Chief Stipe

Really? Then why don't they say that? We have seen numerous instances of where laws such as these have been abused in their application. It is a poorly written Act that is administered NOT by the racing codes but by MPI. I mean FFS did you read the section about how to kill a crayfish?

FFS if you want a definition of clueless you just have to look at Day One of this lunatic Government. Move to higher ground we have a Climate Emergency!

Rule Number(s): Rules 638 (3)(b)(ii) and 802 1(a)This charge arises from the running of Race 2, the Adashiko Fashion Stakes 12/12. An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) by the Informant, Mr Jones, alleging that Mr Harris used his whip excessively when riding MILITARY STEP prior to the 100 metres. Mr Harris said that he understood ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

Rule Number(s): Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) and 802 1(a)This charge arises from the running of Race 2, the Adashiko Fashion Stakes 12/12. An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) by the Informant, Mr Jones, alleging that Mr Ormsby used his whip excessively when riding OUR BEESKEES prior to the 100 metres. Mr Ormsby said that he understood ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

Rule Number(s): Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) and 802 1(a)This charge arises from the running of Race 1, the Beefeater Garden Bar 12/12. An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) by the Informant, Mr Jones, alleging that Mr Weatherley used his whip excessively when riding TRUTH BEKNOWN prior to the 100 metres. Mr Weatherley said that he understood ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

I was wearing several layers of clothes and still hurt like hell! Lucky it wasn't summer and mid-morning.

You just have but to be fair I think Mikie has already posted that himself. Any how there is no need for anyone to resort to getting personal to score points.

Plus you always kept an eye on them, would never work them on a lead and if walking them would have a halter with a bit and chain. I guess mouth bits will be banned eventually.

I know it has been a long time since I worked with young harness horses BUT can you actually break in young horses now and hopple them WITHOUT breaking the skin? Don't you need hopple chafe anymore?

But tell me how this works with a harness horse..... 19Use of equipment that may injure horses (1) The owner of, and every person in charge of, a horse must ensure that— (a) any halter, lead rope, or other equipment on the horse’s head or neck does not— (i) cause a cut that bleeds or discharges; or (ii) cause a skin abrasion that bleeds or discharges; or (iii) cause a swelling; or (iv) prevent the animal from breathing normally or drinking; and (b) any other equipment used on the rest of the horse’s body does not— (i) cause a cut that bleeds or discharges; or (ii) cause a skin abrasion that bleeds or discharges; or (iii) prevent the animal from breathing normally or drinking. (2) A person who fails to comply with this regulation commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $900. (3) The offence in subclause (2) is an infringement offence with an infringement fee of $300.

Thanks to the 3,000 bureaucrats at MPI the fines have gone up for "Striking a horse on the head".. 20Persons must not strike horse on its head (1) A person must not strike a horse on its head. (2) A person who fails to comply with this regulation commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,500. (3) The offence in subclause (2) is an infringement offence with an infringement fee of $500.

The word "horse" has also been changed to "equid" so that covers donkeys, mules and zebra's as well as thoroughbreds and standardbreds and bastards thereof. Anyway - MPI - I'm guilty!!!! (well only retrospectively and who knows the way things are going they may well catch up with me). ----------------------------- Dear MPI Subject: Striking a horse confession While jogging a standardbred equid harnessed to a sulky on a cold winter's morning (6am and -7 degree frost - light southerly blowing - wind chill factor: bloody freezing) I did strike the head of the horse I had on a lead. The stable name of the horse I struck I can't remember but I understand that she does not wish to give evidence against me. She is now a reformed and proud mother of a number of successful racing offspring. In my defence and hopefully to mitigate the degree of fine I'll get ($1,500 would cause undue hardship) I wish to explain the situation under which I needed to strike the said horse on the lead. The horse in the cart was a talented 3 yr old for which $200k had been offered. In 1982 this amount would have purchased a decent sized farm. Not that it should matter but the horse on the lead wasn't really worth anything. So I believe my focus of concentrating on looking after the horse in the cart was justified. After about 15 minutes of the scheduled 40 minute jogging session, her on the lead started to object and wanted to stop and started pulling back on the lead. I tightened my grip on the lead. When it became obvious to her that pulling wasn't going to change anything she ran up to my back and bit me in the middle of my back. Hard enough, as I found out on return to the stable, to break the skin and leave an impression of an equid teeth structure on my back. I would like to point out that at this stage that the injury was not sufficient to stop me from finishing the jogging session nor continuing to work through to evening feed out (5:30pm). So I will not be counter filing for consequential damages from her. After the bite she went back to the end of the lead as far away from me as possible and started to pull again. She then decided to come forward for presumably a second bite but this time I was ready. Just as she was about to bite, without losing control of the horse in the cart or dropping the reins, I swung my elbow and struck her as hard as I could on her opening mouth. She immediately went back to the end of the lead and did not pull or attempt to bite me again. Not for the rest of the session nor any subsequent times in the future. So to striking a horse on the head I plead guilty and seek mitigating circumstances in terms of the quantum of the fine. May I ask what MPI would advise is the best course of action if the scenario I have described happens again? I'll add it wasn't possible to pull over and talk to her about her childhood nor her laziness to work. I would also like to know if they have any advice on how to stop horses biting. I was always taught a quick sharp slap on the lips was a deterrent but at $1,500 a pop in those days it would have been the equivalent to 15 weeks wages. Yours sincerely,

