Doomed

Right then, now that it is all over can someone explain something to me. This is a serious question. I 'm not knocking the race, there are just aspects of it I can't get my head around. The winner got $340,000, after deductions for trainer and driver. So roughly $170,000 each for the slot holder and connections, assuming it was a 50/50 split, although since it was the hot fav if I was the connections I would probably have asked for a 70/30 split. But assuming it was 50/50 the slot holder made a $95,000 profit for their investment. About a 120% return on their investment, so good work if you can get it. After deductions the second placegetter ended up with $106,250; $53,125 each for slot holder and connections. Slotholder only lost $21,875. Better luck next year. Third placegetter $36,125 for each of slotholder and connections. So slot holder lost $38,875. And so it goes as we go down to the also rans where the slot holders lost about $50,000 each. In what way does this make any sort of business sense for the slot holders? Only one of the 10 of them had any chance of showing a profit, and if this year's winning slot holder doesn't have a horse run in the first two for either of the next two years they will end up losing money overall. It was also interesting that the All Stars didn't purchase a slot. You would have thought they had every chance of winning the race and ending up with all the winning stake. Perhaps they thought it was a bad business proposition. For the connections of the winner and placegetters it was basically the same as racing in a $300,000 race. As I say, I'm not a big trotting follower these days, and I wouldn't have known the race even existed if I hadn't looked on here, and I may be missing something totally, but I just don't get the business sense in all this. Why would 10 groups of people invest in a something that they were 90% guaranteed to lose money.

I had the combined win and place tote pool at $51,000. Perhaps a similar amount fixed odds and some exotics, so possibly $150,000 on the race all up. Perhaps a $15,000 contribution towards the stake from betting turnover.

Now that you have given up following harness racing perhaps spend some of your spare time taking a proper writing course and learn about punctuation, paragraphs, full stops etc.

The article I read somewhere, probably on the hrnz website said the $37,500 would be split between the slot holder and horse connections.

That of course is how the Kosciuszko works. As they have now copied the Everest concept, I'm sure someone will think of copying the Kosciuszko next.

No, apparently the slot holder and the connections of the horse that they originally had/were allocated, however it works, split the $37,500 between them. So the slot holder gets about $18,000 for their $75,000 investment. Great business model.

I don't think that fits their narrative so it tends to be ignored. I am waiting for some figures about cost savings and turnovers from the meetings transferred from closed tracks, Waikouaiti, Motukarara, Wairoa etc. Even the meetings transferred to the Cambridge AWT. They must have quite a lot of information regarding all those meetings, and some others, by now so surely we all deserve some insight into the benefits of the restructuring so far. How hard is it to say Waikouaiti moved to Wingatui, total costs were $???, which was down $???. Total income was up $???, made up of turnovers up $???, gatetakings up $???, sponsorship up $??? Surely if they revealed that information some people who might be a bit dubious about the merits of the scorched earth policy might change theor mind?

I was thinking much the same myself. Who would ever have thought we could actually end up with someone worse than those who have gone before. It sounds like he is just a lackey put in there to do what he's told and toe the party line.

I assumed he meant that poorly performing tracks like New Plymouth that have no upside, and will always be a bog no matter what you spend on them, and white elephants like Trentham that will need multiple millions spent on them to bring them up to standard would go first. Surely that is what rationalisation and better use of assets means?

It is a quite a poorly written article really and he doesn't sound all that bright, but I don't know the man at all so perhaps he was just poorly quoted. To give him credit thought he does seem to accept that the New Plymouth racecourse is a goner so he can't be accused of bias. Perhaps he is going to go down the line of getting rid of the poorly performing racetracks first rather than just the smaller provincial ones. He seems to suggest we are better off selling up some of the white elephant big city tracks, which is a subtle change in appproach from the previous admonistration.

The theory seems to be to close lots of tracks for trials and racemeetings so that trainers are forced to use the AWTs. Then they can brag about how popular the AWTs are. The trainers who don't like them will probably just drift away as racing becomes more boring and homoginised. That will please the powers that be as well of course as they seem to only want the bigger compliant trainers rather than the smaller operators who charge too cheaply and give the place a bad look. We are in for an interesting few months ahead. It is easy to see Pukekohe failing to stand up to racing then they will be forced to either go to the AWT or call on a favour from Avondale again: "just before we execute you, do you think we could use your decent track just once more?" Likewise, in Canterbury, Ashburton will probably have to be ready to go at a moments notice in case the Riccarton turf becomes unusable again. All the while Oamaru and Timaru will sit there with unwanted near firm tracks. The fact that Trentham appears to be the go to alternative winter option in the CD pretty much speaks for itself in that region.

I see that is Avondale you refer to. You can hardly blame them. 25 trials at Avondale this week, 24 at Foxton, both tracks that aren't considered important. If I was running either track I would tell them to f... off and play on their flash AWTs. 15 trials at Ashburton as well. Surely they could have been run on the AWT?

Might be planning a big opening ceremony: stages, dancing girls etc.

Just lucky we have all those spare tracks to move to. Who would have thought you would see meetings moved to Trentham in the winter time

But the gallops know they just have to hold on until the three AWTs are up and going and everything will be ok. The trots already have their AWTs, in fact so many they have closed several down over the years and want to close even more.

Locarno was one of my favourites back in the day. He may have been one of the first to win the Miracle Mile from the outside barrier. Only a six horse field in those days of course.

Won by most of the greats, including Locarno. Many would probably rate Messenger/Rowe Cup night the best night of the year at Alex Park. Sad to see how far it has fallen.

Last I heard Riverton races at Riverton and the Tylers train at Riverton so probably a 2 minute stroll around to the start. Of course, it is hard to know where everyone races these days so perhaps the Riverton meeting has moved to Gore, it wouldn't surprise me. Stranger things have happened.

I just checked the programmes and they have been opened up to all comers. How sad, The Messenger used to be one of the great races, now it is just another everyday event. In the gallops you might struggle to retain your group status if you made such a dramatic change, but group status doesn't seem to mean too much in the trots.

I think you will find they would rather race at their local meeting over Easter. Probably more appreciated there.

I wasn't going to comment Curious as I feel I keep repeating myself, but the intention is basically for Riccarton to hold their usual saturday turf meetings and virtually all of the Ashburton, Timaru and Oamaru meetings get moved to the AWT. I'm not sure what the Timaru and Oamaru tracks are being "saved " for as they have hardly any summer meetings. And the horses that "prefer better footing" that you refer to are being moved from grass tracks that usually provide dead tracks (firmer than most NI summer tracks) to an AWT surface that they have never raced on before. I seem to recall the Tylers saying "Yeah close Oamaru we can't stand it, we can't wait to head up to Riccarton and the AWT, that will be a perfect lead up to bog track racing at Riccarton over the National carnival." Although they may have said that on 1 April.

Doesn't matter said Bernie. trainers come and go, total numbers remain generally the same apparently. He's the expert on the big money so I suppose he knows.

Seems a bit weird. The trots already pay back to last anyhow, so rather than getting $300 for running last you will now get $500. And rather than the winner getting $10,000 they will now get $10,200. Doesn't sound like the most innovative solution.

Trials there just over a week ago I think.

Any benefit of the doubt should favour the interferred with horse. I thought it was going to go straight past the tiring leader.