Chief Stipe

So if we exclude the clubs.....total employees and subsidies for those that "manage" the industry: 786 employees! Total subsidy: $5,191,371 Note these figures don't include club employees!!!! Nor contractors who have all been left to find their own subsidies (fair enough).

Takes a lot of management to run greyhounds.....

I thought they had 33 full-time workers. Are their part-time workers more full-time than we thought? That is a subsidy of over $5k per person.

Interesting article here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11369330/coronavirus-mutated-three-distinct-strains-spread/ Ok "The Sun" is only marginally above Tucker Carlson in credibility but interesting to see that Covid-19 Type A has infected USA and Australia. However it's impact in Australia is a lot less than USA - is it seasonal? Plus Type A evolved into Type B in China which targets Asian people more than Type A. If you want to go to the source of The Sun's information the link is here: http://www.sci-news.com/medicine/three-variants-sars-cov-2-coronavirus-08313.html

Well if this website and Tucker Carlson are your sources I'm willing to take a bet. What odds are you offering that it isn't how "it" happened?

All sorted. They've been told if they don't perform they will be sent home to mum in South Auckland.

Warriors set for remote north coast NSW base as NRL push ahead with May 28 start GETTY IMAGES The Warriors could be in their bubble close to the Queensland border. The NRL is pushing ahead with plans to start the competition on May 28 despite high-level broadcast discussions on Friday, with the Warriors set to apply for a federal government exemption from the mandatory 14-day quarantine policy for international arrivals. Lake Ainsworth at Lennox Head, a recreational facility on NSW's far north coast, will be put forward as part of a proposal to the Australian government for exemption from the strict hotel lockdown rules in place for offshore arrivals. ARLC chairman Peter V'landys, who remained tight-lipped about the details of Friday's video link conference with Nine chief executive Hugh Marks and Foxtel boss Patrick Delany, will resume negotiations with the game's broadcast partners early next week about an end-of-May comeback. Momentum is gathering around a potential 20-round competition that will see State of Origin played as late as November, however all three parties involved in Friday's meeting have been sworn to secrecy. It's understood the NRL executive team hasn't even been told about the events that transpired, although the Warriors are forging ahead with plans to arrive in Australia on May 3. The Kiwis, who are about to finish a month-long isolation period in New Zealand, are hoping their recent lockdown stint will see the Australian government relax its restrictions to allow them to train during the 14-day quarantine. The Warriors want to lock themselves inside a cabin facility on NSW's north-coast away from the community at the sport and recreational base at Lake Ainsworth. The facility includes a training field, gym, indoor centre, tennis courts, basketball court and swimming pool.

Oh and didn't one of the biggest clusters of Covid-19 in New Zealand originate from a Stag Party in Matamata? Probably from them all sharing the same joint or P pipe.

Why not? They don't have to swim across the channel. FFS - we have the same population as Melbourne! It's not about where the horse's come from - it is about tradition. The Guineas have raced at Riccarton for 47 years! They were compensation for shifting the Oaks to Wellington and the Derby to Auckland (look what's happened to the latter!). We kill tradition in racing at our peril. Another nail in the coffin. While you are at it shift the NZ Cup to Auckland or the NZ Trotting Cup. While you are at it kill off the entire Cup week in Christchurch. They'll handle it - earthquakes, mosque shootings. You mention how many of the respective fields are from the North Island - look at it from a glass half full perspective - they still traveled!!!!

Tell them to get stuffed. We need to think outside the square. The danger full all of society is that Covid-19 will be used as an excuse to bring about change for the wrong reasons. The problem is the same for every region - but only if you have district restrictions. So will the districts be "Waikato", "CD" and "Canterbury"? I didn't know we had Federal and State Governments in NZ! How big will the "Waikato" district be? End at the Bombay hills? Or Te Aroha? The key is implementing protocols that reduce infection rates and ensuring business to continue. So for the Guineas to remain at Riccarton we need 15 volunteer senior jockey's who will be flown down in the same plane (Air Nelson and Air Chathams would love the business), housed either on track or at nearest empty hotel. Pre-tested for Covid-19 along with drug testing. Then flown back to the Waikato afterwards and pre-tested for Covid-19 (and drugs) before they ride in the Waikato. Easy peasy.

Then why shift the Guineas races?

