Chief Stipe

But what has INCA actually achieved? Other than cost millions which could have been spent better spent elsewhere. The best you can come up with is it was some form of marketing exercise signalling to all those supposedly cheating that the RIU is doing something. All it did do is show that they are expensively incompetent. They have to score any direct goals! You could spin a positive by saying "well the fact that after having spent millions they found nothing is a good indicator there was nothing to find!" Yes I put a large part of the blame on him and his ilk who have been paid risk free salaries for years and have done NOTHING but drive the industry into the ground. To the point where it is hard for any but a handful of harness trainers to make a professional living from racing. I also expect more positive action from administrators than simply saying glib marketing spin. Is it any wonder the industry is in free fall? A lot of the recent fall out that we are seeing is symptomatic of the fundamental issues NOT the cause.

That's head in the sand though and under the new model where more costs have been devolved to the codes the day of reckoning might be only a season away.

I realise Basil you are in the baying for blood carrion eating vulture mob BUT shouldn't there be systems in place to protect owners AND trainers? What has that to do with victim-blaming? I guess you adhere to the Jacinda Arden model of kindness - let's slam the front-line MIQ worker that didn't get tested for 6 months and call for his blood to hide the fact that the systems in place failed. Isn't it the role of HRNZ to have systems in place? Sure if you try hard enough I guess any system can be rorted particularly it is a shyte system but that is NO excuse to have NO system in place. How hard would it be to have an ownership system where an owner can check centrally who owns how much of the horse they have invested in? How hard would it be to register on file centrally a copy of the insurance policy and premium payments made? You have register centrally all the interests in a $5,000 motor car but you don't have to do that for a $50,000 standardbred yearling? Come on Basil! Other jurisdictions have had the same issues as the Kerr case highlights and are doing something to address them. Why the hell can't our own HRNZ do the same? Or at least go on the front foot and say that they are instituting administrative changes to make these things harder to do. The fact is everyone bangs on about it being a professional sport but it sure is run by a bunch of amateurs. So Basil once you get over your blood lust why don't you direct your energy to bringing about some positive change?

I haven't done an analysis of the data but there seems to be a consistent trend emerging. Are the race meetings starting to have less races and smaller fields?

Which as you know have gone on for years. Where is the protection for the Owners? Come on Woodham - make a positive statement to the press that HRNZ is putting systems in place to stop the over selling of syndicates and the selling of non-existent insurance policies!!! For example does HRNZ still pay the Stakes won to the Syndicate Manager? Why not pay it directly to each of the owners in the syndicate? They can split it for Trainers and Drivers how hard is it to go a step further? WTF does HRNZ do for the $6m a year they spend? Note that that $6m will increase this year due to the devolving of functions from NZRB/RITA/TAB-NZ. Also note that the published 5 year business plan ended in 2020. When is the next one coming?

Yet you say NOTHING, ZIP, NADA about HRNZ improving their systems and administration to prevent the fraud committed in the Kerr case. Most if not all of his crimes could have been protected if administration procedures had been put in place to PROTECT owners. Sometimes I wonder if you are an ex cop and focused on the kill and the score board. That's probably why INCA was an abject failure yet you class it as a positive because it caught people for things other than what it was investigating. What do we get from Woodham - nothing to close the loop holes and make positive changes to the administration of harness racing but a naive nothing statement saying "I expect all participants to act with integrity and honesty"! FFS easy for him to say while sitting in his over paid ivory tower doing SFA now and previously at the TAB. Meanwhile the average training can barely scrape a living from the game.

Rule Number(s): 638(3)(b)(ii)RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION Informant: Mr A Coles – Senior Stipendiary Steward Respondent: Mr M Hashizume – Apprentice Rider of TAVI WITH ME Information ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

There is another article where the Trainer says something similar.

The SAFE woman wouldn't have known anything about it! It took Sherwood and Van Beynen to tell her! Their agenda is clear. To the point it now looks more like a vendetta! Nothing to do with being clever.

Yep - 11 years old and 317 starts! Lucky Brodie is restricted as I'm sure it wouldn't have paid $33 if he wasn't!

