Chief Stipe

I sense there is some politics involved with Te Aroha. However there is an irony - there was a few farmers involved.

There's a few Greyhound folk in there. Mikayla Clark and Liz Whelan. Although the latter is involved with Trentham as well. Michaela Sobieska works for Roger James and is the strapper for Orchestral.

Pray tell.

I've seen all that spin before and to be honest I bought into it once. But that ended when I bred and raced a horse that won 5 and returned a cheque everytime it raced but couldn't pay its way.

Probably dining with the TABNZ board in the Maldives.

The industry is in crisis but where's Sharrock? Or Aldridge for that matter. Can't dine on Entain shareholder funds forever.

Then why the hell move Avondale to an absolutely stuffed Pukekohe? What's worse is the dropping of two winter race dates from Ruakaka!!! One being the venue for the annual regional pub punting competition. 19 teams this year. No doubt the spin merchant @TAB For Ever can tell us why!

Great to see a few Greyhound people amongst the finalists.

Is that the best you've got when you are clearly wrong?

An hour from Sydney. I guess you haven't travelled much. https://mdata.racingnsw.com.au/FreeFields/Results.aspx?Key=2024Jul08,NSW,Hawkesbury,Trial

Finalists found for Industry Excellence Awards Press Release - Entain Australian & NZ 10 July 2024 The finalists for the inaugural Industry Excellence Awards powered by Entain, have been named after more than 100 high-quality entries were received for the awards that recognises the future leaders and rising stars of the New Zealand racing industry. There are 29 finalists across the nine award categories, and the judges found the selection process challenging, due to the depth and strength of candidates nominated. “We were hugely impressed by the calibre of the nominations, and it was a great reminder of the absolutely outstanding people we have involved in all areas of the racing industry in New Zealand,” Entain’s General Manager – New Zealand and member of the judging panel, Jessica Meech, said. “We’ve got a lot of thinking to do ahead of the awards evening to decide on the nine category winners and select the overall excellence winner.” The award categories are: Leadership, Equine Handling (Stud or Stable), Greyhound Excellence, Dedication to Breeding, Dedication to Racing, Administrative and Ancillary Services, Care and Welfare, Newcomer and National Racing Woman of the Year. The finalists and winner for the tenth category, the Entain Excellence Award, will be announced at the awards evening. Category winners will receive $10,000 with finalists in each category receiving $2,000. The overall winner will receive an extra $5,000 on top of their $10,000 category win, and a $5,000 educational package. IRT, Windsor Park Stud, Waikato Stud and Breckon Farms are also valued supporters of the awards and the awards function, which will be held in Auckland on Sunday, 28 July. Industry Excellence Awards finalists: Leadership Cameron Ring Sarah Clausen Hunter Durrant Equine Handling (Stud or Stable) Michaela Sobieska Faith Pollock Nathan Williamson Greyhound Excellence Mikayla Clark Katie Wyllie Corey Steele Dedication to Breeding Ryan Figgins Mallory Phillips Jamie Bartlett Dedication to Racing Jazz Leigh Emma Smith Sarah O'Reilly Administrative and Ancillary Services Jack Collings Jo Stevens Scott Buchanan Care and Welfare Chanelle Dickie Anna Baigent Erika Matterson Newcomer Matia Grace Shannon MacDonald Raquel Wilkes National Racing Woman of the Year Sam Mynott Caitlin O’Sullivan Portia Matthews Emma Smith Elizabeth Whelan

Finalists found for Industry Excellence Awards Press Release - Entain Australian & NZ 10 July 2024 The finalists for the inaugural Industry Excellence Awards powered by Entain, have been named after more than 100 high-quality entries were received for the awards that recognises the future leaders and rising stars of the New Zealand racing industry. There are 29 finalists across the nine award categories, and the judges found the selection process challenging, due to the depth and strength of candidates nominated. “We were hugely impressed by the calibre of the nominations, and it was a great reminder of the absolutely outstanding people we have involved in all areas of the racing industry in New Zealand,” Entain’s General Manager – New Zealand and member of the judging panel, Jessica Meech, said. “We’ve got a lot of thinking to do ahead of the awards evening to decide on the nine category winners and select the overall excellence winner.” The award categories are: Leadership, Equine Handling (Stud or Stable), Greyhound Excellence, Dedication to Breeding, Dedication to Racing, Administrative and Ancillary Services, Care and Welfare, Newcomer and National Racing Woman of the Year. The finalists and winner for the tenth category, the Entain Excellence Award, will be announced at the awards evening. Category winners will receive $10,000 with finalists in each category receiving $2,000. The overall winner will receive an extra $5,000 on top of their $10,000 category win, and a $5,000 educational package. IRT, Windsor Park Stud, Waikato Stud and Breckon Farms are also valued supporters of the awards and the awards function, which will be held in Auckland on Sunday, 28 July. Industry Excellence Awards finalists: Leadership Cameron Ring Sarah Clausen Hunter Durrant Equine Handling (Stud or Stable) Michaela Sobieska Faith Pollock Nathan Williamson Greyhound Excellence Mikayla Clark Katie Wyllie Corey Steele Dedication to Breeding Ryan Figgins Mallory Phillips Jamie Bartlett Dedication to Racing Jazz Leigh Emma Smith Sarah O'Reilly Administrative and Ancillary Services Jack Collings Jo Stevens Scott Buchanan Care and Welfare Chanelle Dickie Anna Baigent Erika Matterson Newcomer Matia Grace Shannon MacDonald Raquel Wilkes National Racing Woman of the Year Sam Mynott Caitlin O’Sullivan Portia Matthews Emma Smith Elizabeth Whelan

