Chief Stipe

Before they lay the Asphalt at Riccarton or Awapuni they should consider creating a Plan B. Design the foundations to fit in with changing to a Strathayr turf track of the Polyfill is a fail. All you would need is a liner between the gravel hard and the Polyfill. LOL I always was a bob each way punter!

I use the Blackbook facility on TAB NZ to keep track of horses that I have an interest in or that catch my eye. I get an email notification when one of my blackbookers are lining up. Which is all good but.... Why the F#%K do I get a notification when they are SCRATCHED saying "Some of your Favourites are Racing today"? Not late scratched but scratched before the email is sent! I get all excited and rush in to check the odds and....deflation. It's a bit like being on a promise and just before racetime she gets a headache! Please fix this TAB NZ! If you want to add some value then include in the email what you're offering on fixed odds and maybe a promotion bonus on the price!

But I doubt that readings will be taken and ever published. They'd be too afraid to discover that there is variability in what they have touted as a 100% consistent surface. Maybe I'm just plain dumb but if you have to mechanically groom these tracks and there is variability in that operation then surely the track must vary.

Yeah there goes the trip to the Yearling Sales although could go again on Saturday! Plus the boat dealer is getting a bit suspicious that I'm only a tyre kicker as I keep postponing the test drive on Thursdays and Sundays each week.

The "no pre-trainer" bit I like. Very few pre-trainers in NZ I'd support.

Angus Armanasco (1912 - 2005) - Inducted in 2002 After a highly successful career as a jockey in Perth, Angus Armanasco was to leave his mark on racing as an outstanding trainer in Victoria over many decades. As the Melbourne trainer for Stanley Wootton, Angus had considerable success with the Star Kingdom line with horses such as Biscay, Bletchingly, The Judge, True Version and Zeditave. He won the Victorian Trainers' Premiership seven times and his big race wins included three Blue Diamond Stakes (Tolerance, Forina and Zeditave) and a Golden Slipper (Full on Aces). He retired in 1998 and is honoured by the running of the Group 2 Angus Armanasco Stakes at Caulfield during the autumn. Armanasco was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.

But how hard is it to try a penetrometer or one of those new fandangled "Going Sticks" on the surface and tell us what the readings are? From Flemington:

Been downhill ever since!

That may be so but it doesn't change the fact that the safety outcome to horse and rider from careless or reckless riding is the same regardless of the race type or stakes. Using my TV analogy just because there may be more 55 inch Smart TV's in St Heliers and they might be a bit newer and worth more doesn't change the crime nor the penalty!

The point is Joe we are told we are aspiring to be "the World Leader" in all things Thoroughbred Racing then why can't we lead the world in the rating of Polytracks for the benefit of Trainers and Punters? Or is the truth that a Polytrack always rates a G2 when the target for a Turf track is D4 race morning improving to a G3?

Yes it is old news however it is another example of inconsistency in the application of the rules. So it is aligns with the BS around the application of different penalties is a race is a Grp race or not or if the Stakes value is higher. Old news or not the debate should continue as long as the rules are applied inconsistently. That is different from you banging on about incidents that happened 3 years ago! That's not old but downright ancient.

Geez Brodie what would you do with no restrictions and exclusive access to Fixed Odds Quinellas! Note NO ONE else but BGP has been given this option! In my opinion that stinks!

On the BGP Facebook page. I don't think it is right that they have "exclusive rights to a Fixed Odds Quinella" when no one else does.

"Oh we are running out of Truck Drivers because they have lost their licenses for speeding and dangerous driving so we want the penalties reduced". Um! Isn't the shortage of Jockey problems related to a number of factors which are fully within NZTR's control and which they have done nothing for years?

Racing: Jockey shortage sees reduction of big bans 17 Dec, 2020 12:00 AM3 minutes to read Jockeys such as Kozzi Asano will likely be racing more over summer. Photo / Trish Dunell NZ Herald By: Michael Guerin Thoroughbred racing bosses are asking stewards and the Judicial Control Authority to help them avoid a jockey shortage over the summer, which should see suspensions reduced as hoops cop fines in lieu of an extra day out of the saddle. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing has released new guidelines for the next six months they hope will stem the tide of jockeys being banned as racing enters its busiest period. NZTR's new guidelines suggest fines only for the first two breaches of the whip rule while fines can be added to suspensions for careless riding to reduce those terms and get jockeys back to the track quicker. "We think the new guidelines will enable us to keep more jockeys riding, which is crucial at such a busy time of the year," says NZTR chief executive Bernard Saundry. Saundry is quick to point out that horse welfare is still paramount when talking about breaches of the whip rules, with a starting point for sentencing for third offences a hefty $2000 fine and a two-day suspension. "We aren't compromising on that," says Saundry. The guidelines for careless riding charges range from a $250 fine and four-day suspension for minor offending up to a starting point of a nine-day suspension for more serious offending. "We realise jockeys will get careless riding charges from time to time and we wanted to give the RIU and JCA guidelines that can punish that but still enable jockeys to be back riding a day sooner," says Saundry. The ranks have already been hit by disqualifications, injury and retirements while overseas jockeys are extremely unlikely to be riding here this summer. There are seven race meetings in the top half of the North Island alone in eight days starting on Boxing Day. "We are facing a jockey shortage and while bad riding will still be punished, we want to work with the jockeys and the authorities to find what is best for the industry," says Saundry. Senior steward Alan Coles told the Herald they are happy to work with the guidelines but jockeys also have different takes on the new rules. "For a jockey who is going to be riding at the carnivals they will probably prefer a fine rather than an extra day to get them back to the races," says Coles. "But I have also had some of the jockeys who ride less say to me they would rather have an extra day suspension if they have to rather than having to pay $500."

