Chief Stipe

Rule Number(s): 638(3)(b)(ii)Following the running of Race 3 (Sir Slick The Peoples Champion 1600), Information A14427 was filed with the Judicial Committee. It was alleged that Ms Fawcett used her whip excessively prior to the 100m. Ms Fawcett said that she understood the Rule, charge and confirmed that she admitted the breach. ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

Rule Number(s): 636(1)(d)Following the running of Race 5 (J Swap Contractors Te Aroha Cup), Information A14428 was filed with the Judicial Committee. It was alleged that Mr Yuill failed to ride his mount out over the final 75m when there was a reasonable chance of finishing 4th (RISING RANSOM finished 6th). Mr Yuill said that ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

Perhaps they are counting on a positive result and then can laud the victory as part of the new organisation. Or the anticipate a negative result and can then assign it to the old regime.

What's the bet that NZTR will try and argue that they need a bigger slice of the pie over and above what direct revenue they earn because "we are the dominant code, have a higher cost structure and need to spend more on marketing"?

Once again you use an emotive subjective statement to support your assertion. What constitutes "loaded up with drugs"? Does the administration of a topical anti-inflammatory cream to a joint that has heat in it constitute "loading up with drug"? You honestly have no idea about training a racehorse. I've never ever said that in any post. Doesn't prevent mistakes from happening just because someone has a contract! You keep ignoring one of the key points that I make and that is where are the extensive guidelines on therapeutic treatments per ailment and practical thresholds above zero? That would be as pointless as getting you to write them although in my case I don't profess to be the expert like you do. The responsibility is that of the Chief Vet. What does he do? Other than pitch up at JCA hearings sounding equivocal. Perhaps they should be as it is a chronic problem for horses in training because of high energy feeds. If it is alright for you to take proton inhibitors and half an hour before you porridge in the morning why not for a horse? Again fake news as I've never said either of those things. No I don't put your concept of 'Social License' before the health and welfare of the elite equine athlete. You do.

LOL really? Good luck with that approach. I understand there are rumblings in the Central Districts as well with Levin and Foxton being notified that the chosen training hub is Otaki! Levin and Foxton will always be better race tracks than Otaki and for that matter the turf at Awapuni! Go figure! What's more Levin offers a very low cost model for local trainers - I can't see Otaki doing that. Levin has also invested in new stabling and other improvements WITHOUT any funding assistance from NZTR. I've said it many times before it is sheer lunacy to close down racetracks that provide services to the industry and minimal cost to the industry while moving to a higher operating cost model. The other prediction I made is that the AWT at Awapuni and other Awapuni costs will suck the CD dry just as Riccarton will the South Island. Meanwhile OZ is pumping investment into its provinces and adjusting their racing calendars to provide pathways for provincial horses to progress to metropolitan class while maintaining country and provincial racing.

Fair enough. May I ask was the non-amicable tone from Dargaville or NZTR or both?

Do you have some links to that process? I doubt that will free up much capital and I would have thought that Ruakaka would have some dibs on it.

More pressure will go on Clubs BUT the money isn't there and never was let alone whatever was there being accessible to transfer to NZTR. Of course that option isn't available to Harness or Dogs. The operational costs of the AWT's is starting to kick in now too PLUS the increase in the number of races that they facilitate at what I imagine is a lower yield than others.

Apologies for the changes in this Topic! I was trying to tidy things up and made it worse for a bit!

Well as the industry leaders sit around the table to carve up the revenue from TAB NZ what can we expect? The facts: (Bear in mind that under this regime we have had little transparency so some of the fine details can only be assumed! When was the last time we didn't get a full half yearly report?) The budget for the 20/21 year net profit is $131.7m. Assuming no budgeted top ups from reserves (there aren't any) you have to go back to the year 2011/12 to find an equivalent net profit! TEN years ago. Now we are told that they are up 35% on budget which projecting forward to the end of the year would give a net profit of $176m. That figure looks a bit suspect to me especially when you look at the individual month percentages over budget. Now you may well say YAHOO we are in the money! Wooh up neddy..... Don't forget that TAB NZ was at least $35m in the hole and struggling to pay their bills. That $35m is due to be repaid in full at the end of August. It was recently announced that the Board has approved the immediate repayment of $10m from profits. SO the $176m is down to $166m with still $25m to pay - again we are assuming that TAB NZ didn't borrow any more money. The Government bailout last year kept them solvent. There is still $25m to pay and there is no guarantee that the bank will allow that to roll over - I guess paying $10m would help negotiations. BUT prudent financial management would involve either ring fencing $20m OR paying the debt off. So the $166m now reduces to $141m with no reserves to top up. Of course most of that $141m is already spent - as the net profit is earned it is redistributed to the codes. To the end of May $123 has been distributed up 12% on budget. The total budget is $132m distributed to the codes. If the increase in distribution is maintained then the total distributed will be $137m (which is close to $141m isn't it?). $137m isn't much more than what was paid out a decade ago! But at least it doesn't involve dipping into reserves or borrowing more money or getting a handout from Government does it? BUT WAIT there's more....... Don't forget three very important unknowns that the Industry Administrators have to weigh up: Will the next financial year match this financial year in terms of revenue (net profit)? Can we expect an increase in profit in a highly competitive environment? TAB NZ has pushed off their balance sheet functions that the codes are now expected to fund (e.g. marketing) therefore inflating their profit BUT forcing the codes to make a decision between funding these functions or distributing more in stakes? In summary my conclusion is that there is NO extra money to increase ANY stakes.

