Doomed

Oh Mike, have you never heard of the bigger picture. There is a plan that us mere mortals are not privy to. A BIG plan. Something wonderful.

Surely having a bet at the TAB and going to the trouble to attend race-meetings is "skin in the game"? And as Chief said, TAB4E does seem oblivious to the issues facing the industry. There is nothing wrong with being blissfully unaware of the issues facing the industry and being happy to plod along and enjoy the moment, but at the same time it is best not to criticise those who have some interest in structural problems and concern for the future of the industry. Constructive criticism is to be encouraged.

Entain appear to have no idea how racing works in NZ, and don't get much help from the two codes who appear to have even less idea. Nothing Entain does regarding programming seems designed to maximise turnovers. The Sunday congestion is another example of that. And the enormous gaps between races on Sundays means they no-longer see Sundays as an opportunity to encourage on course attendances. I can only assume that a lot of their decisions are based on overseas theories. If something works overseas they assume it will work in NZ. They don't seem to realise we are a special case, for better or worse.

He did say about 30 seconds after they crossed the line that he had got it wrong.

I got the quinella. Initially I thought bugger, I took the wrong Pitman horse. So I was quite pleased when the caller said he got it wrong. We didn't get to see much of the interference that led to the relegation.

Times change Kihi. Nothing remains the same.,

And one of the biggest turnover races if I recall correctly.

Ashburton did get that "new" public grandstand back in the 80s when the industry used to fund such things. Motukarara and Omoto got some new stands as well and then Riccarton, but it is hard to recall any major spending on viewing facilities since then. Ashburton of course also got their new track probably early 80s. It used to be about the same size as Riccarton.

It's duplicating common sense.

Virtually the sole purpose of the AWT at Riccarton was to justify closing down tracks like Timaru, and other tracks in Canty. With tracks like Timaru, Oamaru and Waimate the SI already had access to decent winter surfaces. Also, I happen to have been through Rangiora several times recently. That is a town that is really taking off. A functioning gallops track at Rangiora would be a boom for Canty racing, but that will never happen now as they have committed to the AWT as being the saviour of Canty racing.

Traditionally, if you were at Trentham and had $1EW on a race at Wingatui that would be included in the broader on course turnover for Trentham. If you are oncourse at a smaller meeting, where they sometimes post race by race turnovers up for people to see, it is listed something like: on course betting on this meeting; on course betting from here on other meetings; off course turnover on this meeting. If I recall correctly, any betting done on a specific course is considered oncourse betting for that course. That is why racing on something like Melb Cup day can be profitable for a club as all the Melb Cup bets on that course count as on course turnover. As I understand it, any betting by phone by someone oncourse is also registered as oncourse turnover for that track. I might be wrong though, I sometimes am.

Traditionally, yes.

Around the Waikato there are non stop grass track racing and trialing opportunities despite relatively small fields. The Cambridge AWT can be used as an option by those who wish to, as can Awapuni and the provincial Yaldhurst track. Canterbury, and the SI, do not have non stop opportunities on the grass. They are trying to force trainers to use the AWT, which is hardly desirable. 35 horses missed a start at Ashburton last week. Several horses missed a start at Invercargill. Hardly anyone ever scratches out of a field in the South regardless of track conditions. I am merely a casual observer and I notice these things. It appears that nobody from NZTR has noticed any particular problems with the current structure. And now we are moving into the lunatic phase where stakes drop to $17,000. You cannot tell me that a full field of horses racing for $17,000 does less turnover and is more of a drain on the industry than 4, 5 or 6 horses running for $40,000 or $50,000. I might be wrong of course. How would anyone know. We are never given access to turnover figures anymore. Apparently it is no-longer considered relevant.

I said there were only two clubs in the noms who haven't had abandonments or disasters of one type or another. I still think Wingatui has been very generously treated as far as boosted stakes go. When they say club of the year it sounds like the calendar year 2024. I'm not sure why the results have been kept such a secret.

Seems to be a total secret. Only TAB4E seems to know, and according to him Auck only won their category. I presume the overall winner is either Central Otago or Wingatui. They are the only two without many negative marks.

I haven't seen the results of that mentioned anywhere. All a bit underwhelming PR wise. Do you think NZTR are a bit embarrassed by the results. Who were the other winners?

Yes, they are a regular occurrence in the south, but I don't recall many 2yos using them. Some may have to start using them as there were ballots in the last Riccarton 2yo race who didn't get a start and there won't be many other opportunities for those horses, which must be frustrating.

I have hardly ever seen a 2yo line up in a 2yo and older race in NZ. They do it often in Australia.

Yes, and Joe Doyle very impressive as well, as was the horse.

Lots of learnings to be had.

Possibly an indication that a massive crowd for one heavily promoted day doesn't mean significant long term benefits.

NSW find themselves in a similar situation to NZ, rapidly rising stakes and rapidly declining turnover. Extraordinary that only 12,000 turned up to the slipper.

I'm struggling to see what on earth this has got to do with a fall in a trial at Taupo.

For many people of course the racing industry is their business and their sole source of income. I often wonder whether many of them realise what a precarious position they are in. I find it really sad when I see some of the younger trainers and jockeys coming through, some of whom sound very impressive. At that trainers level I think the industry is in reasonably good hands. It is at the next level, club and national administration, that the industry is struggling. Virtually the entire tier of provincial club management has been wiped out, to be replaced by a bloated, centralised national administration that is proving to be totally out of their depth. And at the same time we have the TAB/Entain, which used to be purely a service organisation, who largely did what they were told, now virtually running the whole show, despite having no grass-roots racing knowledge or skills. I can't really see how the industry can get out of this mess. Soon there won't be much left to sell off. Most of the major clubs have sold off virtually all but the essential bits of their tracks. Talk about Emperors New Clothes. The number of people who think everything is going great because we have a bloody slot race and a $1m Oaks is staggering.

Yes, but otherwise fine.