Chief Stipe

Doesn't matter if they're not fast enough or break down under training pressure. I remember back to when I was working in a stable 40+ years ago the % that got to the races was about the same I.e. 1 in every 2. Nowadays with limited opportunities for slow horses I'm surprised the drop out rate isn't greater. Now that's where HRNZ might be able to make a difference in providing opportunities for slower horses enabling owners to get some wins and return.

Most of them are not fast enough and or don't stand up to a preparation.

They target it anyway. You are just bringing the industry down. Do you actually support it?

Training and racing a horse as an elite athlete will upset any woke person. FFS - they'll want to ban mouth bits soon!!!! As Tana Umaga once said to a Test Referee -

Like what for example?

Why is it "dodgy"? SAFE is coming after racing regardless.

But you have suggested that they are undetectable. They're not. Unless of course the testing lab is incompetent.

Are you really naive about the racing game? Do you know the attrition rate of horses out of the Gai Waterhouse stable for example? The harness horse is more durable but the top stables work their horses hard. If they don't they are not competitive.

Not true anymore @Gammalite. Anything and everything is detectable nowadays. For example I worked on a project that discovered in a very short space of time a unique identifier in Manuka Honey that had never been identified before. It took some more lab work to determine it's chemical structure but it was done. That chemical was subsequently called Leptosperin which is a derivative of the Latin name for the Manuka plant. I managed the project that helped isolate this chemical. Basically an unknown marker was found using Spectrophotometry and then further lab work was done to isolate the actual chemical. https://www.fera.co.uk/leptosperin-manuka-honey.html#:~:text=Leptosperin is a naturally occurring,Japanese researcher Kato in 2014.

I was being facetious however the explanation I gave is more plausible than yours. Not that either is particularly plausible. The top trainers do work their horses within an inch of too much. At the top level a 1 or 2% difference in performance can mean the difference between winning and being an also ran. Been like that forever. More evident in the Thoroughbred industry where the attrition rate is very high. Correct. There is no scientific/testing reason why PED's can't be picked up. But in NZ the Racing testing lab is only marginally more advanced than the one in the USA. That said if there was a hint or suspicion that a stable was using an unknown PED then there are ample labs in NZ or overseas that could identify a substance that was not "normal". Of course then the question is if that substance was a PED. Correct. Where are the positives? The charges and sentences were focused on fraud. But you didn't suggest that did you? You inferred that there was illegal activity happening. You never do. YOU just infer it. But there is never any evidence! Of course we then come back to your conspiracy bullshit that they must be using something that is undetectable.

Bullshit.

Who put the administrators where they are?

Trained too hard?

Wouldn't an additional $25m equate to an increase of $600m in turnover? Who are they going to take that from?

