Rangatira

prior to the dishlickers resuming i am pretty sure there was no racing in nz under lockdown

if at your desktop computer you hover over the horse with the words racing underneath (top line immediately right of the TAB) it turns green and if you click it you get to the racing section of the website

i often went to leo's coffee lounge on colombo st in the 70's

ashburton not immune

too many creature comforts in the man cave

passionate supporters

some extinct goodies on this list

plenty of clients are in rest homes

how was he a drain on the tax payer when working at russell mcveagh

the funds are there so you will be fine remember to keep your distance, no fan selfies or autographs, stay compliant, save lives

very handy horse for charlie hunter and garry smith

today just gets crazier RACING GONE FROM OTAGO AND CD By Garrick Knight Well-placed sources have confirmed to Harnessed that racing will cease next season, and possibly for good, in coastal Otago and the Central Districts. It is understood that neither region features in next season’s dates calendar, which is due to be released on Friday. It is unclear whether consideration will be given to returning to the two regions in the 2021/22 seasons. Forbury Park hosted 21 meetings last season and was due to do a similar number this term. Those dates are believed to have been distributed to tracks in Canterbury and Southland. Manawatu Raceway was slated to host around 17 meetings this season. Those are gone, as are once or twice-off meetings at the likes of Stratford, Taranaki, Hawera, Otaki and Tauherenikau. Despite this, Harnessed understands the net loss of meetings for harness racing next season is only seven, which represents around 2.5% of the total meetings from this season. Other isolated tracks like Marlborough, Nelson, Kaikoura, Reefton and Westport are believed to have held on to their key meetings, though Reefton and Westport will possibly be stripped of their March double-header. The move has been made by RITA, in consultation with Harness Racing New Zealand, and factoring in Covid-19, to ensure race meetings are held at tracks central to the majority of the horse population. Excluding the stables of Oamaru trainers Brad and Phil Williamson, the number of horses trained at Forbury Park and in coastal Otago is miniscule. It’s even less in Palmerston North where only Stephen Doody trains more than two horses. Doug Gale is down the road in Bulls and has 10 on the books. When hearing the news, he simply said it will fast-track his exit from the industry after a storied 30-year training career. “I spent $60,000 on yearlings a few months ago, and they’ve been syndicated amongst locals with the idea that they could see them race locally.” Gale said the decision to exclude Manawatu made little sense to him given the club owned its own track, had fibre-optic capabilities, was a financially-secure club with decent stakes, and had the ability to run dual-code meetings with greyhounds.

Tote packs its bags - Axe to fall on over-the-counter raceday bets in new cost-cutting move By Barry Lichter • 13 May 2020 Could it get worse? When RITA confirmed this week it would not bring back its AM and FM radio network, one disgruntled punter posted the following on Facebook: “Bad move no radio coverage of racing - that’s a big promotional tool gone. “Imagine saying in the 1980s to your racing mates that one day the weekly race form guides, phone betting and radio coverage will all be gone and the TAB CEO will only think a double comes in a glass with ice. They would say you have lost the plot.” Well, it just gets worse. Drastic cost cutting by the TAB is poised to see punters on course unable to place bets over the counter and a halt to all phone betting. In a letter to industry organisations yesterday, the same day Government announced a $72.5 million emergency rescue package, Racing Industry Transition Agency executive chair Dean McKenzie outlined some of the far-reaching measures it is proposing to make. By far the most contentious will be RITA’s plans to move away from providing manual betting facilities at the country’s racetracks - where people hand over their money to an operator, call their bets, and are given a ticket, a common practice all around the world. Instead it is proposing punters use self service betting terminals or their phones to place bets via the TAB app. Racetrack punters have enjoyed betting over the counter with tote operators for decades.Punters would not be able to even use Touchtone betting on their mobile phones because RITA is also planning to close the phone bet betting channel for good. RITA says it will work with the codes to “present a specific on course solution for marquee events”. McKenzie says the decision to propose these changes has not been taken lightly. “However, the level of savings required has left the Board and management team with no choice but to cut costs across all areas of the business.” Earlier this week, RITA got specific about its 30% cost-cutting of staff, a slew of Trackside staff, including commentators, frontmen, camera operators, managers and producers to be axed. And yesterday it was revealed RITA was just three days away from defaulting on $26 million of debts it had been unable to pay. About half the country’s racetracks already have a few self service terminals.Club managers worried Racing club managers today expressed considerable concern about the betting changes which RITA is looking to introduce when people are allowed back on course under COVID-19 alert level one. Auckland Racing Club executive general manager of racing and operations Craig Baker said it would take three to five years to phase out on course betting terminals. “You couldn’t cut people off at the knees overnight like that. As a club we wouldn’t be looking after our customers if we did that. “In time, if you could put in enough self service terminals it might work, but we have only 14 to 16 at Ellerslie at the moment. But I think we’d need some tote terminals as well, especially on big days like Boxing Day (when so many first-time racegoers attend).” Baker said while the number of people betting on mobile phones at the track has increased by 20% in recent years, newbies couldn’t transition straight away. It was no quick process to open a TAB account and even free bet incentives might struggle to get enough people to sign up. Andrew “Butch” Castles … five years would be a realistic goal.New Waikato Racing Club chief executive Andrew Castles believes five years would be a realistic goal for weaning punters off betting with on course operators. “In a lot of ways it makes sense, certainly on lesser, industry days when fewer people are on track but you certainly couldn’t go bang, like that. “Clearly there are challenges but if you could ramp up the self service terminals, and have mobile ones, you might get there. But clearly there would be some days when we’d require on course servicing with terminals.” Jamie Mackinnon … backward step.Backward step Auckland Trotting Club vice-president Jamie Mackinnon said removing the terminals on course would be a backward step. “We would definitely lose revenue. The average age of our members is 60 and, while there’s nothing wrong with new technology, we shouldn’t be forcing it on them. “We would try to find ways to make sure we could keep tote operators.” Staffing the terminals doesn’t cost the TAB anything, individual racing clubs pay for that. The TAB’s sole expense on raceday is the control van which links the track to the betting host. Antiquated machines It’s the betting machines themselves that are the problem. Like so many other parts of its business, RITA is suffering from years of under-investment by its predecessors, the terminals largely worn out. Increasingly, it is becoming a losing battle for those fixing the machines to keep them alive. Throwbacks to the 1990s, they were given an upgrade in 2005 but now urgently need replacing. But, while it is believed RITA has considered replacement options, it doesn’t have the money. Industry insiders also fear many casual punters enjoy the experience of engaging with tote staff, and being given a ticket, far more than they would being confronted with the spinning wheel death on the TAB’s app and website which has been flakey at best since its introduction. Many of the country’s racetracks are also in areas where mobile phone reception is questionable. And even in the cities, getting an internet connection on marquee days is often impossible. Tens of millions of dollars of bets were made through TouchTone.Huge blow for older punters Despite a massive migration of punters using the internet to bet, axing the phone service will be a huge blow to many people. While the TAB stopped taking phone betting through an operator on August 1, 2016 (except for VIPs and people with medical conditions) the TouchTone service continued to prove popular with millions of calls logged. It has been a happy place for many of the mostly older people who like to bet small amounts - when the TAB earlier raised its minimum phone bet to $10, traffic through TouchTone doubled. But the number of people betting through TouchTone has steadily been shrinking - in 2016 only 10,000 of the TAB’s then 250,000 customers regularly used it - and it, too, is now on its death bed.