Addeybb to wear blinkers in Queen Elizabeth Jockey Tom Marquand drives Addeybb to a decisive victory in the 2020 Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Photo: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts Ray Thomas3:55PM13 April 2021 14 Comments Addeybb will wear blinkers for the first time in an endeavour to find the extra edge he needs to win a second successive $4 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday. English jockey Tom Marquand conceded Addeybb was “a touch below par” when beaten by arch rival Verry Elleegant in the Ranvet Stakes which has prompted the gear change. “I couldn’t help but think he didn’t quite hit the last 100m like he normally does,’’ Marquand said. “So, we have whacked the blinkers on, that is something we haven’t had on before. He has had cheek pieces on the last three or four years so it won’t be a big shock to him. “He won’t grow a spectacular pair of wings and do something he has never done before but it might help him travel and put a bit of spark back into him.’’ Addeybb has a roll after trackwork. Photo: Mark Evans/Getty Images The Queen Elizabeth Stakes has been billed as a match race between Addeybb and Verry Elleegant for some weeks but the jockeys of Sir Dragonet and Mugatoo don’t see it that way. Glen Boss, the rider of Sir Dragonet, said the horse gone to another level since his dominant Tancred Stakes win. “Verry Elleegant is the main danger, she’s world class,’’ Boss said after riding Sir Dragonet in an impressive gallop at Royal Randwick’s Trackwork with the Stars on Tuesday morning. “But this is going to be a spectacular race – classic distance, one of the best tracks, three great riders on three good horses – hopefully we can make it a good spectacle for everyone.’’ Bowman rides Mugatoo who is coming off his close fourth in the Doncaster Mile last Saturday. “I might remind Glen there are eight in the race, not three,’’ Bowman said. “But it is a very good race, high quality, and Mutagoo deserves his place in the line-up. “He ran below expectations in the Doncaster, I won’t beat around the bush there, but if he can bounce off that and get back to the form he showed winning the All Star Mile a month ago he will make his presence felt. We know 2000m is his best distance.’’ James McDonald put Verry Elleegant through her paces at Rosehill trackwork before going back to Randwick for the big-race barrier draw. “She is in really good order and did a lovely piece of work (yesterday morning),’’ McDonald said. “I’m looking forward to the big clash.’’

I'm a bit confused about the donation bit..... Donation to who? I thought there might be a bit of skill involved and a chance to take the TAB on!

But where in the rules does it say that?

Quote ONE post I made that supported Kerr? Forbury people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Geez you are really excelling yourself tonight two posts on the same topic under two different accounts!

But that is part of the racing horse's. Is a horse any different to a dairy cow that has been milked for 8 years and is then sent to the works or put down the hole? Both in terms of the animal activists are deemed to have been "exploited" for profit. In my opinion the article is muck raking. Squeezing as much as they can out of the lemon. Why do trainers need to be "clever" in their disposal of livestock?

Geez Forbs you are on a roll tonight! Posting in the same hour on TWO different accounts! Have A Go at the Spitfire!

I haven't seen anyone on BOAY in support of Kerr. I have seen some display some compassion though. But that shouldn't be confused with support.

All processed Karrots. However I'm not sure why you are so concerned about your privacy but I guess living in Beverley Hills there are a lot of Paparazzi around. I maintain a very strong privacy policy here at BOAY. I'll be in.....not that I understand the rules you have set! Can you PM me those so I can add to the subscription details? We could set up a harness punters club and help Brodie get around his restrictions!

https://bitofayarn.com/subscriptions/5/

What I don't get about all those baying for blood and a public hanging don't seem to have any motivation to seek changes to the way the industry is managed. For example the over selling of horses in syndicates has been happening for years and I would guess there are still instances of it. Where are the checks and balances from HRNZ to stop this from happening? You could apply the same to horse insurance. If a horse is insured then a copy of the policy should be filed with HRNZ. Yep go for rubbing out the "cheats and low life's" (their labels not mine) but why not jump up and down and seek change in the way the game is managed to PREVENT rorts from happening. Are those that have taken decades of large salaries and perks while at the TAB or HRNZ dong what seems very little any less thieves?

