Happy Sunrise

There must be some powerful people in gallops pulling the strings to make sure it is all about them. I never expected anything less after the budget announcements regarding racing. All for the galloping boys.

Bailey's Knight is at 13ff and 3.40ff tomorrow night but drawn 9 over 1980. He is having a massive drop in class. 4 starts ago he ran 2nd to Aloka. He has also been racing Eamon Maguire and Sheriff to name a few. Also been up to Auckland and all his other races he has been pretty good. Last start he broke. What am I missing? Advice, please.

seems like the gallops are getting a big shake up.... Winston says reform or die....

Wish it would hurry up and get here...I love it! Come on Methven ?

What do you recommend as an answer to the original post?

That is some claim Flag! And some substances that go undetected by trainers....cobalt anyone ?

and if he is....me!

I am sure the authorities would say no. Otherwise, they would be doing something about it.

Brodie, You are being taken to task over this comment. HTP didn't say this. You have corrected yourself by saying domination later on but this quote is the issue. Harewood, Do you want to start this chestnut up again?

Watched the All Blacks tonight and thought of the All Stars. Brilliant but monotonous and predictable. It eventually erodes the support base whether you like it or not. Sad but true for me.

Seems to be a trend with the Amateurs. Immortal Change and Every Option! It seems those who protest against betting on the amateurs are correct! EVERY OPTION - Stewards questioned B Wilmott regarding the manner he drove near the 600 metres when he turned down an opportunity to improve three wide in favour of remaining in the two wide line and in consequence to that becoming covered up and having some difficulty obtaining clear racing room. Mr Wilmott explained that he felt that the horse he was following was more likely to take him into the race and he was mindful of the trainer's instructions that the horse was best suited to being driven for one run. Mr Wilmott added that the lead horse in the three wide line (STOP MEANS STOP) was under pressure at the time so thought his best chance of getting a run was to the inside which he said would have eventuated if OPAWA MACH had not shifted ground and hampered him. After considering the explanation of Mr Wilmott, Stewards were satisfied that in the circumstances his explanation was reasonable and took the matter no further.

Lucky really. Little gate speed but no reason to put the horse in reverse at the start. IMMORTAL CHANGE - out of position at the start. Driver N Munro was issued with a warning. Raced wide from the 850 metres. Held up on the final bend and then forced extremely wide. Driver N Munro reported that the removable hood was unable to be activated due to the cord becoming entangled. Stewards questioned Driver N Munro regarding the tactics he adopted during the running. Mr Munro advised that the horse lacked gate speed and is best suited when driven for one run so he elected to restrain his horse in the early stages to obtain cover closer to the marker line. Mr Munro added that he had improved three wide with cover from the 850 metres however had been unable to make ground due to the three wide line failing to progress forwards resulting in him having to race very wide on the final bend. After hearing from Mr Munro, Stewards were satisfied his explanation was reasonable in the circumstances and took the matter no further.

But he will clean at Gore on Saturday....?

It is a very interesting read. http://www.jca.org.nz/non-race-day-hearings/non-raceday-inquiry-riu-v-s-j-hale-reserved-decision-dated-15-august-2018-chair-mr-s-ching Always wonder why they don't mention betting patterns on the race in question. If you were doping something to win and make money I would have thought the authorities would say something about abnormalities in the patterns if any.

Only needed him to win last week to land a multi of juicy proportions...please don't start talking about him lol

Colbalt in the feed. He didn't read the ingredients. I see, incredibly, he has only trained 31 winners in his time.

Oh it will. Wait for the stipes report. It will be adjourned. He will go for months. While the horse has not shown much gate speed that was pathetic if there is no viable explanation. It certainly isn't a rant, Globe. It is a factual analysis.

I still like Celtic Thunder even though it is drifting. I'lldoitmyway for a bolter in the same race too. ?

The quote I posted is straight off the SAFE website about whips. They do have a problem with it. Luckily, they have a problem with a lot of other things too so whip use is way down the ladder of importance it would seem. HRNZ are being proactive for the sake of the sport. Galloping bosses must be have seething with the jockey who hit that horse without reason recently. As I have said before, Greyhounds and jumps racing are way ahead on the list of targets but it does not mean harness can sit back and be smug about because then when the time comes it will be too late.

Really? WTF.

Striking a horse with a padded racing whip is at least aversive, and at worst, painful [1-3]. As McLean and McGreevy [4] note, from a behavioural science perspective, for a whip to work, “…it must have acquired the properties of a punisher at some point in time.” An Australian study by McGreevy and colleagues [2] found 83% of whip strikes caused indentations of the skin, and a recent study in horses confirmed whipping was likely to trigger nerve endings in the skin that transmit pain signals [3]. Despite this, a detailed 2017 study [5] found that penalties for breaches of whipping rules were too low, and were insufficient to act as deterrents. The authors concluded that “… the whip rules, their surveillance and recording, and the penalties imposed warrant urgent and independent review.”

Fines have extenuating circumstances surrounding them so are more variable. Whether they are a horse or entire seems a straight choice.

Complete emotional breakdown time then. Hard to imagine how harness racing has survived.

Does one laugh or cry at that figure? Probably cry.

Let it go, Brodie. If the drivers are that annoyed about it then they should unite and voice their concerns through their association and see if they can get amended. Until that time, use the whip as required under the rule.