Happy Sunrise

That is just our opinion. As an aside, I can see why Australian gallops is far more popular than NZ galloping. The presentation of the racing is excellent compared to the NZ racing. The TAB are not very aspirational, instead, they are very willing to let their product be 3rd rate.

Short-sighted at the very least. The North Island is hurtling towards a made for TV product much quicker than the South Island.

Methven had the mile racing day as a Friday twilight. Geraldine had a 3 year old trot for good money on what was their lesser 2nd date of racing which attracted a nice field. I would like to see grass track qualifying series where you would qualify for a finals days and a slightly increased stake to make it something worth qualifying for. For example, 3 grass track meetings qualifying at Mot, Oamaru and Methven and have the final at one of those places. Ratings issues could be dealt with by a PBD in the final. Anything to give more meaning to some of the racing. The Coast series used to be interesting when they had the bonus of winning 3 races if my memory serves me correctly.

No. And jumps racing should be banned.

It has gallops on it.

I see they actually are training on a different track. But seems like without the carrot of big guns in the Hannon it isn't worth the bother of going down with the rest of the team.

They run 1 and 2 in the race just finished. They must be training on a different track lol.

Good point but you are appearing to be a conspiracy theorist. At least you are on the appropriate site to put forward those claims as we are all nutters on here apparently.

People talk about race dates being important but just as important is creating days beyond Cup Week that have a feel of a big day. At the moment, it is just groundhog day.

Many All Stars Sidelined with Foot problems-racing team to take a step back A number of All Stars horses will spend more time resting than racing in the next couple of weeks after a number of cases of foot soreness hit the stable. “Our vet has recommended rest for a number of them after we took xrays of their feet” Natalie said. “We haven’t been that happy with some of them for a while. When I worked the race team this morning they were all right but the work was not than that and we have decided to take this action and get it sorted. They were feeling the ground” It means there will be no runners at Oamaru on Sunday and a limited number racing for perhaps a few weeks as measures are taken to restore the horses to full fitness. “We have added sand to the main track and taken other measures but the tracks haven’t changed much so they are not the real problem. The xrays have shown us where the problem lies and it involves quite a few horses. It is what it is. We have to take action where we can” At this stage there is no suggestion that the Cup chances of Spankem, Self Assured and Another Masterpiece are affected by the current situation but it will depend to some degree on what progress they make in the next couple of weeks. Time is on their side at this stage

Stupid comment for a publication.

Now the All Stars are gone from Hannon. Oh dear.

Some of the supporting races on Sunday have terribly weak fields. You need at least 3 worthy races to make a race day a special one. Unfortunately, race programmes are just the same old same old.

The approach of RIU seems to have changed a touch recently, eg Glenthorne drive and now this. It might be just the way they write it up. Who knows.

Who knows, he didn't turn up! He got himself in more trouble than just a regular questioning by not adhering to the request.

$400 is a fair call. He was given a number of chances. They have to respond to stewards or things will fall apart.

This must have been an open secret. I really struggle with the idea that funding has come from within the industry to pay for a show that was dumped due to costs to the TAB. Now Guerin and O'Connor are not bound by the hand that feeds them they can speak freely, otherwise it is a waste of time resurrecting a show that was of limited appeal. The return of The Box Seat 16 September 2020 , News Harness racing’s weekly television show The Box Seat is set for a surprise return next week. And that has been made possible largely because of support from inside the industry. The Box Seat was taken off screen indefinitely, along with all other NZ-made Trackside magazine or review shows, when Covid-19 caused the first lockdown in March. With TAB NZ then re-structuring and changing their broadcasting model, with more emphasis on live racing and punting, most of the preview and review shows have yet to return. But The Box Seat host Greg O’Connor has secured enough funding from inside the industry to produce the show himself as well as staying on as the host. “I firmly believe The Box Seat has a huge role to play in promoting the industry as well as driving turnover on harness racing,” says O’Connor. “It is also a great vehicle for telling people’s stories and putting faces to the names in harness racing, whether they be premiership winners or a junior driver getting their first success. “So I was thrilled so many people inside the industry wanted to support it to get it back, including HRNZ and some of the clubs.” O’Connor then worked with the TAB broadcasting arm around the logistics of getting the show made and back on television. “They have been great to deal with and we really appreciate being able to use the same studios and sets because they have been a big part of the show. So a lot of people have worked hard to make this come together.” The Box Seat, with regular co-host Michael Guerin re-joining O’Connor on the show, starts next Wednesday but with some slight changes. “It will be recorded Wednesday, as it always was, so we can preview races that coming weekend and have the markets available. “But it will first screen on Trackside at the close of live racing most Wednesday nights and then be replayed on Thursday. So that could be 9pm or sometimes even later on the Wednesday night. “So for many people who are used to using Sky they could well MySky it and watch it when it suits them but it will also go up first on www.hrnz.co.nz probably late Wednesday afternoon. “With people getting so used to streaming and watching shows online I think that will be a realistic option for plenty of viewers.” O’Connor is also working with racing channels and websites in Australia to allow them to screen the show to drive engagement with the New Zealand harness industry. The series is expected to run for 33 shows and is likely to include the traditionally popular The Box Seat special New Zealand Cup preview show.

The CEO will advise (chuck his two cents in) and let the other do the donkey work.

Deleted my comment. 😂

Some are certainly not sticking on as well as they used to. I think i was the same last year or the year before when people thought the dominance was over. The true evidence will come in the bigger money months coming up.

You would hope they would look at the structure of the show and what its purpose is.

Really? Seemingly so if you look at the names of races at Auckland and Addington. Makes you wonder about the decisions made during the 'covid crisis' and what an epic back flip. Who will be on it??????

I amassed 7 points. I either need to be sold to Mongolia or go race Vigoroso in Australia after that performance, though I fear he would beat me. Where are you going Rusty? 😅

12th August was the last chatting with the Chief. Then, Mr Holden said 'we will keep the comms up even if we have got nothing to say we will say we have got nothing to say' He must be too busy fixing harness to communicate progress with the plebs or does permanency of position have something to do with it?

Good news. Is all weather better than grass for betting? Is the day of the week more important than either grass or all weather? Is night better than day? Maybe the best would be night grass racing! Magic 😂 Just give punters variety I say. Turnovers at post lockdown high 14 September 2020 , News Ahead of the upcoming Million Dollar Spring and New Zealand Cup week, Harness Racing New Zealand has been encouraged by its latest turnover figures. “We have just had the strongest four meetings since lockdown and our weekly total was the best by over half a million dollars,” says HRNZ Racing and Marketing Manager Darrin Williams. For Winton and Cambridge (Thursday), Addington (Friday), and Methven(Sunday) total turnover exceeded $3.9m. Both Winton and Cambridge topped $700,000 with Addington on Friday at $1.13m and Methven’s opening grass track meeting of the season at $1.28m. “Methven had the largest fields of the four, and that figure represents turnover of $7,318 per starter, with Addington at $10,413. They are great numbers for us,” says Williams. This week there are five harness meetings, the most since lockdown, with two of the highlights being the Sires’ Stakes Final at Alexandra Park on Friday and the Hannon Memorial at Oamaru on Sunday. “We don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves,” says Williams, “but the signs are encouraging and people are obviously enjoying the racing right now even though there have been no crowds because of Covid.” “And then in the weeks ahead we have some great racing lined up, the Harness Million and Sires’ Stakes Races and then Cup week - there is a lot to look forward to.”