I would say that the odds are that the number of infected and recovered people is much much larger. Hence the scramble now by NZ bureaucracy to get a handle on it. We are now in a double bind for the Government - if the virus is more widespread than being reported then it follows that it isn't as bad as they are promoting. My prediction is there will be a bounce. What will the Government do then? Shove us back into Level 4? The populous will be better educated by then and I doubt it will support going back as everyone will see we can't eradicate it. I for one don't want to live in a Police State. Freedom comes with a cost. I may or may not directly pay that cost but I'm sure as hell willing to take the risk. I for one will be refusing to sign up to the $100m Covid-19 tracking card! This Government does not understand small/medium sized business or rural businesses.

Take a look at Quarter Horse racing (provided by our very own TAB Trackside). Over 300m they whip every stride!

Where are they published? Can we see them? Bernie - why aren't you using the tools available to you to engage the industry and get input?

That's bollocks Curious. The national average for accidents involving horses that require medical intervention is 3% of total. Half of that is in the Waikato region. Now the percentage of that percentage involving racing stables is very very small. As the figures include ALL injuries involved with ALL horse activities. It also includes those who got kicked standing by a horse i.e. accidents not involving riding. That protocol isn't an infection reducing protocol. It's a statistical nonsense. How many farm kids have been looking after their ponies and bringing the cows in on horse back? Na they are probably using the 4 wheeler!

Get them to wear masks. They already wear gloves. Sanitise the gloves before each race. Not everyone is "connected." Did a NZTR/RIU representative turn up and educate? On the other side of the coin those in the industry who have more rural connections will have a near total disdain for MPI. They only put others at risk if they have Covid-19 at an infectious stage and they have a huge uncontrolled bubble. FFS what does your average trainer and staff do each day? Gets up before a sparrow farts - feeds up, dungs out, takes the horse covers off, put a bridle and saddle on, work the horse, wash the horse, wait for it to dry, put the cover back on, maybe put it in a small paddock for a pick of grass and some space, bring it back in for the night, feed up. Go to the pub for a beer and yarn. Repeat next 6 days ad-infinitum. How many trainers gallop more than two or three horses at a time side by side? As for MPI..... If you can't enforce the rules (no matter how bullshit they are) then there is no point in them. Compare with Australia - Waterhouse staff member hugs someone in birdcage celebrating the winning of the Golden Slipper gets a month holiday, jockey stood down for going through wrong door, jockey fined $2,000 for breaking protocol. Yeah na - how guys would rather hide in bushes.

Health AND economic well-being ISN'T a dichotomy. They are inherently linked. That's where much of what we are seeing is being driven by ideology. One policy for ALL yet they turn a blind eye to illegal actions such as what are happening in the Far North and East Cape. Again political ideology and no thinking through unintentional consequences. You mention the Warehouse what about the few local butchers that are left? Most you wouldn't ever get more than 6 people in at once. You know the butcher the one that for decades been wrapping meat in environmentally friendly brown paper. Nup stuff you says the Government. Stuff you New Zealanders - you have to queue outside your Australian owned supermarkets and buy overpriced poorer quality meat in plastic trays wrapped in plastic. It cost me $9 for 6 sausages yesterday - $1.50 each! I don't know what is in them but the good thing is their use-by date is 11 days away! The bright side of the visit to the supermarket was meeting a very attractive woman in the booze aisle. Which was straight after the fruit and vegetable section. We both looked at each other's trolley's and laughed. She had 8 bottles of red wine and I had a 12 pack of pilsner. (Before you a kaftan, sandal wearing tree hugger has a go at me - it has been 4 weeks since I have had a beer. I normally only drink socially at the local - never been one to drink alone at home. Covid-19 is pushing me closer to the "vulnerable" category!). I said "you have a more refined alcohol consumption than I"....she laughed and said "thank god the kids are going back to school." I bet the kids are happy too! No we didn't get within 2 metres of each other - I would have liked to..... Ideology and the law of unintended consequences. I still can't work out why I can buy overpriced beer in an Australian owned supermarket yet the New Zealand owned liquor store across the road with cheaper product can't open. I guess it isn't essential and it stops the poor from spending their benefit bonus in the wrong places. There is a point here somewhere..... Managing Covid-19 isn't all about lockdown's - the lockdown cure will have unintended consequences that make the cure worse than the disease. There are some upsides - the road toll has plummeted. Did you know in normal times on average 1 person dies on the road every day? I gather the Greens are about to rush through policy to close the roads permanently - we can't have more deaths on the road than Covid-19. Back to the point.... Managing Covid-19 is about protocols, reducing infection rates and protecting the vulnerable. It ISN'T about eradication. If you think it is and that we can eradicate it. It is time to smell the roses (don't go for a walk to do that - they have to be in your own garden and it is recommended you sanitise the rose before smelling it). Covid-19 and similar viruses are here forever. I see it as a product of our over-population (the rest of the world that is). We haven't eradicated polio (that ain't going to happen now that Trump has thrown his toys at WHO), measles, tuberculosis, HIV (more people have been infected and died from that virus than most pandemics) or influenza. I believe as has been shown in Australia, Hong Kong, Macau and Japan that racing can continue with protocols that support the goal of keeping infection rates suppressed. It probably won't happen here - the RIU will probably refuse to work.

