Chief Stipe

At least it is up not down.

Online 18%. Retail dragged it down to 12.

Officials move to combat late tote betting fluctuations thestraight.com.au A US racetrack will close betting into its win pools at two minutes before the advertised start time of each race in a bid to curb the impact of sophisticated professionals using computer-assisted wagering (CAW) methods. Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) officials said the new measure was a response to multiple late odds changes during the first week of racing at the racecourse's summer season. “This is part of an overall effort to ensure an optimal wagering experience for fans on-track, at simulcast locations and those playing via our advanced deposit wagering partners,” DMTC president Josh Rubinstein said. “We had taken steps to encourage CAW players to process their win wagers earlier in the cycle, but it has become clear that we need to take additional measures. “We will continue to do our best to create a racing and wagering product that appeals to all segments of the horseplayer market.” The move will come into effect from its meeting on Thursday (Pacific Daylight Time). Automated betting has been a source of much debate in the US. It is estimated to account for between $US2 billion and $US3 billion in wagering investment out of an annual hold of more than $US11 billion. US wagering industry insiders say there are up to 12 professional punters and syndicates using algorithms that can process vast amounts of data in seconds to place bets.

Which ones?

Yep I don't talk in riddles such as yourself. That aside I don't understand what you are trying to prove with "how many GRP 1 2yr old races will TA win on OZ". Who won them all last season? Waterhouse? Waller? How many horses did they buy? Gai nearly spent more at the Magic Millions than DCE spent all year!!!! As always your negativity overtakes sense and statistics.

From all reports she is very much like her mother Avantage. However in my opinion the Wootton Bassett's take a bit more time and add stamina. Avantaggia has 1000 Guineas written all over her. If successful would that be Te Akaus 8th or 9th?

Yes and the horse that was second in the first trial Avantaggia won has come out and won by 7 lengths.

