Huey

So the National goes from Riccarton and the hills gone from Ellerslie so the Great Northern etc are gone from there , gee these guys running the sport are doing a fantastic job. All jumps racing moved to Trentham where you can watch cricket games during races sounds like a viable solution.

You haven't raced one for a while Chief? I thought you'd have a barn full of them with your favourite stable , you know the one that gave you those tangerine PJ's?

Net loss of Friends today Chief??

$45k to race her a season ... yeah right!

Well I'm guessing one trainer was very lucky the other two trainers were involved.

The only hint I saw regarding the TA positive (to your credit) was on here, nothing anywhere else nadda, loveracing etc all reported the Sharrock case , did I miss something outside of the NZ herald article on the TA case?

he shouldn't, amazing how the TA positive was swept under the carpet, this one has been really thrown about ... can't work out why though.

Phenomenal money for mares there , In NZ we got mares going on Gavel in foal from nice families by nice sires probably won't even get a bid!

and I couldn't agree more, but what I'm saying is by not being concerned about all those facets I've stated youre straight up not respecting the owner are you?

No but I rate them as far more important than fancy facilities for owners, not to mention they are integral parts of the sport with regards to getting a return. I may have missed the first part of your post, but I tought you were saying you'd prefer better facilities for owners or consider them more important than the tracks etc?

Don't agree, you'll never get the chance in NZ racing circles unless youre in the club. Best you can hope for is having the hoi pill take your ideas as their own.

For me making sure you're horse is getting the opportunity to perform to the best of its abilities on a safe, unbiased track/surface (nothing worse than lane racing or concerns about the safety of your pride and joy) is absolutely paramount in driving the purchase decision for another horse. Next would be the programming , calendar & handicapping would be of the the utmost importance. All of these(if done right) should also generate wagering on the product surely? If you want the fancy dining etc why don't you take your tablet or laptop and go and watch your horse race while eating out in a Michelin Star restaurant?

What would noms accs be for Doomben Cup? Not to mention cost of having her there. I'd say they'd be dipping into the kitty.

Where did I bag the horse out, nothing but respect for her, but still confused as to what the point of the entire campaign was, I guess by your reply you understand it all?

What's up with Sweeney commenting on the apprentice ride on the 2nd horse? I notice he does this a fair bit when it comes to apprentice riders, but not senior jocks , particularly his own

Seriously what was the point in running her in that race today? She picked up the stragglers only by the looks of it.

Be likely to lose days to the AWT if push came to shove I'd have thought. What you state however is exactly the type of analysis & thinking the industry should have been doing long before the AWT came about. Unfortunately on the racing side we simply do not have the leadership to think outside the square or even listen for that matter.

I'd fix it with a little bit of "vibe"!

At a time when the industry has a really good "vibe" about it , well its just the "vibe" thats all.

Different scenario entirely imo, particularly with the NP M cases having already been identified. One thing I've noticed is the TA situation was kept very quiet in the media , this one no problem being thrown out there , why is that?

Was thinking along the same lines yesterday, its clear the quality animals in Aus don't go to these tracks to race on.

I got the impression yesterday , that they really don't care if they work or not from a punting or financially successful perspective, they intend on selling up the family jewels to do whatever it is they deem to be the right thing no matter what. How long until people are really bored of watching the stuff?

Of course its ok if youre in the club or part of the agenda, the no facilities was only used on clubs they desperately wanted to find a reason to rid the industry of of via the venue plan.

The worst part here will be they will do anything and everything to justify producing those AWT tracks, they gave themselves a huge pat on the back yesterday off the back of holding one race meeting. To me (and also some of the unfounded propaganda) this shows how desperate they are for these to prove their worth, one only had to listen to the gushing praise of Rodley , trainers and jockeys almost rehearsed at times. I just can't get my head around them if the Australians don't rate them, as someone else pointed out on the other site NSW don't have one , thats rather telling imo. Despite what anyone says the punters have got to love them surely, that is for them to work out, despite what anyone else thinks of them. But here is hoping something works in the industry for the people that will be putting the show on (hopefully) in years to come, cause not much appears to be.

I watched it and after a couple of races it was what I expected, very boring racing. I hope it works out for all concerned and if others enjoy it then good luck to them, it needs to work out for the industry sake. The coverage today was like watching an infomercial for NZ racing though, hopefully they cool it a bit on the hype. I hope everyone isn't going early crow too . Here is hoping for all concerned its the racing nirvana its made out to be.