Withadream2

I think your post is quite unfair. I can see why Andrew would get frustrated with the inaccuracy of the original post. I think syndication is a positive initiative in getting people involved, and we really need to do that to survive. I don’t know Andrew very well at all but am well enough acquainted with him to say hello if I see him in the stables. I’ve always found him quite friendly.

I wonder what’s going to happen with the horses they already have?

One other point, I’m not sure if this is true or not but I seem to remember being told that the committee of the NZMTC at the time didn’t want Borana in the 1984 Cup because they were worried about Shands driving. (In my previous post I meant 1985 Cup)

I guess back then most horsemen were trainer drivers and there were probably only one or two professional drivers full time not like today where trainers often specialise in training only. I remember thinking Borana was a good place chance in the 1984 Cup as he was very unlucky in the previous years Auckland Cup running 4th to Royden Glen.

I agree and he could have kept Borana in his stable if he had been more realistic about his driving abilities, especially in big races.

Just been in touch with the breeder. He said Borana was previously registered as a hack but is now deregistered. No doubt he would have passed on some time ago.

A good friend of mine bred Borana. I’m not sure if he checks in on bitofayarn but I’ll message him & let him know about the thread. My understanding is that after the 1984 cup the Murrays told George they wanted another driver. When he refused to let the owners choose someone else they swapped stables. In my opinion they did the right thing. I don’t believe he would have won a cup with George Shand driving.

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but is the 50/50 split of GBR on the total wagering, ie racing & sports betting or does racing just get 50% of the GBR of money invested on racing only?

Why would it be important to me? Well I would have thought that was obvious. I want Harness Racing to firstly survive & hopefully thrive beyond the initial 5 years of guaranteed income from Entain, so it would be comforting to know if there was some level of guaranteed income beyond that period. What a bizarre question. Secondly, many of the financial aspects of the deal with Entain are public eg the addional payment for geo blocking, so why would they not tell interested parties if there was a guaranteed minimum income beyond the 5 years. You suggested there might be such an agreement in place so it is obviously of interest to you. Why wouldn’t it be of interest to others?.

I certainly hope so Chief but if that was the case I would have thought we would know about it by now. I have my doubts but I hope I’m wrong.

Well I think the 2 year old bonus is a waste of money. I don’t believe it is contributing to significantly more 2 year olds racing. It essentially makes for $27k races for 5 & 6 horse fields. I think with some of the money they have come into HRNZ should be putting some aside to build a nest egg for when the 5 years is up.

Forbury, judging by all your posts you seem to judge every single driver as totally incompetent. At least this should create a level playing field (in your mind anyway)

Galah, That’s exactly the kind of thinking we need on the HRNZ board.

Excellent point Galah

Have you ever considered going to see a councillor?

Are you drunk already??😆😆😆

There may be a bit of water to go under the bridge on this topic. I just have a feeling the ban could potentially be overturned by the courts. Just my thoughts with no inside information admittedly.

He was part owned in NZ by his trainer P Robertson along with Mike Butler who was the stud master at Nevele R.

Natural Guy. From the first crop of Nat Lobell he had a good first crop but was spectacularly unsuccessful thereafter.

With no confidence whatsoever Royal Lopez?

Given his UDR is significantly above what it has been for a number of years it would be nonsensical to suggest he is out of form.

I was there and it was certainly a successful promotion. A lot of the people attending were not regular race goers & many may have been there for the first time. Unfortunately it may be difficult to pull off that promotion in future once the new stadium opens in the CBD.

I would like to see the Messenger Stakes in Auckland moved to a week or two before the Becha Slot race then they could bring back the Easter Cup for $100k at Addington. Since they have canned the aces finals there is plenty of money to re allocate

Very poor programming to have a premier meeting without a premier race. HRNZ needs to look at this & put at least a group 2 or better a group 1 on the night. Otherwise you might as well downgrade it to a normal meeting. That would be very sad.

Does anyone know if Trumps tariffs will affect horse imports into the US??. If he’s dumb enough to put tariffs on coffee that the US can’t grow in their own country & tariffs on an uninhabitable island I expect there will be tariffs on sales of horses to the US. It may well affect the export market here.