Australia drags on Entain’s international growth, New Zealand surges onhttps://bitofayarn.com As Entain’s online net gaming revenue grew 18 per cent in New Zealand over the past 12 months, it also fell 7 per cent in Australia. Managing those contrasting situations presents an interesting challenge for interim Entain Australia and New Zealand chief executive Andrew Vouris, writes Bren O'Brien. At the peak of the pandemic-driven wagering boom five years ago, Entain confirmed that net gaming revenue (NGR) from its Australian business had grown 43 per cent year-over-year across the first six months of 2020. Retail closures had created a once-in-a-generation opportunity for market growth and the continuation of horse racing despite lockdowns had Ladbrokes and Neds front and centre of that growth. Entain felt it was well positioned to capitalise on that sudden surge of customer engagement. In mid-2022, Entain, then embarking on a bold expansion of its business in the United States and other international markets, confirmed in its six-monthly update that 14 per cent of its online net gaming revenue was being sourced out of Australia. Since then, as the Australian wagering bubble burst, the Australian share of overall net gaming revenue has been on the decline. By mid-2023, it was 11 per cent, then 10 per cent in mid-2024. In the mid-2025 report published this week, Australia’s NGR share across Entain’s online business had dropped to 8 per cent of its global business. Entain did not give that a precise Australian NGR number – the Australian business warranted only a couple of mentions in an hour-long investor update call on Tuesday. The overall global online NGR was posted at £1.9 billion ($A3.93 billion). Revenue by destination reported showed that for the six months up until June 30, revenue across Australia and New Zealand had fallen to £257.1 million ($A530 million), down £24.1 million ($A50 million) compared to the same period last year. The other detail to come out of the half-yearly report was that Australian NGR had fallen 7 per cent year-on-year, while New Zealand’s has increased 12 per cent. The Australian market was described by chief financial officer Rob Wood as continuing to be soft and “impacted by less favourable horse racing results”. https://bitofayarn.com That’s a familiar line, with the profitability of racing punters becoming more and more marginal for the major bookmakers. It should be a concern for any Australian racing administrator, especially given how much Ladbrokes and Neds have invested in racing through sponsorship and other initiatives over the past five years. The sentiment around New Zealand was understandably more positive. Online NGR grew by 18 per cent, while retail sales have shrunk by 8 per cent. That change in market dynamics is a measure of a maturing New Zealand wagering landscape, one which Entain now has a virtual monopoly on through its TAB and Betcha brands. New Zealand now represents 3 per cent of Entain’s global online NGR, just under 40 per cent of what a much more mature Australian business contributed. “Whilst the legislative net arrived later than expected, it is now effective and should therefore catalyse even greater growth in H2,” Wood said. There is the one-off impact of a $NZ100 million payment as part of the agreement to provide the legislative net, but that is seen as a short-term pain for significant long-term gain in a contract set to run until 2048. The other significant aspect from an Australian point of view in the half-year result was the provision of £50 million, over $A100 million, in the accounts, for the potential fine from AUSTRAC over its enforcement action. Entain chief executive Stella David was at pains to stress this was only an accounting measure and not a guide as to what a potential penalty may be. Pierre Bouchut appointed chair as Entain reports growth “That provision is purely accounting-driven, and there is no certainty that the quantum reflects what might be a potential penalty. We are currently in early-stage mediation, and there is no further update until those discussions have concluded,” she said. Given speculation that the AUSTRAC fine could be three or four times that provision, a $100 million fine would be seen as a reasonable result for Entain, which reported a global EBITDA figure of £583 million ($A1.2 billion) across the first half of 2025 and a market cap of close to £6 billion ($12.4 billion). It has been clear from the recent appointment of Andrew Vouris as Entain Australia and New Zealand chief executive, replacing Dean Sahnnon, that there is a change of mentality in the Australasian business. To quote the new boss himself. “I want us to win, yes, but not at all costs,” Vouris said. An outcome of the AUSTRAC process is expected in the next six months, and there is no doubt that will be seen as a crucial inflection point for the future of Entain’s Australian ambitions. Australia is one of only three countries where Entain didn’t grow online NGR in the first half of 2025, along with two other highly regulated jurisdictions, the Netherlands and Belgium. Broader wagering trends have played a part in that, but so too have challenges faced by the Ladbrokes and Neds Australian businesses. If Entain can put the AUSTRAC action behind it, then Vouris’ challenge in 2026 will be to return Australia to growth and continue New Zealand's upward trajectory.

Well Verry Elleegant won her maiden at Ruakaka so I guess anything is possible. But you're the expert.

Are referring to Ellerslie or Awaphni ? In my opinion the bend is fine just the last part needs cambering until they straighten which means moving the shute. No need to move the finishing post etc.

When I walked the new track there was a camber but it drops off well before the turn. I think that's why you see horses improve positions well before then, glide round the final bit then go for it. Or sit and wait and hope you get some gaps when you hit the straight aka Shinn on Damask Rose. In my opinion you can't recamber that part unless you shift the shute further South West.

No read the article again. The horse picked up an injury during its recent jumpout. Jumpouts in OZ are very much like our trials. So they are pulling back this spring as they can't get him ready before all the spring Grp 1's are finished. Sounds sensible to me not to race a very good colt agains OZ's best when it isn't 100%.

That's easy money. I'll take $50 that they have more OZ wins this season.

Uh? That post doesn't make sense.

I don't think the problem was the grass variety per se. Grow any grass (other than Marram) on pure sand and the roots will matt. You see it on links golf courses all the time. Time is running out for that when you look at the recent building activity up that end of the course. The 2400m shute needs to move before you can recamber. Over time with all the verti-draining, tyning and coring being done the organic matter will increase which will had more structure to the sand - slow process though and doubtful it will be faster than the oxidation processes.

