Chief Stipe

Are the ads any more problematic than LOTTO advertising?

You aren't as good as you claim with finding things. Stones and Glasshouses! Perhaps Lisa Cole was still on her way back from Cambridge where her dogs raced the day before. E Cole was maybe the licensed handler on course and responsible.

FFS Rule 77(1). 77 Greyhound in season must be scratched (1) Where a trainer or person in charge of a greyhound knows or believes that a greyhound is in season, the trainer or person in charge of the greyhound may scratch the greyhound from the Event the greyhound is nominated for or engaged in.

Wrong rule Chazza. On that basis they won't be contacting you to join any professional outfit.

Blah blah blah blah!

Yep about sums you up. Even if you were correct there are very few systems in the world that involve data entry that are 100% correct. None of them are immune from the intense scrutiny of ideologically driven trainspotters such as you and Chazza.

Really - of what concern is it to an anti-Greyhound racer?

Perhaps just Perhaps I have better things to do. Plus we all have you Chazza!

Well there you go. You could have answered @Lorna Mitchell 's question immediately.

There you go Chazza. The process is happening. You have time to sharpen your knives!

She's a very balanced rider and can ride at 52.5. 88 wins and still claims 2kg. That claim will disappear soon.

Go for it Chazza.

Cool. How do you know that?

So what needs to be done to turn it around? Three areas in my opinion: 1. Improve access to the product; 2. Fix the handicapping; 3. Improve low end stakes by redistributing the top end downwards. HRNZ - you only have three tasks.

I do recall a similar incident with Thoroughbreds in recent years.

LOL really? Are dog trainers that desperate that they need to win a small amount off the tote? Do you have any evidence that it wasn't a mistake? No you don't. The dog was disqualified before dividends were declared wasn't it?

The dog was disqualified due to a mistake and system failure. What more do you want?

Eh? It says what has been done and who did it. The question that you should be asking is what changes have been made to systems to ensure it doesn't happen again. Any suggestions or would you rather there was a lynching?

Doesn't NZ only have one NZ Bred Sire?

She might be close to the shortest rider in the Victorian jockey ranks, but recognition for the abilities of apprentice Jaylah Kennedy is growing by the day. Following her breakout season in the saddle, the 23-year-old was crowned this year's Victorian Jockeys' Association Rising Star at Saturday night's Victorian Racing Awards. The Kiwi rider, who has made Victoria her home, said it was extra special to receive the accolade as it was voted on by her fellow jockeys. "It's a massive honour and being peer-voted, it means even more," she said. "I've got a lot of good people around me and a lot of idols that I look up to that I luckily get to work with every day, so I'm forever grateful and hopefully we can keep it going. "I didn't think I was going to get it, I was sitting there about to pick a grape off my table, so it was a big surprise." Kennedy recorded 21 metropolitan Victorian wins last season and 46 in the country, leading her to be named as the top apprentice rider on the Victorian Country Premiership. Apprenticed to Ballarat-based trainer Dan O'Sullivan, Kennedy only had her first ride in early February 2023 and her first win later that month

Uh? For sure the better the horse the better the stake - as long as it as proven it IS the better horse. Of course you can have elite and slow pokes on the same card (not in the same race). Gallops do it all the time. That's the BS about classifying mid-week vs premier meetings and assigning stakes based on the classification. Due to the declining horse numbers you get as many slow horses on a premier day as you do mid-week! Meanwhile the mid-week slow pokes are subsidising the premier slow pokes. Go figure!

Why is it fading? I would contend it is partly to do with this move to Slot and Sweepstake races. The Everest is a classic example. Horses are now focussing on that one off BIG reward rather than competing against allcomers in back type races over a longer period of the season. Will we see one year where the horse of the year in OZ or NZ only won The Everest? Or only won Slot or restricted entry Sweepstake races?

But is it the future? Is it sustainable? Does it promote quality racing based on merit? Does it increase a wider participation in the sport? In my opinion it fails. You are constantly publishing nostalgic excerpts from the past. How many of those horses were owned and or trained by not very wealthy people? The 70's and 80's were great eras in harness racing - why? There were no sweepstake races nor slot races. What there was was access to all to own or train a horse. Shouldn't NZTR and HRNZ be working on improving that access rather than subsidising an elite few?

Wrong. You are now disagreeing with yourself. The evidence is that increasing stakes doesn't have a linear correlation to increasing ownership participation. That is beyond a certain point Stakes increases at the top end don't encourage increased participation. So NZ Gallops are followers? That doesn't mean that it is the correct thing to do for future sustainability expecially if NZTR, like HRNZ, continue to subsidise the sweepstake races rather than insisting that they pay their own way. That would then mean that both organisations would achieve a net revenue return from the races compared to what appears to be substantial losses. The Karaka Millions is a Sales Sweepstakes restricted to horses that went through the Karaka Sales. They are not entirely funded by the Sales Company nor the buyers. The amount that NZTR subsidise them is not covered by the net revenue from the races. Both ENTAIN and NZTR lose money on them - most businesses I know like to make a profit. So if you see the "picture fine" i.e. the long term big picture. How do you support a concept that doesn't make a profit? The Everest may in your opinion be thriving. I don't agree looking at the big picture. The best sprinter in the world wasn't there last year and the only way it would have been was if had been sold to a slot holder. When I say sold I mean a change of ownership. So where does the Aussie Battler fit in The Everest? It also screws the Pattern which ultimately leads to a lowering of the quality of the breed. Less and less are the best horses competing against each other on merit. Long term that cannot be good for the industry.

Exactly. Let alone what it does to the Pattern. Only serves to diminish the breed because more often than not the best horses aren't eligible to race (if it is a Sales Sweepstake) or aren't for a slot.