Yankiwi

Much better today!

Here's one you couldn't make up, unless you're an inept Steward. I guess when the lure is BEHIND the lead greyhound it doesn't affect the outcome of the race.

Hey @aquaman, Rick Quirk says the #3 lost ground & the unnamed vet gave it a 21-day standdown because of shin soreness. DALTON BAXTER (3) - referred to Veterinarian after losing ground and reported to have left shin soreness with a 21 day incapacitation issued. Looks more like FTP than losing ground to me.

Hmmm. How does the #2 lead at the first marker, when it never near the lead in the race whatsoever? And how does the #3 clearly lead into the corner, before putting the brakes on, receive a "775" in the form line?

It's probably time for a GRNZ internal discussion & a public advisory about this. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/513594/rare-dog-parasite-discovered-for-first-time-in-new-zealand

I'm only allowed to know so much & that's what the Steward reports. I analyzed what the Steward had reported & there was an inconsistency. I brought the inconsistency up on the BOAY forum. A Steward was the one that got it wrong & has since fixed it. I instantly became the bad guy. So be it.

I see they have now corrected the history. Funny that.

Rule 41(1) does not allow for an uninjured dog to receive an injury stand-down. Try again.

So how does this work? Today at Palmy. How does a dog get vetted after a race, cleared of injury & receive a 10-day injury stand-down? Really?

Yankiwi's April Racing Calendar. Major injury rates applied with the current 3rd quarter results. Of note Otago RC club meeting will be held at Ascot. Auckland RC meetings will be held at Cambridge. Also of note Christchurch rates have significantly decreased since last month's presentation but still remain above GRNZ's KPI target. Palmerston North rates have significantly increased since last month's presentation and are now well now above GRNZ's KPI target. Wanganui rates have significantly increased since last month's presentation yet remain below GRNZ's KPI target.

There were only two major injuries recorded in their (and my) data yesterday. The first of the three was during a pre-race trial, so because it didn't happen in front of the camera it's not important enough to be recorded in the injury data. That said, it's only the second time Cambridge has recorded two major injuries during a race meet since the beginning of the racing season on 1 Aug. Full season & 3rd quarter major injuries at Cambridge both still remain within the 0.6% threshold.

Not at all. The penalty is pointless. Four months or four years make no difference in this case. She relinquished her license & has had no dogs in training for years. She was stung for a hormone they used to inject to keep bitches from going into season. Most trainers used it until GRNZ made the injection illegal but still allowed a pill for the same purpose to be legal. This charge in the first place was ridiculous. But the RIB brought it forward to serve as a deterrent to other trainers from repeating the offence. Then as part of the finding, they lied about her previous offences. Why would they do that? If they are trying to make a point, it has to be an accurate point, not something they just made up for some other unknown purpose.

The "I" in RIB stands for integrity. All I want to see is integrity coming from the RIB. Is that too much to ask? Maybe they believe their own lies, but I don't. MS Ross had (at least) two previous convictions from breaking GRNZ rules. One for a drug positive & one for a welfare charge revolving around the use of a shock collar. Why on earth would they claim she had no previous breaches of the rules when they are the ones who hold & have access to those records? Surely with this oversight (lie) the enforcement division of the RIB will appeal the finding. Integrity underpins everything they do in this self-governing/enforcing industry, right?

Firstly, I think any charge at all in this case is crazy. https://racingintegrityboard.org.nz/decisions/non-raceday-inquiry-written-penalty-decision-dated-21-march-2024-shirley-ross/ But the RIB decided it wanted to "set a benchmark". So, if the RIB wants a benchmark, at least they should get the facts straight. This from 24 Sept 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201027195917/http://jca.org.nz/non-race-day-hearings/non-raceday-inquiry-riu-v-s-l-ross-reserved-decision-dated-24-september-2020-chair-mr-b-j-scott Then the appeal which really didn't bare any fruit. https://web.archive.org/web/20201124025956/http://jca.org.nz/non-race-day-hearings/appeal-s-l-ross-v-riu-reasons-decision-of-appeals-tribunal-dated-28-october-2020-chair-mr-m-mckechnie The RIB can try to change history by obsoleting the old JCA website. But unfortunately for them, the internet remains & they cannot erase people's memory.

Yep, that's what GRNZ does. They make a claim they are doing everything they can for welfare. We're going to hold a monthly meeting! Then they hold one fairly regularly between March & November 2022. We've done it! Welfare underpins everything we do! Then they've done such a great job in their own mind, monthly meetings aren't required anymore. The holiday season is coming & we need a break. (Meanwhile the tracks start to dry up, serious injuries start to rise) We better hold another meeting in February. February rolls around, major injuries are thru the roof & they have their meeting... Welcome back everyone, that sure was a nice break. Maybe we should hold the meeting every second month. Let's have a vote. The vote passes & meetings are now bimonthly. They get thru a winter with the KPI injury numbers met during the safe racing season & sing their own praises. Spring takes hold and injuries start to increase so MD says Cambridge & Manukau lead the pack, nothing clearly changed for November. The rest of this story is pretty well documented in the various thread here, except for this bit. Let's make the meeting more fun (and much more expensive). We deserve it!