Return To Conquer’s bid for Aussie glory on hold www.nzherald.co.nz https://bitofayarn.com Last season’s superstar colt Return To Conquer won’t race again this year. The Group 1 winner, who was unbeaten in four starts here, has been sidelined with a slight issue after his first Australian appearance in a jump out at Cranbourne two weeks ago. Trainer Mark Walker, who is mostly based in Cranbourne these days, said the injury wasn’t serious but has tipped the scales against Return To Conquer competing in spring. “He did something to himself in his jump out and being such a valuable colt we aren’t going to take any chances with him,” Walker told the Herald. “We could actually race him again this year if we wanted to but he is here to get an Australian Group 1 to add to his stallion credentials and with this issue putting him back even a few weeks he won’t be ready for the races we wanted to aim him at. “They are all finished by November and because he won’t be ready to win a Group 1 by then we will put him aside until next year.” Return To Conquer looked New Zealand’s most talented juvenile last season and won the Group 1 Sistema Stakes at Ellerslie in March. Being a Group 1-winning juvenile son of Snitzel means he already has commercial stallion worth and the only box he needs to tick now is a major Australian win. That means Walker and syndication giants Te Akau will also resist any temptation to head north to the Magic Millions carnival in January because while Return To Conquer could race for huge money there, those races don’t carry Group 1 status. But all going well the colt should be back racing mid-summer. As disappointing as the news is, the reality of Return To Conquer’s career is simple: if he wins any Group 1 in Australia in the next 18 months, preferably this season, he is worth a fortune. But, to that end, this spring is still an opportunity taken away. The news is much better for the two other huge names of New Zealand racing last season, who joined Te Akau’s Cranbourne barn around the same time as Return To Conquer. La Dorada will go head-to-head with Return To Conquer for New Zealand juvenile of the year at the sport’s annual awards in Hamilton on September 7 but has a bigger assignment at The Valley the day before. Walker and assistant trainer Ben Gleeson are setting last season’s Karaka Millions winner for the A$750,000 ($822,000) Moir Stakes on September 6 in which she will clash with Matamata mare Alabama Lass. “She has easier 3-year-old options but they would mean carrying 59kg fresh up, whereas she will carry only 50kg over 1000m in the Moir.” Is La Dorada good enough to win a Group 1 weight-for-age sprint? “Taking a line through [stablemate] Bellatrix Star, who won a good Group 2 race in the Schillaci last October, I’d say La Dorada can be very competitive in the Moir,” said Walker. It has been smooth Australian sailing so far for arguably Te Akau and Walker’s best horse, NZB Kiwi and Karaka Millions 3-Year-Old winner Damask Rose. “She has come up well and will resume in the Cockram Stakes at Caulfield on August 30,” said Walker. “Then, all going well, she will go through the Sir Rupert Clarke [Caulfield, September 20] and the Toorak [Caulfield, October 11] on her way to the Golden Eagle.”https://bitofayarn.com The A$10 million Golden Eagle on November 1 has been moved from Rosehill to Randwick and Walker said that could be a positive for Damask Rose. “It is still a long way off yet and of course things have to go right to get there as a winning chance, but you would think with the big field, the bigger Randwick track will actually suit her better.” There is also promising news around Bellatrix Star, who was sensational last spring and finished second to Switzerland in the A$2m Coolmore at Flemington, one of the hottest 3-year-old races of the year. “She suffered a bad neck injury in January when she flipped over coming back from a pool session and initially we thought she might not race again,” said Walker. “But she is back now and there is no sign of where the injury was so we are hopeful she will be back racing around November.” Meanwhile, one of the most expensive horses in New Zealand, the Te Akau-purchased Avantaggia looked an early race winner with a dominant win at the Avondale trials yesterday. The 3-year-old daughter of Wootton Bassett and Avantage cost A$2.1m as a yearling and beat subsequent seven-length winner Cream Tart in her previous trial in April. She looked sharp in yesterday’s trial and should be racing soon. Avantaggia is the $12 fourth favourite for the 1000 Guineas at Riccarton, which has been moved from New Zealand Cup day to the first day of Cup week on November 8.

Yeah I'm not so sure. You know my thoughts on these sand hydroponic tracks. I'm not sure even the Flemington expert can turn them around has he works with a track that is more soil based.

Sorry according to @Newmarket I know nothing about wagering. Perhaps you could set the market?

I was shoulder to shoulder on the embankment!!!