Chief Stipe

I don't see a problem and have some empathy for Woodham wanting to see his horse race and be off-duty. He obviously has a passion for Harness Racing and has a significant investment in ownership. I've spoken to him on a couple of occasions when things got a bit over the top on the various racing forums. He was an agreeable chap to talk to surprisingly so given the grief he was getting. With regard to his competence as CEO he has a hard row to hoe regardless of his skill. The Harness and Greyhound codes have been dicked over by the machinations of McKenzie and TAB NZ with a supporting role played by NZTR management. The outcomes of those decisions made outside of Woodhams control (probably without his knowledge) are now being felt. Add to that the internecine warfare going on between various groups in the industry plus an out of control RIB behemoth and well having a day off incognito at the races is likely welcome relief for the CEO.

Not many that were there other than @Robalan Let's face it the general public is not allowed in the stabling area anymore and if they were it is doubtful any would know who Woodham is or care. Aren't there bigger issues?

Perhaps he didn't want to be mistaken for a suited Stipe Steward?

Apparently not if a punter determines a driver didn't take the right option.

Agree.

Isn't putting a hole in a Murphy Blind a bit Irish?

@Brodie have you been following Lizzie? Did you get on at 14's? Won today at Ashburton.

@Brodie have you been following Lizzie? Did you get on at 14's? Won today at Ashburton.

Enlighten us all. You appear to be a trainer and have extensive knowledge of Murphy Blinds. Put us all right. The facts that I've presented so far are: 1. A Murphy Blind is used to restrict the vision of a horse to force a change in behaviour. Namely to get it to keep its head straight. 2. A Murphy Blind is only used on one side. For obvious reasons you wouldn't want to completely blind your horse. 3. The blind may or may not have a hole in the centre of the blind. The hole gives limited vision in a restricted direction 4. If there is a hole in the blind it can be of varying dimensions. Anything you would like to add? A horse not keeping its head straight may be a behavioural issue and or related to pain or injury. The behavioural issue can arise from poor breaking in and or training. In my opinion head gear is a quick fix that often doesn't work forever and often has unintended consequences.

The holes are not all the same size apparently.

What size hole?

The inference that the Telfers are using it and it was the cause of the 3 deaths. That's bollocks. Are you suggesting it is a PED in widespread use?

Really? So you don't agree that poor early education or non-detection of underlying physiological issues can manifest later on the race track as issues requiring the application of corrective gear? Please explain how that is clueless?

He didn't actually. He used smoke, mirrors and a financial slight of hand to shift expenses off the balance sheet and onto the codes. He had an opportunity to restructure the contracts of the big expenditure items when the TAB was insolvent. He got a bail out instead from the Government and then bailed out himself. Like a lot of NZ Racing administrators they look after themselves first.