Hypocrite. You promote blind folding scared horses so you can WIN on the PUNT!

You'd rather a horse after fastwork who was feeling discomfort to not be treated with an off the shelf anti-inflammatory? You haven't reinforced any points. There are many many legal therapeutics both chemical and non-chemical that have a preventative action. It is in the interests of equine health and welfare to use them. Yet you are happy to bang blindfolds on horses who are scared to actually race. So because a Vet has a contract they are not going to make any mistakes? As it is the industry isn't rife with "mistakes". No matter how much you state it you can't change the facts. But could the Industry and the Feds along with the Chief Vet Grierson do more to list recommended therapeutic medications, their dosage and withholding time - hell yes. Also they could do more about defining thresholds for therapeutic medications rather than having what can only be describe is a cop out lazy zero threshold policy. Even if you had what you want contracted Vets dispensing ALL medications these actions would have to be taken. Otherwise what recommendations does the contracted Vet work with? Of course in an industry with declining real returns to stakeholders you want to add considerable extra cost for no benefit. I've admitted no such thing. I find it incongruous that drugs we humans happily pop down our throats every morning on a regular basis are deemed to be illegal in a racehorse e.g. proton inhibitors like Losec, Omeprazole etc which treat stomach ulcers in horses. Or preventative measures like Lasix to limit the inevitable EIPH. You are a hypocrite when you actively promote the blind folding of horses (blinkers) to make them GO FAST! Hell you even call them GO FAST's! That's an extreme exaggeration. Yes Lasix used in high doses is a diuretic but the level is much less likely when the drug is used as a preventative measure. What would you rather see? A horse drown in its own blood which you could have prevented or a horse urinating a bit more and having to drink a bit more? Do you really believe Winx was "thrashed in hard work"? That just indicates you ignorance of Equine health and welfare. Do you really think that if she had been "thrashed" constantly in hard work that she would have won as many races or raced at the very top of the elite level for so many seasons? As I've said before YOU don't actually care about horse welfare or racing. You constantly want to bring it down albeit from a position of being ill informed and ignorant.

Well at least Turnwald hired a decent lawyer. I fail to see how the RIU can change their mind and seek a higher penalty than what they originally asked for.

With all due respect to Blair Orange some of his behaviour hasn't exactly indicated he has the skill to be a successful trainer. I guess that's why he sticks to what he is good at - driving. If, as you always infer without proof, the elite trainers are cheating then it would appear they are far brighter than the RIU and with far less resources. Get over it - some trainers are miles better than others. In NZ we probably only have one or two Thoroughbred stables that could barely hold their own in OZ yet they are miles ahead of anyone else in NZ. You'd call them out as cheats as well using your criteria.

I didn't say instantly. I said anomalies would be found easily. Are they convicted yet? What substance were they banned for using? Have they been convicted yet? What substance are they alleged to have used? Have any of the alleged drugs been detected in testing? If the drugs have identified then testing should have identified their use. Are you inferring that there is a substance being used and it is being used in OZ and NZ?

Any news on the outcome of the sentencing appeal?

But WHAT "red cell enhancers" are you referring to? EPO? If so human or other mammal EPO? Human EPO is easily detectable with modern methods. I've read the Paulick Report as well and get the impression they are searching for something that isn't there. Of course complicating things with horses is the role of the spleen. At high performance when entering oxygen debt the equine spleen releases a substantial amount of fresh oxygenated blood into the bloodstream. This is a naturally evolved flight response and I believe isn't fully understood. It is probably the source if EIPH as well. The point is when you add up the cost vs return and the number of people that would need to cooperate (I.e. keep quiet), the skill involved in administration and to evade detection plus modern forensic tools it makes it highly unlikely that there is some magical undetectable PED out there. Modern testing techniques would instantly find an anomaly that needed further investigation. Also there are techniques that can find picograms per ml I.e. very very minute amounts of a substance. At the end of the day I'm backing the simplest explanation and that is the top trainers in both codes are just so much better than anyone else.

The crap science being spouted day in day out in the media is driving me insane. I read today that over 60 million children didn't receive their Polio vaccinations last year due to Covid-19. Polio being a disease that they ARE vulnerable to AND for which there is a proven vaccine!

Where have I advocated continual use of NSAID's? If you want a completely closed system like Hong Kong then go to there. I know which environment I'd rather see my horses trained in - OZ and NZ. WINX and Verry Elleegant look very happy horses to me. Thomarse you are a fraud. You have no compassion for the Equine athlete and want the industry closed down.

What you want NZTR to train them as well?

Fear inspired group think.

Rule Number(s): 869(2)RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION Informant: Mr N Ydgren – Chief Stipendiary Steward Respondent: Mr T Chimel – Open Driver Information Number: A12680 ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

In my opinion many over do it. Incentivise's racing style without the blinkers reminds me of Verry Elleegant. They look around, hold their head high (high for stayers!), often look awkward but they like to eyeball their opponents. Some trainers would try to fight the individual style and put blinkers on.

Don't you see the hypocrisy and contradiction in what you are posting? You are saying don't administer therapeutic treatments to treat pain i.e. leave a horse in pain. It is becoming more and more obvious that you are part of the Anti-Racing movement and have no compassion for a racehorse at all.