Chief Stipe

So about 1:58 for the mile?

I have no problem with their involvement at all. My understanding of the blood spinning science is that it is therapeutic as opposed to being a performance enhancer. The theory is that the platelet rich plasma (PRP) is separated from the red blood cells and then is injected into tendons, ligaments and joints (which generally have poor direct blood supply) to enable quicker repair from wear and tear or injury. The PRP has growth factors in it that are found naturally in the body and are what stimulates repairs. As @Gammalite will attest when training race horses at a high level a lot of stress goes on the joints such as the fetlocks, the knees and the hocks as well as the connecting ligaments and tendons. These parts experience a lot of wear and tear. So the injections reduce inflammation and aid repair and recovery. They don't make the horse go faster other than the horse heals and can maintain longer periods of training and high level racing. There are different substances that are available now that can be injected that do the same thing as blood spinning. Some would argue that the newer technology is better at getting results. For example a common one is Arthramid Vet (tradename) which has the active ingredient Polyacrylamide Hydrogel (PAAG) and it is injected directly into the fetlock joint. It has less complications and long term negative affects than the traditionally used corticosteroids. The Arthramid injections cost around $500 a fetlock and last a year. https://arthramid.co.nz/arthramid-vet-2-5-paag/ Having had a knee injury through my sporting career I've always taken a keen interest in the research. So I don't find the technology alarming at all but fascinating science. They don't make a horse go faster (very few if any alleged PED's do) or have more stamina but they help reduce wear and tear and so a horse is less sore less often. A happy horse is a fast horse.

Yeah but when was your last winner?

Well we all know the Sharrock quote about the positive relationship between stakes and wagering is a nonsense. The point I'd like to make is that that KiwiB is a slot race and the stakes largely come from slot holders NOT the industry pot. So in terms of returns to the industry from wagering turnover it is greater from the KiwiB than it is from the NZ Cup even if the latter had a higher turnover.

Well one thing is for sure the return to the industry was a zillion times greater with the KiwiB than either the NZ Cup or the NZ Derby.

How many times do I need to keep telling you @the galah!!!!! Those trainers were done for drug adulteration and mislabeling and knowingly attempting to deceive authorities both federal and racing. That is essentially fraud!! They got wrapped up with a snake oil salesman who was relabeling readily available drugs and selling them as something special!! Some of those drugs are able to be used legitimately in horse racing in NZ as long as withholding periods are followed and records are kept. What also undone the NY guys is they kept false records. https://paulickreport.com/news/former-harness-trainer-banca-sentenced-to-30-months-in-federal-doping-case https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/harness-trainer-christopher-oakes-sentenced-3-years-federal-doping-case NOT ONE OF THOSE DRUGS DISCOVERED WERE NEW OR NOVEL!! That is they are commonly available. You don't understand testing science nor the compliance protocols required in NZ. As you said the alleged connections were widely known. Do you honestly think that NZ authorities are so dumb nor so isolated from an international jurisdicition that they weren't receiving ANY intel from overseas? Do you think that when what was being used was discovered that testing hasn't occurred specifically looking for those drugs? I guess you reckon the Emma Stewart stable is now on the act given that stables dominance? I'm sorry @Gammalite the cowboy days when you were heavily involved in training are long gone. The testing technology available today is light years ahead of your time. I've mentioned this story before but I was involved in the chemical fingerprinting of manuka honey. The objective was to discover all the active ingredients that gave it is therapeutic properties and to determine regional chemical variations that would help determine its origin. During that process two previously unknown chemicals were discovered - that is chemicals that never been isolated before. They were given new names Leptosperin and Lepteridine. The "Lepto" portion of their names being derived from the latin name for the manuka plant - Leptospermum scoparium. Those chemicals were first noticed as unidentifed spikes in a spectography analysis. So if you draw an analogy between blood and honey testing - the blood is the honey and the chemicals contained within are represented as spikes on a spectrogram. So race testing authorities is they had suspicisions could take a blood sample and perform a wide ranging spectography analysis and identify chemicals that wouldn't normally be in blood. However if there is some special previously unknown PED being used in NZ racing then it has evaded importation checks and testing checks. Yeah na - Occam's Razor - the All Stars dynamic changed when Natalie left and Mark reduced his level of involvement pure and simple.