When it comes to Awapuni racing, the answer lies in the soil i.stuff.co.nz Peter Lampp is a sports commentator and former sports editor based in Palmerston North. OPINION: So now we know why the Awapuni racecourse has been controversially shut down by NZ Thoroughbred Racing after the track was deemed unsafe. One of New Zealand's top three training-racing centres, it's only open for training. A review has put it down to years of neglect and band-aiding in which the track soil has been allowed to be severely compacted instead of being aerated and cored and the irrigation system was inadequate. It took only four days after the meeting on December 10 was abandoned following race one to discover the problem, one that will inflict financially on the Race group and its six constituent racing clubs. READ MORE: * Multi-million-dollar funding confirmed for Awapuni racecourse * Synthetic racing tracks would cushion horses and the racing industry * Record rainfalls unlikely to stop Saturday racing at Riccarton and Trentham There should have been no excuse with the NZ Sports Turf Institute on Awapuni's doorstep at the back of Massey University. Its experienced agronomist, Brendan Hannan, was at home watching the December 10 race and after the abandonment he was at Awapuni within the hour. A horse slipped at the 50-metre crossing to the new synthetic track at the 1300-metre mark. The horses had to stride from the main grass track onto the wax-sand fabric of the synthetic chute and then back onto grass. Soil samples taken there below 20 to 25mm were found to be visibly drier than in the top 25mm. The combination of a thin wetter layer at the surface after watering or rain, which couldn't drain away, brought the risk of slipping. Moisture meter readings taken from where the horse slipped showed it was 26% drier than other parts of the track and as high as 37.3% elsewhere. Throw in the unwieldy, tired and inconsistent irrigation system, in fact four systems now a new one services the synthetic track, which has been watering four soil profiles on the course. And yet the track manager at Race's other venue at Trentham can press a button at home to turn on the one irrigation system, which is what Awapuni has planned. While there's a clamour for heads to roll, the first priority is to prevent jockeys and horses rolling. Race chief executive Tim Savell has been in the hot seat for little more than a year. He came out of speedway where meets are cancelled after a few drops of rain, but didn't expect it in racing. The buck stops with the chief executive of course, but he must rely on the turf crew and there is much blurring, publicly anyway, about who is responsible. Decades back, the old caretakers spent a lifetime working on the country's tracks and had innate experience, whereas now a lot of new staff have come in to the industry. NZ Thoroughbred Racing's Darin Balcombe, a former Awapuni general manager and Te Kawau and Whanganui rugby player, confirmed Awapuni had been put on notice after the showery November 11 meeting was abandoned after two races because of ''shifty'' underfoot conditions. And yet there was a repeat in December and the course had been closed since. Savell said of all the courses in New Zealand needing care and attention, Awapuni would've been top of the list. The lucrative Boxing Day races went to Ōtaki, but at a cost because it's not a Race venue. Nor is the closest, at Woodville, whereby the way they don't irrigate. Two other Race meetings have since gone to Trentham. Intensive work was finished on the Awapuni troublespots this week, coring and verti-draining, and while the February meeting is unlikely, the good news is that the big Sires Produce Stakes meeting on April 1 might go ahead at Awapuni. A set of trials will have to be raced there before that. From May 7 through to October 12 there will be nine race days on the synthetic track. The entire main grass course was to be renovated from this month, but because contractors are unavailable, that won't now start until October and might take a year, impacting heavily on meetings. Race has listed alternative venues for 15 meetings with the 2024 Boxing Day bonanza potentially to be run at New Plymouth. NZTR withholds paying meeting fees to clubs that fail to provide a safe racing surface as it did to Awapuni in December. Awapuni has history, meetings abandoned in 2009, 2011 and December 2016 after a week in which 39mm of rain fell with lush wet grass on top of a dry base. Same story. The 600-metre turn at Manawatū has given Manawatū problems for at least six years and jockeys said the horses were moving there in the December race. With health and safety paramount, the liability falls back on racing clubs and the jockeys call the day. As recently as December 30 the NZ Jockeys' Association wrote to Race saying ''the jockeys have no confidence in the Awapuni track''.

I assume that you are referring to the Murphy Blind. It is used to try and keep the horses head straight. I guess a more "horse welfare friendly" device than a boring pole with a pricker on it. I try to avoid backing horses with too much head gear. Purely based on observation but some trainers need to use head gear on their horses more than others. Which in my opinion is perhaps symptomatic of poor breaking in practices.

They haven't quite had a purchase good enough or have been unlucky with those that were close. Imperatriz being an example of the latter.

They haven't taken notice of anyone have they? Although those with the power and real skin in the game have just sat on their hands.

Absolute bollocks.

@JJ Flash is still in cookie bear land. Probably still believes McKenzie did a great job restructuring the TAB. Suggest you look at the video closely Flash. Do you see Poppies not staying up on the horse it was trailing? It came back in the bit when Williams changed direction. It wasn't going anywhere until he did that. Anyway @JJ Flash we all know what your agenda is and that is to promote the Thoroughbred industry at the expense of Harness.

Racing horses, going to forums and meetings seeking change. Running a forum to promote change. Pointing out the inconsistencies and BS from those managing the industry. Even pointed out that the diversion of pokie money to stakes and infrastructure was a double edged sword and would do no good for the industry.

Perception ISN'T reality. We now have situations where Drivers are pleading guilty to get a lesser penalty rather than defend themselves. That isn't particularly just. In Williams case his horse was struggling to keep up. He made a decision that got it back on the bit. Perhaps the punters should be educated about the vagaries of horse driving by more drivers defending their actions. There was no error of judgement on Williams part as he tried to get the best he could from his horse using his years of experience at the top level. What did he gain from not doing what some punters perceive as the best option? Absolutely nothing.

Really? A different world? Where were you? In the Wairarapa saving the industry?

Depends on the Movie. Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar 2 have been sold out frequently. What does that tell you?