Chief Stipe

Poor old @Freda - she's such a fragile individualin her older years. How condescending of you.

So you stated a fact but what does it have to do with the Topic? Or anything for that matter. The reality is Te Akau as an entity don't actually very many horses at all. Their horses aren't leased they are owned by syndicate members. Just like Fortuna. Now there are others who Lease horses and don't actually put any dosh up front.

Really? By your own admission you are a sports better. You don't care about horse racing unless you can find seen value bet somewhere. Unlike you I'm optimistic.

It is a separate syndicator i.e. owner but the horses are selected and bid on by Ellis and trained by Te Akau trainers. No different to Go Racing. What is your point? Te Akau is a Corporate Brand. Probably they only one in NZ Racing.

Are you serious?

You are splitting hairs. Both Mark and Sam are employed by Te Akau. When running a large corporate organisation such as Karyn and David do ALL employees deserve credit for the success of winning the Premiership. Mark and Sam would be the first to acknowledge that their success is due to the effort of a very big team. But then let's split hairs over a headline.

Aren't you and @Freda splitting hairs? That aside the point you are trying to make escapes me.

@curious was your open letter about YOU or the industry? I gather you have checked out because you now believe your previous morality was wrong. Horse racing has always been for our entertainment just as point to point, show jumping, polo and don't forget the fact that for centuries we have "broken in horses" to aid aid human endeavour. Why we don't we rehome all racehorses and treat them like pets? Yeah Na they are linebred species bred to race and contrary to what the Anti-racing types are spewing most of them love doing it.

Bullshit - you're Anti-racing. End of story. Horses have always fallen in jumps races especially maidens. You're just dog turd picking the worst bits probably because you have a bee in your bonnet about no longer being able to lose your money at multiple betting agencies. As for "the second to last fence at Te Aroha", @Thomass 's selective pictures from wide angles and anecdotal quotes i.e. no facts I would argue is just another angle bh Anti-racing types. Its sickening to see it being aided and abetted by some who have short memories, who supposedly enjoyed "racing at its best" and readily pocketed the spoils not that many of them dis that well even when things were "great". Who now approaching their day of reckoning feel guilty and have bought into the woke nonsense from a minority. Of course the irony of the Greyhound racing being banned seems to escape most. The biggest abuse of dogs is by the mahority of pet owners who overfeed them with crap food. I guess it keeps Vets busy.

@Newmarket post was spurious in the first place Just more negativity from him.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AFmhrAqzT/ 🎥 The moment it hit him... We had the 2025 Property Brokers Cambridge National Breeding Awards professionally filmed — but what that doesn’t capture is this: the raw reaction of Steve Davis realising the NZTBA Personality of the Year sponsored by Entain AU & NZ bio is about him. Caught on camera by someone in the crowd (who was in on the secret), this is the moment our MC of the night became the man of the night.Congratulations again, Steve — a truly deserving recipient. 💫#NZBreedingAwards #PersonalityOfTheYear #SteveDavis

I see @Freda @curious @PeterLambFan you support @Newmarket comments about Te Aroha. What was actually wrong with the Jumps? @curious is it like the whips yet another racing thing you have a gripe with?

Have you got anything positive to say about racing at all? There was nothing wrong with those jumps races at Te Aroha. Quite frankly I'm get pissed off with you whinging anti-racing types. You knock everything. Come back when you have something positive to say.

How was it a "disaster"? You obviously know zero about horse racing or even horses for that matter. Have you ever ridden a horse in your life? Do you know what they are capable of doing physically? Suggest you take up Sports Betting. Most contact sports are cruel.

Another bad night on the punt Forbs?

So bet on everything else she doesn't pick?

So is Rugby.

If you do a Google search for GRNZ or Greyhound Racing NZ you don't get any links to the GRNZ.co.nz website. Yes the Facebook page comes up first but not the website. Has Googe black-listed it already?

It's not an easy problem to fix. There are also issues with funding and who pays. The HB Club (members), NZTR and who else? To say that they have done nothing is not correct. There has been a lot of planning done and assessment of the track problems (more than one issue) and other longer term issues. Contrary to Wightman's @Transparency view a couple of farmers on their Massey Fergs pulling a blade isnt going to fix anything.