Dec 2022 Industry Progress Report to Govt. https://www.grnz.co.nz/Files/Advisories/GRNZ Industry Progress Report 12 December 2022.pdf I believe it's time GRNZ wielded their "strict enforcement capabilities & penalties" out and got to the bottom of just what happened with the Dec 2023 AHWC meeting. Then this. After I had started investigating & shared this data. The two tracks that lead the pack in terms of low rates of injury were Wanganui & Southland. MD Claimed first Manukau & Cambridge. Then he changed his mind to Manawatu & Cambridge after I had posted the data on BOAY. There are only six tracks in the country. MD guessed (or lied) about three of them leading the pack, which were all wrong. His inaccuracies/lies put a major roadblock into GRNZ's integrated governance. If the information provided was open & honest (compounded by trying to change history once under the microscope), accurate information (at the time) would have led to accurate recommendations being provided to GRNZ Executive & Board meetings. If welfare underpins everything GRNZ does (as they claim), then MD will be removed from his responsibilities reporting to the AHWC meetings & someone who will provide the committee with accurate & honest information will be put in his place, at a minimum. The industry as a whole is up at stake & examples such as this only hasten its demise.

Never seen this one before. #7 dogs front right foot got hooked on the #5's muzzle & pulled its head down.

Well Chief, I didn't do anything other than point out what GRNZ should have done months ago, if race day welfare is important to them as they claim it is. Exactly. However, I'm very doubtful 5 weeks is going to sort anything out, especially with the track surface. It took GRNZ 1 1/2 years to bring Wanganui back from the brink & it's gone very well ever since. Anything less might bring some short term benefit, but without a complete overhaul, next November will quickly become the same shit-show this year has been. After the task of fixing the surface, which in itself is a major project ~ They need their two new starting boxes GRNZ has promised. They need their 10-year overdue safety rail GRNZ has promised. They need the new lure system GRNZ has promised. They need to bring the lure closer to the ground, in fact it should be just about touching the ground when stationary like Addington's is. Dogs running around a corner shouldn't be focusing on anything that higher than their eye level. They need the safety pads on the outside fence to go further around the corner.

Since the beginning of the racing season (Aug 1, 2023) Manukau has had 2738 starters. GRNZ states that 0.6% of starters is the target for major injuries. Therefore with 2738 x .006 = 16.43 major injuries would be the GRNZ target number. Manukau has produced 34 major injuries during the season thus far or over twice the GRNZ "acceptable" level. Today they finally announced a 5-week shut down for the track as an "immediate intervention and further investigation". The time they should have shut it down as an immediate response was on 31 Oct 2023, after the first quarter major injury rate was 33% higher than their KPI target. Instead, they crossed their fingers & ignored it. The second quarter ended on 31 Jan 2024, 83% higher than the KPI target. Still no response. Then halfway thru the 3rd quarter with the track returning a rate 333% higher than their KPI target, they finally decided to not so immediately intervene. Nice going guys. You've finally done the right thing, albeit 4+ months too late.

It's about time. 23/24 Season 3rd Quarter.

Addington? The race finished 1 - 3 - 8 - 7 - 2 - 5 - 4

17 Oct 2023, the above AHWC was held & their determinations were made. What were the injury rates at Addington in the month prior to transferring race day operations to Ascot from 25 Sept to 17 Oct? What were the injury rates at Addington after returning to racing in the month following that transfer to Ascot? In the month prior to the transfer for the remedial work to take place, the major injury rate was 7 per 1000 starts. In the month after the return to racing, the major injury rate was 12 per 1000 starts. The remedial work made the track nearly twice as likely for a greyhound to sustain a major injury. Apparently, that was acceptable to GRNZ as they didn't suspend racing at Addington. When it's convenient, welfare underpins everything we do.

17 Oct 2023 Animal Health and Welfare Committee minutes. https://www.grnz.co.nz/Files/Animal Health Welfare Committee minutes/2023 10 17 AHWC Minutes - Draft (1).pdf Injury data correlation - Addington track only - 17 Oct 2023 to 31 Dec 2023. The raw data which provides the above correlation. Summary Addington returned 50% higher rate than expected (KPI is 6 in 1000) for major injuries during the specific time period the AHWC had specified. GRNZ did not suspend racing at Addington during that time period (or in the following 2.5 months after that period), so therefore (9 in 1000) is an acceptable level of serious injuries occurring. Either GRNZ is not serious about improving track safety or the AHWC has been put in place to simply tick a box for reporting to the Govt. Either way, it's not a good look & it only helps to prove that welfare doesn't underpin everything they do.