Finalists found for Industry Excellence Awards Press Release - Entain Australian & NZ 10 July 2024 The finalists for the inaugural Industry Excellence Awards powered by Entain, have been named after more than 100 high-quality entries were received for the awards that recognises the future leaders and rising stars of the New Zealand racing industry. There are 29 finalists across the nine award categories, and the judges found the selection process challenging, due to the depth and strength of candidates nominated. “We were hugely impressed by the calibre of the nominations, and it was a great reminder of the absolutely outstanding people we have involved in all areas of the racing industry in New Zealand,” Entain’s General Manager – New Zealand and member of the judging panel, Jessica Meech, said. “We’ve got a lot of thinking to do ahead of the awards evening to decide on the nine category winners and select the overall excellence winner.” The award categories are: Leadership, Equine Handling (Stud or Stable), Greyhound Excellence, Dedication to Breeding, Dedication to Racing, Administrative and Ancillary Services, Care and Welfare, Newcomer and National Racing Woman of the Year. The finalists and winner for the tenth category, the Entain Excellence Award, will be announced at the awards evening. Category winners will receive $10,000 with finalists in each category receiving $2,000. The overall winner will receive an extra $5,000 on top of their $10,000 category win, and a $5,000 educational package. IRT, Windsor Park Stud, Waikato Stud and Breckon Farms are also valued supporters of the awards and the awards function, which will be held in Auckland on Sunday, 28 July. Industry Excellence Awards finalists: Leadership Cameron Ring Sarah Clausen Hunter Durrant Equine Handling (Stud or Stable) Michaela Sobieska Faith Pollock Nathan Williamson Greyhound Excellence Mikayla Clark Katie Wyllie Corey Steele Dedication to Breeding Ryan Figgins Mallory Phillips Jamie Bartlett Dedication to Racing Jazz Leigh Emma Smith Sarah O'Reilly Administrative and Ancillary Services Jack Collings Jo Stevens Scott Buchanan Care and Welfare Chanelle Dickie Anna Baigent Erika Matterson Newcomer Matia Grace Shannon MacDonald Raquel Wilkes National Racing Woman of the Year Sam Mynott Caitlin O’Sullivan Portia Matthews Emma Smith Elizabeth Whelan

How many would they have liked to have trialled 2 weeks earlier?

BTW 36 two year olds (rising 3yrs) went round at the Hawkesbury trials in NSW on Monday.

Are you serious? How long have you been in the game? Offical trials are as close to a real race experience as you can get. Jumpouts at most tracks fall short of that. Yes marginally at some but not at most. Trials also provide useful information for punters who at the end of the day we want to fund the game. We fall well short of the latter at this stage of the new Entain funding regime. Not correct. If you are aiming for your favourite race meeting the Karaka Millions you need race form by November. The last winner was trialling in October. Others in the race were trialling in August. The previous years winner was trialling in September. All on Turf on might add. But it is the older horses that you want up and trialling early particularly the 3yr olds if you are aiming for those early black type races. Some of those 3yr olds haven't had the experience of big 2yr old campaigns so early education is important. Yes I agree 2yr old races will struggle in July on wet tracks. But 2yr old trials won't. Lets see how many go round at Avondale next week (trials cancelled on the Synthetic and transferred to the turf). Bear in mind they are rising 3 yr olds getting ready for early spring campaigns. Really? "Probably"! Then why take two very good race days off them next season?

Or the 1200m shute. Both would skew the final figure.

Up for grabs a $10 Win, Place or Each Way bet of your choice on a horse race of your choice in NZ or OZ. Or a 1kg bag of Premium Roasted Coffee Beans couriered to you. Both prizes kindly donated by a new BOAY sponsor. To win pick the following: Avondale Jockey Club have a trial day on 16 July and the Auckland Racing Club have a race meeting on 17 July at Pukekohe. 1. Which day/club will have the most horses officially running around (doesn't include clerk of the course)? 2. How many horses at each meeting? Whoever chooses the right day will be the winner. In the likely event more than one person chooses the right day: The closest will be assessed on the average of the % correctness for the winning day. In the likely event there is a tie then the winner will be will be assessed on the average of the % correctness for both days. Hint: Avondale will have less than 181 horses running around. Entries close before the earliest nomination time. In the event of an abandonment during a meeting the number of horses will be those that started in the day.

They're trying to average the penetrometer readings.

Nor could I. But why wouldn't you want to hammer Pukekohe again in the winter!!

The Official Racing Calendar has an Avondale Jockey Club meeting scheduled for Wednesday 17 July 2024. It has been changed to an Auckland Racing Club meeting at Pukekohe. Mmmm Avondale now have a trial meeting on Tuesday the 16th July 2024. I wonder which day will have more horses running around? Which will have more spectators?

I wonder how many nominations they got.

Yes. But it doesn't take a Rocket Surgeon to work out how many trials are needed when you count the number of horses in work at Cambridge and Matamata alone without counting the rest. Only take an hour of phone calls once a week to work the numbers out. But I guess they have a high tech solution available for low tech people to use.