Colin's post Colin WightmanHttps://bitofayarn.com 1h · Https://bitofayarn.com Not a dull moment around here. Today’s news is that a meeting set down for members and stakeholders in the Hawkes Bay Area for tonight has been abandoned. Yes, a letter released to members signed by Riddell (Chair), Balcombe (CEO of HBR) and Ballesty (CEO of NZTR) was sent out just yesterday advising members that those in charge of sorting this fiasco at the Hastings track no longer want to front the people. 24 hours notice. With no alternative date set. Not surprising because reading the letter indicates that they still won’t be starting the cambering project until August, a whopping 11 months after that minor slip event last September. The letter suggests that at this stage they don’t have sufficient “confidence & clarity” of what they are doing which I guess well explains why we are the poor cousin of Australia. The Ockers, by comparison, would’ve started this project within weeks. All reactions: Birdcage Bill Total incompetence. Could have held a working bee within a month of the incident and made the necessary alterations to the bend. No common sense whatsoever. The delay is probably a calulated plan to close the track for good. Nothing surprises me with the way the racing industry is being managed from the top. Colin Wightman Author Birdcage Bill Agree. They’ve had good weather over in the bay during winter and we could’ve been racing there on good surfaces. Instead, those running racing here in NZ are hellbent on grabbing Group One races from regions like Hawkes Bay to run on their swamp tracks in whale country. No wonder our share price is so low. Craig Thorburn It's called you will own nothing and be happy ha Kevin Sweeney Sad state of affairs Colin Wightman Author Kevin Sweeney For sure. If I ran my business the way we run racing here in NZ, I’d be broke within months. I feel so sorry for the trainers and owners in the Hawkes Bay district, how they’ve been so badly affected.

Morrah will be aiming at horse racing next. But if $40m is to come from ENTAINS business will that negate their contract?

