Chief Stipe

Geez here was me thinking you were an accountant. The $94m in equity (2024) has a bit of smoke and mirrors feel to it. It is down $14.6m in one year. That 2024 year the ATC had an operating loss of $14.6m. Most of that from revaluations and finance costs. I imagine the equity situation has worsened in the 2025 year.

JimmyCassidyKerryPacker.mp4

Where have I made excuses? What's the opposite of fanboy? Are you their No1 Hater? LOL the old online debating trick. Have you been to @Transparency and @Thomass school and trained in the art of making something up, attributing it to someone and then repeating it? Where did I say that Te Akau were the best trainers in Australasia? The rest of your argument is illogical. The only hypocrisy is in your cynical mind. Oh but it's OK for @Pitman to achieve in the same sandpit? BTW I know you rarely take those green envy lenses off but Te Akau have had considerable success in Australia. Anyway calling NZ Racing a sandpit just about sums up your Anti-Racing sentiment. @Comic Dog

I'm pleased for you. Of course that adds even more mystery to the source of your cynicism.

A friend of mine was at Matamata that day (a number of photos were posted on BOAY) - a huge number of horses went round. It was scorching hot and the track was flint hard. She felt it and didn't let down as did a number of horses that day. The instructions to Shinn were that she was just there for the education and not to push her around. I did see her in a paddock as a yearling and she was small and stocky and didn't look as advanced as the other yearlings.

How many have you got racing in the South Island then? Are you achieving what you aspire to?

There you go twisting what I said. I said any serious owner would aspire to their colt or filly winning Group status in Australia. As our top stables have proven you can take that path to winning in OZ by developing and racing your young horses in NZ. Surely you are not suggesting that an owner should take a negative view and resign themselves to winnning a $17k maiden after two years and 19 starts in the South Island? Did you get the office girl to do the spreadsheet for you? Normally you are confined to one short sentence cynical drive by's!! I answered those questions above. What I will add is that just like any big stable that invests in well bred yearlings Te Akau are not limiting their sights but are trying to maximise the potential of their purchases. I realise that might be a bit to simple for you to understand. Who in their right mind spends $250k on a yearling and targets a $17k maiden at Ashburton? Sure such a purchase might end up there but that was never the intention. Incidentally why don't you bag Marsh or Wexford? Or even Waller or Waterhouse? The latter has an appalling strike rate with money invested to wins.

I think it is sad that the green envy lenses you look through blind you from any objectivity. Now you are crying a river for @Pitman when there has been no impediment to any stable building their business the way Te Akau, Marsh or Wexford have. Were you crying for any of the beaten brigade when Pitman won the National Trainers Premiership? Right back at you. But again those green lenses affect your comprehension. Te Akau have a better strike rate than Waterhouse and Waller and spend less. So perhaps the less financially resourced stables should take note of that. It doesn't worry Te Akau that they don't win the NSW or Victoria Training Premierships BUT (this is the point that escapes you) just like the Riccarton stable they have invested in the Cranbourne stable to add another way of maximising returns to their syndicate members. Go Racing do the same by spreading their horses around various trainers here and in OZ.

It wouldn't be hard to beat Waterhouse or Waller's strike rate. Correct on the latter point which I stated previously. Te Akau have the best Black Type strike rate out of the Magic Millions January Sale.

Not at all. I'm sure you'd find a lot of worth in your 20 start maiden winning one.

Who knows when a horse wins 4 from 4. But the Sistema was 1200m not 1200m+1 stride. Just winning is better than just losing.

On every Te Akau horses radar. Probably only the radar of any serious racehorse owner.

Don't forget that they are already miles ahead of the previous mob that ran the TABNZ into insolvency. The new retail pods are light years ahead of the old ones.

And Saturday’s

@Brodie doesn't have a gambling problem. Why? Because he wins.

At least revenue is on the up not down as many of you downers have been saying. If Harness is down on revenue then who whose fault is that? Not ENTAIN'S. PLUS there is another $100m in the pot due to the legislation passing. Now you should direct your attention to happens to that lump sum. Stakes or invest?

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.