Chief Stipe

I always walk them if I have an ownership interest in a horse. This year I've walked 4 tracks. Ellerslie 3 times. None of those are really necessary. A good heel and a strong thumb can give you a good idea. I focus more on other factors than the "give". Within the Good 3 to the end of the soft range it doesn't matter what the rating is as all horses should handle it. Depends on the distance that I'm interested in. I'll walk a whole round if I can and at least the distance of interest. I'll walk different parts/lanes on the track from the point where horses will make their runs from e.g. wider on the final bend and home straight. I'll check for consistency across those lanes. Factors I'll focus on are surface evenness I.e. is the surface rough, showing wear and tear, broken and or shifty. Most horses hate it shifty and tend to hold back to protect themselves. I pass the information onto the trainer or racing manager of the horse I'm interested in. Once I recall telling the track staff at Ellerslie (2006) of a serious problem in the straight. A four foot deep hole about 15cm in circumference. Shoved a tree branch down it at about 8 am in the morning. What I have learnt is very very few Trainers or Jockeys walk the track prior to racing. Those that do have an advantage over those that don't.

I'm surprised @Pete Lane has asked you to name the trainers! I wouldn't keen on buying a horse on the basis of a synthetic track.

Ok get the grandchildren to do the research for you.

That may not be possible. Where is the industry benchmark data for Greyhound Racing? Also if the number of inspections increase then previous rates need to be normalised to account for the change in testing criteria and or sampling rate.

It can't be fraud if it was an honest error.

Thinking about it a bit more - Pukekohe has been the sacrificial lamb for Ellerslie. Much like Ashburton is for Riccarton. As @Special Agent pointed out - don't we need all the tracks we can to spread the impact around? Auckland further suffers from the moth balling of Avondale. As Ellerslie has shown selling the assets to build a new track doesn't always give the desired result.

So basically 99.4% of dogs race without major injury. Interesting the correlation between the number of inspections and the injury rate. Unless the data is normalised there is the possibility of bias skewing the results.

There is the pop-up Trackside channel 64 which we get for the big raced days like the Karaka Millions. But the coverage is a bit cheesy and largely advertorial. The Ozzies know how to do it more punchy.

What information are you looking for that hasn't already been published in the media?

How many tracks have you walked on race day this year? Or even looked at from over the fence?

The ones I've spoken don't mention safety issues per se. Some have concerns with consistency in terms of daily grooming. But generally most trainers I've spoken to don't like training or galloping young horses on them. As you know it is hard enough educating a young horse and keeping them sound on traditional surfaces. I'm not sure it is partly because trainers haven't adapted or it's the inherent hardness of the AWT's. Either way Trainers up north would rather travel to Taupo or Rotorua than trial on them Given the fact that most CD trainers didn't want the Awapuni one built I can't see how it will pay its way.

Classic. You fire shots but don't back up with substance.

Of course I'm not going to list the people I have spoken to specifically about these issues. They all have considerable skin in the game and as was evident after the Karaka Millions night the majority are not willing to speak publically. Whether it is a valid fear or not they don't want to make earning a living harder than it already is. They are also in between a rock and a hard place where they have to keep owners and investors happy. That's not waffle that is fact. Who have you spoken to who have a contrary opinion?

Yes you are the master of the art of obfuscation - this post being a classic example.

Because there is easy money available. Pure and simple. Put trials on the AWT that cost and they'd rather travel all the way to Rotorua to trial on a Heavy 10. As for evasive I'm still waiting for answers to my direct questions to you.

You agree with me yet down vote my post saying exactly that.

Is that why they all went to Rotorua yesterday to trial on a Heavy 10? You'll struggle to defend or spruik the success of the AWT's. Rogie seems the only one who wants to run young horses on them.

Aren't trainers showing what they think of them by voting with their feet? For example Cambridge trials cancelled yet 23 heats yesterday at Rotorua on a heavy 10?

In reality you want a dedicated channel for NZ thoroughbred racing. Perhaps NZTR could fund it?

They are actually but then there are some very good trainers not in the top 20. Although being in the top 20 based on number of wins isn't a good indicator of the skill of a trainer.

Your research says what?

Just talked to another trainer who would avoid Pukekohe at all costs. As well as the AWT's. How is your survey going?

Ok if there were three NZ race meetings evenly spread across the day then that would be one race every 20 minutes. Subtract 3 x 5 (duration of race plus barrier filming) = 15 mins. So that leaves 45 mins to do the parade ring and preliminary for 36 horses. Might work.

Environmental contamination. The issue to address is what level of arsenic or cobalt is performance enhancing or detrimental to the health of the dog? Yeah Na. Let's set an arbitrary test level and justify our existence.

I know lots of stories like that. That said very hard to see enough of the horses in the preliminary for selection purposes. I like going to the races on my own and watching the parade and preliminary then making a bet. Not enough TV time to do that if there are two or three meetings running. That's why I like the way the Aussies do it with their assistant commentators in the parade ring, on the track and around at the barrier. The NZ equivalents are not in the same league unfortunately and seem to promote every horse as a winning chance which is about as useful as picking blue sky names!