s got plenty of zest for racing. It’s going to be a tough ask on Saturday. She carries a big weight first-up for over 12 months. “It won’t be easy but we’re hopeful of seeing her resume to a good enough standard to push onto the autumn. She’s had a few riders but I’m sure Mark Zahra will suit. He’s obviously a man in form and he’s got great hands. She’s renowned for being a bit keen and a bit fierce in her races.” Bellatrix Star has raced just 11 times for five wins, including a Stakes hat-trick last spring of the Listed Cap d’Antibes Stakes (1100m), the Gr.3 Champagne Stakes (1200m) and the Gr.2 Schillaci Stakes (1100m), before her Coolmore Stud Stakes placing. View the full article

Progressive staying prospect Skippers Canyon (NZ) (Belardo) will take another step towards a planned Pakenham Cup tilt when he runs over 1800m at Caulfield on Saturday. Stokes has a number of horses nominated to compete at the Zipping Classic Day meeting, with Skippers Canyon scheduled to run in a Benchmark 74 after making an impression first-up at the same track earlier this month with a last-to-first victory over 1700m in the same grade. That was Skippers Canyon’s second win from three starts for the Stokes stable since joining the team after doing his earlier racing in New Zealand. “It was huge,” Stokes said of the four-year-old’s first-up win at Caulfield on November 15. “He’s just got a bit of a habit of stepping slow and Lachy (Neindorf) went to Plan B and he couldn’t have been any more impressive the way he let down. “He’s trained on good, no problems. It was probably a bit better than expected first-up so I’m hoping that we’re not going to get the second-up blues but his work this morning was nice and sharp so I feel he’s in good order.” Stokes is focused on getting Skippers Canyon to next month’s $300,000 Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) on his home track, with Saturday’s race pinpointed as the right stepping stone. Skippers Canyon has been nominated in both the Eclipse Stakes and the Benchmark race, with Stokes indicating on Tuesday that the latter is the preference, with apprentice Logan Bates booked to take the ride to utilise a claim and help offset the 61.5kg impost. “When we tipped him out (last campaign) we thought we’d aim him up for the Pakenham Cup and then we’ll give him another little break and then we’ll work out where we go after that,” Stokes said. “We really like the horse. “He’s still not there, I still think he’s a preparation away, but he couldn’t have done much more than what he’s done. He won first-up (last preparation) at Sandown on a Heavy track and I think he’s going to make a nice 2400-metre horse.” The Belardo gelding was imported by OTI Racing after 10 starts in New Zealand, including a maiden win over 2100m at Otaki in January. He also recorded three seconds and a third, along with a fourth in the $350,000 Remutaka Classic (2100m) and a fifth in the Gr.3 Wellington Stakes (1600m). View the full article