Horse racing: Queen Elizabeth II's abiding sporting passion Despite not having the budget of some of the giants of the sport such as Irish breeding powerhouse Coolmore Stud or the Maktoum family of Dubai, the British monarch celebrated more than 1,800 winners. In October 2021, she was recognised for her decades-long contribution to the sport by being inducted into the British Champions Series Hall of Fame, the first person to gain membership as a "special contributor". The queen's first victory on the turf was with Monaveen over jumps at Fontwell Park in 1949 and she was twice champion flat owner, in 1954 and 1957. She bred and owned the winner of every British Classic apart from the world-renowned Epsom Derby, triumphing in the 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas, the Oaks and the Saint Leger. #photo1 In a 1974 BBC documentary, the queen, who also rode horses for pleasure throughout her life as well as in ceremonial events, summed up her "simple" racing philosophy. "I enjoy breeding a horse that is faster than other people's," she said. "To me, that is a gamble from a long way back. I enjoy going racing but I suppose, basically, I love horses, and the thoroughbred epitomises a really good horse to me.” The late British monarch, whose mother was also an avid racing fan, came close to winning the Derby in 1953, the year of her coronation, when her horse, Aureole, was beaten by Pinza into second place. The notoriously highly strung Aureole compensated the following year by winning the race named after the queen's parents, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. True to form, the racehorse sweated up and dumped his jockey on the turf prior to the start but went on to win. "Tremendously exciting. Wasn't it a wonderful performance?" the queen was overheard saying on leaving the winners' enclosure. #photo2 Her unbridled joy was such that she had a crate of champagne sent to the thirsty reporters in the press room. Another of her horses, Carlton House, was beaten by less than a length into third in the 2011 Derby. But while victory in the race remained tantalisingly out of reach, she triumphed at the Epsom Oaks -- a race for three-year-old fillies -- in 1957 with Carrozza and again 20 years later with Dunfermline in the year of her Silver Jubilee. Royal Ascot was a staple event in the queen's busy social calendar, though she was unable to attend this year. Racegoers and TV viewers witnessed her delight at the event in 2013 when her colours -- purple and scarlet jacket with gold braid and a black cap -- were carried to victory by her horse, Estimate, in the Gold Cup. "It was so lovely -- she said the grandchildren were behind her in the royal box and they were all shouting and screaming and she said, 'I couldn't hear what was happening'," Kerry Jones, assistant to Estimate's trainer Michael Stoute, told the Toronto Sun newspaper. #photo3 "That's when we realised how much she's passionate about her own horses," she said. "It was fascinating." Camilla, the wife of her eldest son, now King Charles, told ITV Racing in June 2021 that the sport was the queen's "passion in life". "She could tell you every horse she's bred and owned from the very beginning -- she doesn't forget anything. I can hardly remember what I bred a year ago but she's encyclopaedic about her knowledge." The queen's racing manager, John Warren, said winning trophies was not her main concern. "She is not in for the thrill of owning or winning," he told the Evening Standard. #photo4 "Competitive is a word I just never associate with the queen. She has never said to me, 'I want to win the Derby.' "Her majesty once told me: 'My gamble is the breeding'." © 2022 AFP

Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth the Second.

Assuming you are talking about Flemington? Victoria Racing has invested in the fundamentals of their core business ans are reaping the rewards. Can you honestly compare the Flemington track and facilities for horses with ANY track in New Zealand? The Flemington track is on a constant cycle of yearly maintenance longer cycles of renovation. The horses come first.

Doesn't matter how many turn up at the racecourse. Stuff all revenue and margin from oncourse hospitality. If the track is stuffed, the fields poor and a umcompetively priced punting product then the revenue that counts will continue to decline.

We are well past that stage now. Back to basics and get horses running on good tracks and increase revenue. No point building flash limited purpose edifices to be used a few times a year when the core business is going West (in more ways than one).

The point I was making was about other racecourses being put under pressure to rebuild facilities or close. They aren't needed to put on the show. As for Riccarton the Board and CEO have been asleep for the last 40 years. Aided and abetted by compliant stakeholders. The countdown to the Guineas going North has begun.

GRAND-stands are not required for a course to survive. It is a BS requirement from NZTR. The key are tracks. Remember NZTR and Harness used to have Marque's they shipped around? Regardless a good track, good facilities for the stakeholders who put on the show (the horses, the owners, trainers, stable staff and jockies) and the revenue comes (flows) from a good betting product.

I hear the comic dog has put Tasman Man on moderation.

Would you want to be tried twice? The second time by an industry judicial system that has lower standards and evidence thresholds? Not to mention the ongoing cost to the defendants and the industry.

Why call out Te Akau? They provide more information than any trainer. Who is the NZ exemplar? Dummy Myers? He says nothing before or after a race. Tony Pike? Less than Te Akau. Same as Steven Marsh The Pitmans? They're only slightly better than Myers. This is all you get from Chris Waller - https://cwallerracing.com/upcoming-runners/ Unless of course you are an owner paying the bills.

I'm surprised more people haven't commented on this financial result. The TAB doesn't have any reserves left nor do the codes. I would have thought given the fact they were essentially insolvent before the Government bailout that they're not in a position to borrow to fund budget shortfalls. Certainly neither NZTR nor the RIB have the capacity to borrow. Unless NZTR puts up the promise of a racecourse confiscation as collateral.