NZ Cup 2024 stake $400,000 Turnover for NZ Cup $1.4 mil KiwiB 2025 stake $3,500,000 Turnover for The Kiwi $1.37mil

Normally when something like that happens a sale is in the offering. Have seen it often in gallops.

We are not missing anything. You're obsessed with your theory of PED use even though you have no evidence. A serious question have you ever worked in a harness stable? I have as has @Gammalite (I know @TAB For Ever has been very close to the best trainers in NZ). The point is both @Gammalite and I know that a very small change with a horse can make a huge difference in performance. Nat and Mark are like Torvill and Dean or Barker and Corbett. Torvill and Dean great skaters in their own right but together unbeatable. Barker and Corbett great individual comedians but didn't individually reach the heights as they did as a duo. I worked in a stable that did very well with very limited resources. In those days problem solving took time and often meant reaching out to Trainers friendly to the stable. The likes of Don Nyhan and Ted Lowe. I can only imagine the level of expertise that Mark and Nat had between them. While one is driving in training the other is watching. That's all Nat bought in her luggage. Not some secret potion that she snuck through customs. Your fantasy stems from INCA where Nat's recreational drug us was collateral damage of that very flawed investigation. BUT the fact is after years of investigation, after years of swabbing and years of stable visits NOTHING, ZIP, NADA. Not a smidgeon of anything. Why? Because there wasn't anything. Sure they tried novel treatments like blood spinning but most of the finger pointers don't know the science of that treatment. It is therapeutic not a PED. Just like the legal joint injections based on new science that are available now and are used on ALL elite equine athletes. They reduce inflammation, aid healing and generally make horses feel better and not sore. Horses that feel better run faster.

The Betcha is a Slot Race and as far as I know is not included in Trainers Stakes totals. So when you combine Stakes won and their UDR the current Purdon partnership is far off previous stats.

Even Harness at Rangiora might have issues: A track inspection will take place at Rangiora today (Friday) at 10am to determine if Sunday’s meeting will be held there, or at Addington. With the significant rain in Canterbury in the last 48 hours the condition of the track and the safety of participants and horses is the prime consideration. Due to the Otaki Racing Club's meeting on Sunday being cancelled, the race times for the Rangiora meeting will be changed. There will be updates as quickly as possible.

Uh? What service requirements would stop an extra couple of races?

That's all it takes at the top level.

Focus on the fine animal the horse. That's what differentiates the industry from every other entertainment option.

@Newmarket walking out to get his Uber meal in Beckenham, Christchurch.

At least @Freda was out of bed and on the phone calling someone. As opposed to you licking the ice off the window and playing on your phone.

Obviously didn't live under stripe on road!

Otaki transferred to Hawera I believe. Thinking about Otaki - if it was Roundup when did the damage show up?

Bugger. Seems we have a race of the sources!

I've always wondered if BOAY needed a gossip columnist. Are you available @mikeynz?

So not verti-draining? Why would a Track Manager spray roundup on the track? If your sources are correct then sounds like vandalism. Sorry to use that word @Scooby3051

Then you are wrong about one of them.

@Brodie it was the dream team when you look at Mark's and Nat's experience and achievements. Both natural horseman and from what I've learnt a big part of training horses is being tuned to the horse. Not only in training but also in a race. Hard to replicate what those two had. Mark and Nat had different styles of driving and full credit to them they recognised that and they selected the right horses to drive for their style.

I'm a bit worried about you @Newmarket - Are you safe? I guess they should have finished the rest of the meeting for you. But did you get your bets refunded? Christchurch has been placed under a state of emergency after torrential rain triggered widespread flooding. The announcement was made by Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell, who has travelled to Canterbury this afternoon to survey the damage.

Where are the pictures?