Chief Stipe

I expressed my opinion and haven't stopped you from expressing yours. I don't see any problems do you? I just pointed out your logic doesn't make sense.

They budgeted for less which they had to because there were no reserves left and a shyte load of debt that needed to be paid back! I guess in the end it will depend on how much is left over from the debt washup. In my opinion the industry would have been better off to bail out of TAB NZ and outsource. Then the daft contracts they signed and the debt could have been written off. Not exactly the honourable thing to do but big companies do it all the time.

What's your point? Blair was shunted down the list of drivers when Natalie turned up. Arguably there isn't much between them in driving skill but Natalie had a lot more skin in the All Stars operation than Blair. In more ways than one. With regard to the Jewels this Sunday you could argue that Blair has better drives than the All Stars third stringers. Which you would expect from a top free-lance driver.

You're wasting your time @nomates! @JJ Flash obviously can't read a balance sheet and relies on believing all the pimped up press releases from TAB NZ. TAB NZ have to renegotiate their loans and appease their insolvency manager (the DIA) before any more money can be distributed. That day of reckoning is 1 August however no doubt that will be deferred for some weeks as the "do the accounts"!

@JJ Flash no comment Flash? Or are you talking to your "sources"?

I thought for a moment you were describing all the codes. Do you have data to back up your claims and your inference that Harness is doing worse than the other 3 codes?

@JJ Flash we have discussed this before. Compare the 2021 budget figures vs last years actual. From their website half yearly - subtract 6 from 14 and you get 8 i.e. they budgeted for 8% LESS: Total turnover was $1,589 million, which was $89 million (6 percent) above last year and $190 million above budget (14 percent).

What @nomates said was: Doesn't matter who is doing what for TAB NZ to indicate to the codes how big the pot is!!!!!

You shouldn't listen to @JJ Flash and his sources. The devil is always in the detail and we are not getting much detail. Both TAB NZ and for that matter the codes administrators have closed shop in terms of transparency. Saundry did it the moment he started and now it looks like Woodham is doing the same which you would expect when you consider where he came from. Who knows what Hughes does. TAB NZ keep saying they are well ahead of budget but we don't know what that budget is except that it is below last years! August is a crunch month in terms of TAB NZ's solvency - that's when the $35m short term bank loan is up for renewal. They will be pouring money into an account to have a fallback if the banks give them the finger.

News today is it is open to light traffic. Are all the bridges out? Mayfield/Thompson's Track? Rakaia Gorge road?

Absolutely 100% correct Freda. From the information that was published TAB NZ did very well during 2020. Well as well as normal. PLUS they weren't shy in taking the Government assistance that was on offer on top of the $35m bailout they got. I notice they didn't have the gall to apply for the second tranche of assistance probably because they weren't eligible as they had done so well during the first lockdown.

Why? Australia doesn't seem to have a problem with Trainers not wishing to be interviewed why should we? We are becoming far too insular and precious. That aside who would want to talk to our presenters anyway when they ask cliche questions, don't know what they are talking about and meanwhile they are taking you away from your job which is looking after your horses?! Compare our presenters to the OZ on track ones - they can be irreverent, controversial, humouress but above all they know their stuff.

Half the time they don't even have presenters on track. They're sitting in the bunker at Te Rapa and finish about 1 minute after the last race.

In 20 years you haven't got close.

Yes but we only know that because Dummy kind of said it after the race. I've seen a few interviews pre-race where the trainer has said "He isn't as well forward as we would like and this race isn't his goal but he should be there or thereabouts". When the horse bolts in "well he surprised me with that effort"... A serious punter wouldn't place much store in what a trainer says unless you were Thomarse and the horse was wearing blinkers, was a 3yr old after Christmas and dropping back in class on a Wednesday.

Geez anyone would think he manufactured Blue Magic as well!

Why? Don't we have enough trainers rolling out cliche after cliche? There are heaps of trainers in OZ that refuse to comment.

Am I missing something @nomates are you referring to the incident that happened 20 years ago?

I've just read this post again and the others. Here was me thinking that this was ANOTHER Dummy Myers episode but more recent. NUP! Thomarse still banging on about something that happened years ago but using Osaka as a segue. FFS this happened two weeks ago BUT TWENTY YEARS AGO! Twenty years and you still can't let it go!

Have you actually seen the original docu/drama? It was really really good. The real Welsh people in it were superb. Plus seeing actually where the horse was kept especially during its recovery from injury was hilarious. LOL talk about coal dust environmental contamination!

So you are confirming what I posted here:

Do you really want me to quote the posts where you infer you have "inside info", are "in the know" or this beauty "I know the salary but can't say until it is public knowledge". I guess your latest admission that you don't know and basically make it up is closer to the truth.

Yes it will but it won't be as interesting as you infer however no doubt many will attempt to embellish the truth.

Why would it occur to them when they appear to have no long term strategy? Did they consider providing dedicated and safe jump training facilities during the recent disruption? They don't even bother to look after the track leading up to the steeples.

Here we go again. Gossip and innuendo. Let fiction spew forth.