TAB could be asked to compensate greyhound trainers amid plans to ban the sport www.nzherald.co.nz New details have emerged in the Government’s bid to ban greyhound racing with new laws being considered to get the New Zealand TAB – now run by a global gambling giant – to help pay for the rehoming of ex-racing dogs. Racing Minister Winston Peters confirmed the plan in an interview with the Herald and revealed options are being explored to set up a single group to co-ordinate all greyhound rehoming nationally. Https://bitofayarn.com Racing Minister Winston Peters asked a ministerial advisory committee to come up with a plan for winding down greyhound racing in New Zealand. Photo / Mark Mitchell Https://bitofayarn.com The recommendations are part of an interim report from a ministerial advisory committee chaired by Heather Simpson, who was Helen Clark’s former chief of staff. It means greyhound owners and trainers – who may be required to continue housing and feeding their dogs while they await adoption post the end of racing – will likely get compensated. “All aspects to do with the ownership, the compensation and the conclusion of this business [the greyhound industry] is under the committee’s consideration,” Peters told the Herald. However, Peters said compensation will not extend to payouts for not being able to race any more, or for assets accrued by those involved in the sport which will become redundant. Greyhounds chase a lure at Cambridge Raceway in January. Photo / Yvette Bodiam He said just like saddle makers lost money when transport changed from horseback to cars, “change is inevitable and that’s the point”. “It won’t be compensation for not being able to do dog racing anymore but in dealing with the dogs as they’re being rehomed – that cost,” Peters said. It’s estimated about 1500 ex-racing dogs will need to be rehomed when the sport ends in July next year, although the exact time it’ll take to rehome all dogs isn’t known. Edward Rennell is the CEO of Greyhound Racing NZ and has announced plans to fight the Government's plan to ban the sport in the High Court. Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) CEO Edward Rennell suggested it would cost $40 million to look after greyhounds for a period of three years post the end of racing. In June, he said that was a cost that would need to be fronted by the taxpayer. “Current rehoming costs are met by GRNZ, funded by revenue from racing. There will be no racing after July 2026, so rehoming costs post-closure will have to be funded from alternative sources,” Rennell said. The committee’s compensation plan means the TAB – now operated by international sports betting and gambling company Entain – will be asked to help pay for rehoming rather than the taxpayer. Peters said new laws may be introduced which would effectively force the TAB – which earns millions from greyhound racing – to help pay for rehoming costs. “Bear in mind of course that if there was universality and acceptance, legislation may not be required.” Peters said GRNZ’s three-year estimate to rehome dogs was a pessimistic outlook and he was confident the job could be done much quicker. Any recommendations made by the committee would need to be considered by Cabinet before any decisions are made. Co-ordinated rehoming strategy SPCA chief science officer Dr Arnja Dale. Photo supplied. The committee also wants a shake-up of the current greyhound rehoming model with the creation of a single entity to co-ordinate efforts to get dogs adopted. GRNZ currently co-ordinates greyhound rehoming under its “Great Mates” programme. The programme has contracts with various agencies, including adoption kennels in Feilding known as Nightrave Greyhounds. The Herald understands the committee wants to reorganise and expand rehoming efforts by: Establishing a single, co-ordinated rehoming programme. Use common branding for all advertising. Introduce a standard set of welfare and contractual arrangements. Increase the number of locations where dogs can be viewed. The SPCA’s chief scientific officer Arnja Dale told the Herald her agency “absolutely supports” improving rehoming efforts. “It’s really critically important that we have consistent standards and policies that govern the rehoming and that there’s a central port, so essentially a central website where all the greyhounds are listed for adoption,” she said. Dale backed moves to ask the TAB to help fund rehoming costs providing the industry also pitched in. “We support it if Greyhound Racing New Zealand and their millions and millions in reserves help support that as well,” she said. The SPCA is willing to be involved in a future greyhound rehoming drive and Dale is “confident New Zealanders will stand up” and help with adoptions when the need arises. “When we made a call out [for adoptions] when Covid-19 got to New Zealand, we got thousands of animals into homes over a very short period of time,” she said. Greyhounds as Pets spokesperson Daniel Bohan Daniel Bohan from Greyhounds as Pets – NZ’s oldest adoption charity – told the Herald he backs a co-ordinated approach to rehoming. “Greyhounds as Pets would support any initiative to co-ordinate rehoming efforts at a national level and apply effective, consistent marketing and adoption policies across all agencies,” he said. In terms of funding rehoming, Bohan said he supports any plan that treats all stakeholders “fairly and equitably”. Court action looms GRNZ is going to court next month in an attempt to overturn the Government’s plans to ban the sport. Rennell claimed in May a judicial review of the proposal would expose the Government’s “cavalier attitude” in the lead-up to its decision. GRNZ’s High Court application will argue political leaders rushed the decision and failed to consult industry before making the call to end the sport. “This is an injustice to greyhound breeders, owners, trainers and all other industry participants, as well as a dereliction of duty to New Zealanders,” Rennell said. Rennell told the Herald it was “deeply cynical” and “hypocritical” to ban greyhound racing in NZ while accepting millions in revenue from Australian dog races. He said if a ban does proceed, it must be implemented with “impeccable fairness” to those who will lose their incomes. Peters pushed back on claims the industry wasn’t consulted, saying there have been three separate reviews of the sport – including the 2017 review by High Court Judge Rodney Hansen – which found 1140 dogs were euthanised in just four years. Peters, who was Racing Minister in 2017, said at the time the Hansen report findings were “disturbing and deeply disappointing”. That was followed by another review by Sir Bruce Robertson in 2021 which found issues with data recording, animal welfare and industry transparency. At the time, then Racing Minister Grant Robertson put the industry on notice. In 2023, a Racing Integrity Board report found the industry was making “slow progress” in five out of 15 key areas including bringing down injury rates. Peters told the Herald he regrets having to make the call to end the sport but said the industry had “failed to meet their requirements”. He said it was “breathtaking” to claim the decision was rushed given the longstanding issues identified in multiple reports over consecutive years. “To say that we’re [the Government] being cavalier, is to be perhaps looking in the mirror.” Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald’s video team in July 2024.

Why do want everything to be free?

How is NZ Racing being "propped up"? The question is are they being paid fairly for the product they provide for punters? As for the NRL - Rugby League is clipping the ticket on TAB transactions in NZ through various avenues. Are they being "propped up to"? If there was no racing and no sport what would you bet on? Pokies and Casinos? Who benefits from them?

Thank you not. Here endth @Huey 's days as a tipster.