Doomed

Well, a lot of fairly unusual types have ended up in Parliament.

Just as one example of the sort of thing you might expect the trainers to want to have a say about. This weekend at Timaru, only one rating 65 programmed for all comers, over 1,600m, plus a fillies and mare 1,200m. So nothing for 65 stayers or sprinters and 5 milers will miss out as there are 33 noms and they are going to split it into two races. The maiden 1,200m, 23 noms so 9 will miss out. These are $17,000 races, surely they could at least try and make sure everyone gets an opportunity. The next opportunity coming up for these horses is on the AWT. Probably get massive noms and NZTR will say "look, trainers love the AWT." I can understand Pam's comments about trainers losing owners because of the lack of opportunities. In the North Island you can usually pick and choose where you want to race.

Don't go thinking that makes you sound especially clever.

One thing I have never understood about harness racing is this reluctance to move horses through the grades. Any opportunity for a penalty free race and they leap at it. I imagine there must be almost 500 odd races in Southland each season for maidens and 1,2,3 win horses, yet put on a race for 5 or more win horses and you are lucky to get 6 or 7 starters. Where do the winners go? And this socialist approach where maidens race for higher stakes than winners is just weird. I can remember back in the 80s when horses were desperate to get 10 wins so they could start in the "Cup". Since then it seems that the worse thing you can possibly do is win several in a row. How many $2 maiden winners go on to win their next start? There obviously needs to be some incentive for horses to work through the grades. Having a $100,000 Invercargill Cup clearly hasn't achieved much. I suspect the punters want to see some decent 5+ win* races with several last start winners all working their way through the grades. *I don't understand the harness rating system so I prefer to refer to such things as 5+ wins.

Fascinating race. The commentator certainly thought it looked strange, but the stipes didn't seem to spot anything wrong at all. At best it could probably described as incompetent driving by the drivers mentioned above.

Its been quite a while, but I have attended a few Foxton meetings back in the day and I don't recall a rush to the outside fence there. But, as I say, it was a few years ago.

Use whatever term you like. Thick skinned or head in the sand. Just too stupid for words really. Unfortunately we have a racing minister who pushed for the AWTs, otherwise you might suggest the racing minister should step in and tell NZTR to get their act together. What i don't understand is why the trainers seem happy to vote with their feet but seem unwilling to say a single word publicly about why they won't support AWT trials. Meanwhile Waverly have heaps of trials for their meeting. It will be interesting to see how many they get for the 2yo trial tacked onto the Timaru meeting this week. I actually feel a bit sorry for the 45 horses who were willing to give it a go at Cambridge. They never say how many were keen at Riccarton.

I did get a get irritated by the preamble before the race that used to be the Jackson Stakes about what a great winter race it was and all the top horses that had won it , like Axeman, Horlicks etc. They didn't mention that all the top horses that had won it did so when it was raced in the spring and used to attract top fields. It got moved many years ago when the HB spring races became more prominent, so it doesn't really have a history as a great winter race at all.

Terrible look isn't it. Riccarton got lots of flak when everyone headed to the outside fence, so they had to even it up. No one seems to bother about Wanganui. Horrible racing. It looked like a poor ride by Allpress on the southerner in the feature mile. She covered so much extra ground getting to the outside. The art is to get there as easily as possible, but she is the expert so I suppose she knew what she was doing.

It doesn't do any harm. I imagine our Pam would be at fairly short odds to take it out.

Gee, the infield at Wingatui is drier than I imagined. I hope the grass grows back by Sunday.

Gamma just doesn't quite get the unsustainable point. I'm sure it's lovely for those owners to race for the better part of $60,000 in a 6 horse field, but turnover on that race will probably generate about $3,000 towards the cost of the total stake. Where does the other $57,000 come from?

You do wonder whether they actually put money up each meeting (they very well may do) or whether Tim just gets a free Speights each time he pops in.

To give Awapuni some credit, looks like they have a real sponsor for each of their races. Doesn't look like Riccarton could find any sponsors for their meeting tomorrow.

6 in the Sapling stakes this weekend. Quite sad. I don't think they have really come to grips with how to make the Jan 1 to 31 Dec season work properly.

Not sure leadership is the right word to use there. They possibly motivate Ellerslie, a few of the bigger breeders and syndicators, and the top 2 or 3 trainers. “The action of leading a group of people or an organisation.” That's how the Oxford Dictionary defines leadership. In simple words, leadership is about taking risks and challenging the status quo. Leaders motivate others to achieve something new and better.

Something totally wrong out there. 8 races at Cambridge, 7 at Puke. 7 at Awapuni and 8 at Wanganui. Lots of small fields. Meanwhile 10 races at Wingatui, no maidens. Could easily have held 12 races if they decided to give opportunities to the maidens that missed out because of the abandoned meeting last week. 9 races at Riccarton. Could easily have held 10 if they hadn't decided to eliminate several horses. How thick, or fixed in a mindset, do you have to be to miss the imbalance in stakes and dates allocations?

We are hardly going to get more quality racing if horses get two penalty free wins. There are already heaps of penalty free options. The hardest thing in harness racing is getting horses through the grades to fill up tighter grade fields. I cringe every time I look at a harness meeting and see maidens racing for $2,000 more than winners of 3.4.5 races. It always looks to me like a very socialist sport where winners and successful horses are frowned upon. I always think harness people must all vote Labour or similar parties.

A change of terminology. Good to see them listening. The R65 1400m WILL be divided

It's good to see clubs concerned enough to get some coverage in main stream media, but his comments are a bit random. He is concerned about not getting public holiday dates but there seems to be a reluctance for clubs to race on public holidays anyhow. Also, Wingatui gets Boxing day and Riverton New Years Day and Easter. Wingatui also gets Melbourne Cup day, which is almost a holiday, certainly a big punting day. I suppose a bit of media interest is a start anyhow.

They do have access to a lot of experience now. I imagine they flew down people from HB and Awapuni to advise Wingatui.

Obviously Wingatui is all good to go them. No such luck for the Otago and Southland maidens who missed out last week. They either have to go to Riccarton to race on the AWT or wait for yet another Wingatui meeting on 30 June.

Yes, quite showy.

The horse has to have raced between Jan and May but surely a lot of the ranking points would have been accumulated before that period.

Usually, unless its Karaka day at Ellerslie.