Chief Stipe

Eh? When did they last calibrate their moisture meter? Nomination Morning Heavy 8 51.8% Withdrawal Morning Soft 7 50.9% Thursday Morning Soft 6 42.3% Friday Morning Soft 7 51.4% Raceday Soft 6 50.1%

So @Yankiwi do you have evidence that a "safety rail" reduces injuries? What type of safety rail? If one type of safety rail does reduce injuires - why?

It will race a bit fairer as the surface and sub-surface is more consistent across the width of the straight. However that is subject to wear and tear and where they place the rail. They missed a golden opportunity to reshape the course to make it fairer. The home straight entry and exits favour those on the inside. I've hated the exit for decades watching the Derby. They could have fixed that. The camber on the home turn drops away too soon. That's because they didn't realign the 2400m start - again the Derby. You have two options - you either wait for an inside rails run or start moving at the 600m to get handy. I don't care what anyone says the soil (if you could call it that) is basically pure sand. Essentially it is grass growing hydroponically. Which grass isn't suited to do hence the need for continual irrigation and verti-draining/coring.

I've walked it three times since it has been rebuilt. Got told to leave the last time. I have a view.

244m possible voters. But that isn't registered voters. Trump got 72m votes and it looks like the number of voters will nearly equal the record in 2020 which was a record 66% turnout. Part of being in a democracy is although you are expected to register (or enrol) to vote you don't have to cast a vote.

Then he needs to rethink quickly or we'll have another out of touch racing leader.

So obviously it isn't a horse welfare issue nor social license issue with you but one regarding some obscure relationship between a whip and the integrity of Black Type. Yeah that makes sense...not!

As for "social license" wasn't it within our lifetime that we saw religious groups banging drums and tambourines at racecourse entrances saying we would all go to damnation and hell. "Gambling was the devil's work." Wasn't there only a dozen protestors at this year's cup? They were a bit out numbered by the 92,000 on course up 7.3% on last year.

Lets face it the tracks we train and race on are a bigger horse welfare issue than a few whip strikes.

Agreed. All they do is undermine racing. The Spring Racing Carnivals in Australia would suggest otherwise. The "social license" construct is just that - a social construct that doesn't actually have much factual evidence to support it. There never was 100% support of Racing. There doesn't need to be. As the election of Trump has shown the majority are sick and tired of woke politics and the elite left trying to tell us what is right and wrong. So you will be protesting during Cup week like you have been for the last 30 years?

I must say I've never seen such a high pressure system that far south of NZ.

Not looking good for the last day.

Friday Morning Weather: Overcast Track: Soft 7 Moisture Meter: 51.4% Rail: True Rainfall: No Rain Last 24 Hours | 9mm Rain Last 7 Days Irrigation: 18mm Last 24 Hours Weather and Track updated at 9.10am Friday 8 November Thursday Morning Weather: Fine Track: Soft 6 Moisture Meter: 42.3% Rail: True Rainfall: No Rain Last 24 Hours | 9mm Rain Last 7 Days Irrigation: 10mm to be applied today Weather and Track updated at 10.53 Thursday 7 November https://loveracing.nz/News/47212/TRACKPREVIEWPukekohePark-Thursday7November.aspx Withdrawal Morning Weather: Fine Track: Soft 7 Moisture Meter: 50.9% Rail: True Rainfall: No Rain Last 24 Hours | 9mm Rain Last 7 Days Irrigation: 12mm Irrigation Applied Over Weekend Weather and Track updated at 8.55am Wednesday 6 November Nomination Morning Weather: Overcast Track: Heavy 8 Moisture Meter: 51.8% Rail: True Rainfall: 1mm Rain Last 24 Hours | 9mm Rain Last 7 Days Irrigation: 12mm Irrigation Applied Over Weekend Weather and Track updated at 9.12am Tuesday 5 November

Penetrometer reading? Or even ideally a Going Stick reading? Moisture Meter 51.4%. Nomination Morning Weather: Overcast Track: Soft 7 Moisture Meter: 51.4% Rail: True Rainfall: No Rain Last 24 Hours | 9mm Rain Last 7 Days Irrigation: 18mm Last 24 Hours Weather and Track updated at 9.15am Friday 8 November

What have ships sinking got to do with manufacturing delays? One involves transport the other involves making stuff that gets transported.

Well that's good then @Thomass. The game needs trainspotters watching a mid-week race meeting. Good spotting because I'm sure the Stewards required the bunker to review the race endlessly counting whip strikes. Has the icon on your rewind button been worn off yet?

Hardly "punishing". He used the whip twice in consecutive strides. Daft rule and most viewers wouldn't see it unless like you they trawl through the Stipes reports.

Hokitika could get well over 150mm of rain in the next week.

Lived there for 20 years and 18 years on the West Coast. I always remember Cup week being high 20's with a Nor'West foehn wind blowing in Canterbury and dumping rain measured in feet on the West Coast. I worked for Apple Fields for a time and did research on the first two weeks of November. If you got a normal hot week or two in those weeks you could accurately predict the apple crop by measuring the heat units. This is the map for Friday next week. Classic Nor West.

40 degrees at Ipswich today! "If it wasn't almost 40 degrees here at Ipswich today, this would be unbelievable."

From my memory those are typical Cup Week temperatures. Great racing!!

TikTok - Make Your Day.mp4

The quality of the 2000 Guineas field has very little to do with where it is held. The issue is a screwed pattern which has been stuffed up even more this year with two key lead up races being cancelled and then moved to other locations. Add to that a high attrition rate and the field quality has suffered. Of course one of the key factors undermining everything is the appalling state of our tracks. Ellerslie isn't the saviour either. Why spend all that money on an experimental surface and not fix the constraints with the bends?