Thanks to the 3,000 bureaucrats at MPI the fines have gone up for "Striking a horse on the head".. 20Persons must not strike horse on its head (1) A person must not strike a horse on its head. (2) A person who fails to comply with this regulation commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,500. (3) The offence in subclause (2) is an infringement offence with an infringement fee of $500.

Quite frankly I can't understand why we are even bothering with this process - let alone moving towards banning whips. It is all based on the assumption that Society as a whole gives a toss. When in actual fact it is the furthest thing from their minds. Banning whips is NOT going to bring people back on course every day of the week. What it will do is put more doubt in the minds of the punter. The Ormsby "Soft Hands" thread is a case in point. If you believe that it will stop the activists then you are dreaming. They aren't anti-whips, anti-horse fatalities - they are ANTI-RACING fullstop! So why give an inch when that is their agenda? This morning there was a SAFE spokesman on the radio commenting about the good news that there were "40% less greyhound fatalities" this year (he was too thick to understand that it might have had something to do with less races)....BUT what was his next comment - "yes it is a start but we need to ban dog racing completely". My advice to you all is DON'T GIVE AN INCH. Instead promote all the good things about racing. Do you know how silly all this BS has got? Check out the new Topic.

It's all about you Thomarss.

Thomarss you are back tracking. You clearly said give it "a couple behind the saddle" - how do you do that with the reins?

Yes and that is the problem with those driven by self-interest such as Pitman. They have this world view that every racing club asset is a Thoroughbred Racing asset. They aren't! I lived in Hokitika for the first 20 years of my life. With a father who had a strong interest in horse racing (both codes) I acquired a similar level of interest. I remember many a Saturday or Sunday at the course doing "jobs". Dad had the largest panel beating/coach building business in town and like many of the local businesses donated his own time, his staff time, materials and equipment to the club. In my teens I spent a lot of time running round that track training for sports that I was involved in. Often the Sunday Harrier run we would do a "lap of the track" on our way to longer runs up the Spur or out to Kaniere. The point is it was and thankfully still is a community asset NOT a Thoroughbred Racing asset. Given the pittance it received in funding it relied heavily on the support of a town of 3,000 and those further south in South Westland. Now to infer as Pitty has that the "Club" could have continued if the committee had put their assets elsewhere is pure revisionist history of the worst kind. Pitty if you had been standing beside me when I read your post I would have ripped you a new arsehole and stuck the Mesara report into your new orifice. Westland Racing Club is gone NOT because of a committee decision BUT because of the decisions made by a bunch of bureaucrats and self-interested individuals residing elsewhere who have never even painted an inside railing let alone touched one! SO Pitty enjoy your All Weather Track while it lasts and while it sucks up the assets of viable racing clubs. I'll rest easy watching yet another racing administration debacle unfold knowing that not a cent of Hokitika money went its way!

Wooh backup their Pitty are you talking about Hokitika? And you are blaming the committee?

Oh so now you are in favour of whipping?

Same treatment as CWJ.

LOL - some bet on the tote because like you they are restricted on fixed odds!

Good punters look for value and it doesn't matter where that value is however harder to pin it down on the tote especially with what we see here and the inordinate delay in updating the pools. Final updates often don't happen until the race is half over!

Uh?! Presumably a commingled event costs TAB NZ more to run - why are the takeout rates less?

That's a sweeping statement and probably impractical unless you don't race on the track very often.

Betting rules of the NZ TAB are here: https://fobcms.tab.co.nz/sites/default/files/2020-09/TAB_Betting_Rules_Effective30September_2020.pdf