That's easy to circumvent. Just employ and pay them through another non-racing enterprise.

Horse allegedly doped by harness racing trainer put down Sam Sherwood and Martin van Beynen12:57, Apr 14 2021 Facebook Twitter Redd Email SUPPLIED Jimmy Cannon had eight podium finishes in 36 starts. A horse allegedly doped by a harness racing trainer has been put down, in what an animal right’s group says is one of the “bitter realities behind the glamour of the horse racing industry”. The horse, Jimmy Cannon, was listed for several weeks as a hack on Harness Racing New Zealand’s (HRNZ) website, meaning it had been retired from racing. However, speculation was rife it had been shot. Those rumours appeared to have been confirmed on Wednesday when HRNZ’s website was updated to say the horse was dead. While the listing states the gelding died on Tuesday, the date of death is thought to be an administrative error. Jimmy Cannon, a five-year-old trotter with eight podium finishes in 36 starts, including three wins, was stood down from racing in February after it was allegedly injected with a substance by Canterbury trainer Jesse Alford. In the aftermath of the incident, Alford’s licence was suspended and the horse was transferred to the stables of trainer Cam Jones last month. ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Jesse Alford was suspended last month after Racing Integrity Unit investigators caught him administering a substance to two horses. (File photo) Numerous approaches to Jones for comment since then have gone unanswered. On March 31, HRNZ chief executive Gary Woodham said Jimmy Cannon’s owners had notified the organisation it had been retired. To the best of his knowledge, he said, the horse was still alive. The next day, in response to questions from Stuff, Woodham said he would be concerned if HRNZ had been misled about Jimmy Cannon’s status. “I expect all participants to act with integrity and honesty.” There’s no suggestion the horse’s death has compromised the investigation into Alford’s actions nor that its death was as a result of the alleged doping. However, it raises questions about animal welfare. HRNZ has committed itself to ensuring standardbred horses enjoy a good quality of life while in the racing industry, and on retirement. MORE FROM SAM SHERWOOD • SENIOR CRIME REPORTER sam.sherwood@stuff.co.nz "Prior to the retirement of horses from the harness industry, Harness Racing New Zealand encourages owners to consider all available retirement options, and if applicable to speak with their trainer about potential options, which will provide the retiring horse with continued good welfare for the rest of its natural life,” its website says. The organisation is behind a new initiative, Harness Education & Rehoming Opportunities (HERO), which promotes life after racing options for retired Standardbreds. On retirement from the industry, the owner is responsible for notifying Harness Racing New Zealand of what has happened to the horse on leaving the industry. Harness Racing New Zealand requires a greater understanding of what happens to horses when they leave the industry and is in the process of updating its procedures and New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing to improve the retirement process. MORE FROM MARTIN VAN BEYNEN • SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER martin.vanbeynen@stuff.co.nz Animal welfare advocacy group SAFE's Campaigns Manager, Jessica Chambers said Jimmy Cannon's death was “one of the bitter realities behind the glamour of the horse racing industry”. “When greed, money and gambling are involved, the welfare of the animals will always be compromised. The only way to ensure horses are protected from this kind of exploitation is an outright ban on horse racing.” Racing Integrity Unit investigators raided Alford's stables at Woodend Beach in February, finding syringes and other equipment used for tubing horses, an illegal process that allows a chemical solution to be administered to improve a horse's stamina. It is understood the young trainer was seen injecting a substance Jimmy Cannon and another horse Johnny Nevits. Johny Nevits was stood down, but has since been cleared to again. He is yet to appear before the Judicial Control Authority, the industry's disciplinary tribunal, on charges of administering a prohibited substance and attempting to administer a prohibited substance on race day.

What rule is that one?

Yes because HRNZ have no jurisdiction over that part of the industry. There is nothing stopping him from breeding and selling yearlings to make a living. The question that needs to be answered is where does a punishment begin and end? As I understand it he is still facing criminal charges. So he is likely to get punished again. What rankles me is the hypocrisy in the industry when some participants take an extreme position over and above what the rest of society takes.

Why should it be "wrong"? Do you honestly think that everyone who works on a private training property with horses should be licensed?