That's why I find this appalling. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/racing-jockey-shortage-sees-reduction-of-big-bans/4Y6QC3BPO3NZRFNFOY6SJNQWUQ/

Really Thomarse? Are you believing NZB's spin when it suits you? Who didn't turn up? Were less horses sold to Hong Kong? I guess they had to find a reason for the average dropping - nothing to do with any other factor of course! One moment he blames the Chinese New Year then says it didn't matter because the Arabs turned up in force. It's BS! Hong Kong bought 40 horses out of K1 in 2020 and 43 in 2019. 65 in 2018. What was the cause of them not buying in 2019? As a % of the K1 book Hong Kong actually bought MORE in 2020 than 2019 as K1 was 23 horses less in total. Take into account withdrawals - 2019 636 horses available for sale HK bought 6%. 2020 614 6.5%. So HK actually bought MORE during Chinese New Year than the year before! Perhaps NZB should shift the sale every year to clash with Chinese New Year. You really expect NZ to realign it's yearling sales and racing calendar with the lunar calendar? Lunacy.

Shouldn't matter what the class of race it is nor the stake money. The crime is the same therefore the penalty should be the same. Whether you steal a 55 inch Smart TV off a rich lister in St Heliers and one off a beneficiary in Glenn Innes the penalty should be the same.

FFS you honestly believe this? Tell me which serious Hong Kong buyer stays at home instead of going to the NZ Yearling sales because of Chinese New Year? Aside from the fact that Chinese New Year this year is on the 12th of FEBRUARY! It can fall anytime between 21 January and 21 February. It is a bit like our Easter in that respect as it coincides with the movement of the moon. You can't seriously be thinking that we should align our national yearling sales with the Gregorian lunar calendar? Lunacy! Have you ever stopped to think that the reason why the Chinese Year promotion "failed" is because the wrong assumptions were made in the first place? Don't you see that for the same reason you state Hong Kong buyers don't come to the sales is the same reason the Chinese don't go to a raceday on the Chinese New Year (aside from the fact your dates are all wrong)? Hong Kong does not race on Chinese New Year's day (Friday) or the day after (Saturday). Why? Because it is a time when the Chinese spend time with their FAMILY - not at a racecourse! I bet if you look at plane movements you'll see a lot of Chinese flying back to China during this period. This is another reason why the Hong Kong Chinese New Year Meeting attracts a lot of people! (from last year the meeting was held 27 January with New Year's being the 25th).

I'm not sure Holly is old enough to have worked for TJ Smith. However both Gai and TJ are well known for the hardness of their training regimes. Gai has taken it to a new level as can be judged by the level of attrition in her stable. With Gai your horse certainly won't die wondering! The pressure is on from the start and they are trained hard to race on the pace at high cruising speeds. If you call that a character assassination then get your murphy blinds off!

You may laugh Thomarse but I'm sure we can expect to see a erudite and cogent post from you on the subject. If 10 inches of the top track surface is composed of the Poly-fill with the bottom 7 inches being compacted and the top 3 inches being "groomed" then logic would suggest that there is potential for some degree of variation in overall track hardness.

I disagree. If you can't rate/measure the surface and compare it to other surfaces then how do you know what the potential impact is on horse health and safety let alone performance? How do you know that the Cambridge track was laid to the correct specifications and is behaving as per specification unless you measure it? Will the Riccarton one behave differently to the Cambridge one? Can you alter the surface hardness by doing the grooming differently, less or more regularly or consistently across the entire course? Surely "hardness" can be measured? Actually it MUST be measured from a health and safety perspective.

Just had a thought about the rating of the AWT for the trials. It seems with these Polytracks that they don't do ratings. There is no indication of the track condition for each of the official trial day's run at Cambridge. The assumption is that the going is the same every raceday. Now that raises some questions: What is the Going rating in comparison to a turf track? Is it a G3 or a G2? Surely a penetrometer reading would give trainers and punters a comparison. The Polytrack is subject to weather conditions that can affect the surface. Are we to believe that the surface on a rainy day (the wax hardens) is the same rating as on a hot summer day (the wax melts)? Grooming of the track can affect the top layer compaction which must affect the rating. Given the grooming is a mechanical operation being done by staff it is subject to operational variance i.e. depending on who is doing the grooming and the state of the machinery the track rating may change. How is this "grooming" quality assured? Surely measurements are taken. Has anyone seen any penetrometer (or similar compression tool) tests done on the Cambridge AWT? If they have been done how do they compare to the turf rating system?

Benner spent a considerable amount of time with Rutten. That's where I first met Jonno when one of my horses was being broken in at Chris Ruttens. Joe you constantly tour yourself as a doyen of horse trainers but even you would concede that much of the work done to make a young race horse is done at the breaking in stage. Once the trainer gets them they just just work them and fine tune them. If you stuff up the first part you struggle with the rest.