Boating and yachting are not allowed because supposedly anyone who does either is more likely to require emergency services which is a crock of... I know an elderly couple who are theoretically breaking the law at the moment not that the law is very clear and I imagine challengeable in a court of law. They have a nice yacht - nothing big or overly flash. They are in the vulnerable category in terms of age and some normally relatively minor age related conditions. They decided early in the piece to stock up the yacht and head out and cruise around local bays (not Auckland) - they were motivated by their own safety. They come back to their mooring once every 10 to 14 days and a member of their family drops the groceries off and leave some fresh fish for their family. Never within 2 metres of anyone. They catch a few fish, read books, skype the grandkids, even have a little TV on board. They have sail and motor power and a little dinghy. Never too far from shore. The keep in touch with mates by radio. If I had the same setup I'd be doing that too - not because I'm vulnerable but because I wouldn't be relying on anyone, I wouldn't be stuck in this ruddy cabin and I could change my view everyday. As for Team Sports - that would be easy to fix if you ran a competition like the NRL. Find an empty hotel (lots of them around) within walking distance of a stadium that has training grounds. Lock down the perimeter. Test everyone the first time they enter the "bubble". Ask for volunteers to live in house at the hotel to cook and clean - pay them for their services. Easy peasy.

I didn't realise MPI had a role in this. Explains everything. MPI wouldn't know what direction the sun rises. Actually thinking about this a bit more. I thought the protocols were about reducing the chance of injury and thus reducing pressure on our "over stretched' hospital system? At the end of the day Curious if you are worried about your health you can always strengthen your bubble and stay there for another 18 months. I'm sure we could find someone to drop groceries off to you.

Before you all start wandering down some great conspiracy path about the "missing PM's" as I eluded to in my first post on this topic I've been beavering away on the behind the scenes stuff that runs BOAY. I won't bore you with the intricacies of what has been done but you will have noticed a marked improvement in website speed. That is just a start. For all those "experts" that tried to tell me that the speed performance problem was related to advertising or other theories. You were all wrong. I didn't engage in arguing at the time. Being locked in the cabin I've spent many many hours on behind the scenes chores. Unlike others I can't afford to under pay minions to do the work nor are there volunteers. Not that there would be many capable of doing the work. Although I've had 25+ years in IT the work done this week was an entirely new technical area for me. I'm largely self taught on these things so from time to time I'll make the odd stuff up. Rest assured your PM's were never deleted. What happened was when I was moving the database to a new server one Table amongst over a 100 became a little mucked up. That table was the one that mapped PM's to a Conversation. The table didn't contain the PM's as they are stored in another table which was OK. The system created a new mapping table which only mapped PM's that were created post the database transfer. So I had a back up of the old table and a new table to merge. Given the new table only had 25 new maps in it I decided to do the merge manually. Coincidentally two users have ID's that have the same 3 digits with just the last two in a different order. I mistakenly transposed those last two digits. Now the system is pretty smart and it said the map table was corrupt so it dumped the old and created a new one. That's when messages disappeared. I then did a new remerge and things are now correct. So to conclude no skulduggery, no conspiracy, just a little snafu that was fixed. Enjoy.

Suggest you check again.

Are you saying your PM's are missing?