Chief Stipe

That can't be based on wins. Probably due to Dundeel. He had a big year that year.

No I was quoting what other negative types have said. They call them duds but they're good enough to win a third of Te Akau's stakes against the best the South Island has to offer.

Are you serious? So you can average the readings and be statistically accurate. Using an extreme example a track might have lateral drains evenly spaced. If you took each reading above each drain then you wouldn't be getting a fair representation of the moisture content. Done correctly you should also get a measure of variance. But does he provide the actual readings. I've heard anecdotally that there is often a variance between what was measured and what was published. That can often be seen when comparing actual horse performance to the readings. Not to mention the disparity between the shute and the rest of the track. Trentham is even worse. How long have Trenthams been hand timed for now? As for the Stewards they don't check the readings vs the condition of the track just prior to racing. Often the actual rating has changed. Then the Stewards will only change one point at a time. In my opinion until the standardise the measurement and then enforce quality checks track ratings in NZ should be ignored. Not to mention of course that on the new Ellerslie you can't use a penetrometer and the artificial surface is always a Soft 5.

Esha has got in now with a scratching and it is handy too. Drawn nicely at 4.

Looking at the current Premiership - geez does Stephen Gray's dirt track experience show how it should be done on the Awapuni Synthetic. A strike rate of 2.5!!

LOL you should have asked for the detail! 86 wins in 2008 105 win in 2011 86 wins in 2013 pipped Lisa Latta by 2.

86 wins in 2008 105 win in 2011 86 wins in 2013 pipped Lisa Latta by 2.

I think it was 2008, 2011 and 2013.

Wasn't one 2011? Or thereabouts.

Good Luck La Dorada in the Grp 1 Moir Stakes at The Valley this weekend. La Dorada is owned by a numerically very large syndicate. It wasn't supposed to be that large but one member who shall remain anonymous (Ted) roped in a swag of others in on one share. We had the good fortune to meet most of them the Karaka Millions night. You couldn't miss them both at the pre-match, in the queue to get in (yes people were queuing) and at the after party. They were all wearing tangerine ties, scarfs and La Dorada caps and were having a huge amount of fun. For some it was their first horse. Members live all over the country. One of the team, Bernie a good friend of a good friend sadly passed away this week. A gentleman and real enthusisast who had a ball with La Dorada. His enthusiasm was infectious and I understand he convinced a few more newbies to buy some shares this year. I hope the filly brings it home for you Bernie! https://bitofayarn.com https://bitofayarn.com

As for the myth that Te Akau only send their crap horses down to the South Island i would have thought @nomates would have more brains than that or at least done his homework. The Te Akau strike rate in the South Island is slightly better than the North Island. Why wouldn't you try and maximise the return to owners? Another advantage is you aren't competing against your own stable as much and as far as I know the stakes are much the same. Next they'll be moaning about North Island owners robbing South Island owners of their stakes! Which is another nonsense as many many South Islanders have shares in horses trained primarily in the North Island. There is absolutely nothing to stop a South Island stable setting up a North Island based one. The other contradiction from the moaners is that Te Akau having a permanent stable in the South Island has created more competition supposedly with dud horses. Go figure!! At the end of the day Racing is a Sport and is about winning. The South Island could gain from the likes of Marsh and O'Sullivan setting up down there. It would lift the quality of the racing.

Yeah well I understand @Pitman is stirring this up with personal messages behind the scenes. I have no idea why it matters so much to him. I wouldn't be surprised if Pitty is actually writing the posts for the @Comic Dog . It's been done before and is obvious when s post is longer than the average single sentence. Pittys Puppet.

Yeah but the dumb arse forgets that @Pitman has won a National Premiership based in the South Island. Maybe his desperate sycophants could quietly point that out.

Really @Comic Dog are you that desperate for clicks? I'm not!! Just more crap from New Zealand's Anti-racing Forum.

If thw @Comic Dog and @nomates want to go back 3 years and turn down $18.4k maidens then go for it. Guys dont forget where you have come from.

Just for @Comic Dog @Thomass has never been banned. He is free to post here but obviously has been given the flick from NZ'S Premier Anti-Racing Forum. Flip flop green pond.

Simple explanation. The moisture meter is not calibrated correctly nor I imagine do the staff have the time nor the training to take the correct number of randomised measurements across the racecourse. I doubt that a penetrometer was correctly used either. This issue isn't the sole domain of Ruakaka but has been the case at nearly all tracks across New Zealand. Trentham and Riccarton being two of the worst. We have debated this issue at length on BOAY. As well as the reluctance of the Stipes to adjust the rating more than one point at a time.

That's the village of Flaxmere. Land nearby without housing is all developed in Horticulture.

Looking at Google Maps I can't work out where in Flaxmere a Greenfields site would go. I realise the wine industry has a glut but it would involve a few hectares of vines being pulled out.

Ya reckon? It is clear that Stakes have increased after decades of decline in real or whatever terms you want to use. I thought you said a pedantic discussion wasn't worth having? But overall there are more stakes being distributed year on year. As for predicting the future well whether it is "likely" or not is just an opinion. A negative one at that.

Now aside from the obvious negativity which we have to come to expect from the Anti-racing mob there are some valid points. I agree with the description of the state of the current course and facilities but to suggest that the industry should abandon racing in the HB is ludicrous. If you take that intent to its full extent then close Waipukurau and Woodville as well. Using the same logic you'd abandon Trentham tomorrow before wasting anymore money on it. At least the HB has a resident horse population and is closer to the Waikato population than either Trentham or New Plymouth.

I saw this post on the pond and thought it was worth plagiarising. The problems Hawkes Bay racing faces only start with the camber of the track...which has been an issue for many years. The infrastructure, especially the main grandstand, would get a big 'fail ' in a H&S survey. A rabbit warren inside, dry old furniture and fittings, its an absolute fire hazard. To even contemplate any renovations involves $millions and the money just aint there..or the motivation. Will more people come just because their buildings look different? For many years the club owned a piece of land opposite the tie-ups, horses would be unloaded on it and walked across a busy road to the tie ups. Absolute nightmare and the club has now sold it and is using another part of the inside of the course..why they didnt do that years ago nobody knows. I've been going there for many years, the 'Spring ' carnival used to be a delight and I won a number of races with horses I bred and owned or part owned. But the last few years of that 'carnival ' were an embarrassment, most of the crowd under 30 only went there to get pissed. I'm not going to go into detail but some people on their committee are way out of their depth. Hence the situation they find themselves in. Time to face reality and stop the financial ' bleeding '. As in other places in NZ racing in Hawkes Bay is over. Dreams of a 'Greenfield ' new track etc are just that, dreams. Who do they think will relocate to that area? Costs $thousands to race anywhere apart from Hastings now with the cost of horse transport,especially to the 'new' racing metropolis of Ellerslie. Time for the industry to get real, sell Hastings and stop the dreaming.

"Of about" - what does that mean? Surprised you didn't use a tilde. Now you're backtracking because your original statement was wrong. You're also predicting inflation for the next three years. Why have you fallen down this negative dark rabbit hole? Spending too much time on the dark pond side?

One of the possibilities was that they wouldn't restore the existing track if the cost was too much i.e. not worth throwing money at it in the short term. I have no problem with them taking their time and looking at all the options available rather than rushing headlong into wasting money. It's called planning. A shame that the industry hasn't done more of it.