Hi Brodie, We’re excited to let you know that TAB stores will reopen their doors to customers on Thursday 14 May! Like other New Zealand businesses, our stores will have strict measures in place to ensure we can meet the Alert Level 2 requirements and keep our staff and customers safe. Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect when you head into a TAB during Alert Level 2. Contact Tracing All customers must complete a Guest Register form each time they enter a TAB store, even if you visit more than once a day. You’ll be asked to provide your full name, address, phone number and email address. If you don’t complete the Guest Register, you won’t be able to enter. Strict Hygiene Practices Customers must follow general health advice: cover your coughs or sneezes with tissues or your elbow, wash and dry your hands often. Our team will be doing the same. Our high touch surfaces will be cleaned and sanitised regularly and you may notice staff wearing PPE gear. Over the counter transactions will be completed with no hand to hand contact. We’re also encouraging our account customers to place their bets online through the TAB website or mobile app. Physical Distancing Customers must maintain one metre physical distance where possible and groups of people must be ten people or less. We encourage you to place your bets well before the race jump to minimise crowds at the counter. Gaming machines will be separated by screens and non players will not be allowed in the gaming room. You may notice changes to the layout of some of our stores. We have done this to ensure we meet the one metre physical distancing requirements. Other than that, it’s business as usual. We’re looking forward to seeing you back in store soon. Thanks, The TAB Team

don't forget sundon

pretty sure brodster has included this in his manifesto

hopefully the "orange roughie" steps upto the plate

https://www.lincolnfarms.co.nz/stories/blood-on-the-floor-at-trackside-coverage-to-be-decimated-and-long-time-callers-victims/ Blood on the floor at Trackside - coverage to be decimated and long time callers victims By Barry Lichter • 11 May 2020 TAB staff cuts will see Trackside’s coverage of racing decimated after a “blood on the floor” meeting at Petone headquarters today. While the Racing Industry Transition Agency has made no official announcement yet inside sources say there will be no on course presenters at race meetings, except for 20 marquee events. The knife has gone through all contractors, meaning even respected race callers like Tony Lee and Dave McDonald lose their jobs. Only extremely limited race meeting previews will be done and the TAB will cut its on course staff to seven - with four camera people and a director, and two others. Long time floor manager Mark Claydon has lost his job with no on course presenters to support along with make-up artists. Only three commentators will be used in the North Island - only two of George Simon, Aaron White and Peter Earley will be retained, with the two survivors expected to call Auckland and Cambridge greyhounds if Earley is lost. Mark Rozanowski will call the Central Districts greyhounds, but the versatile Jason Teaz is gone. In the South Island, four callers will be used, including two in Canterbury, Matt Cross, Justin Evans and Trevor Wilkes are safe. Only eight staff will be used in the studio - the 10 people invited to apply for the jobs include Bevan Sweeney, Brendan Popplewell, Greg O’Connor, Aidan Rodley, Marc Cookson, Pip Morris, Darryl Robinson, Pat Comerford, Nicole Simms and Emily Bosson. Craig “The Whale” Thompson, who drove harness turnover with his Whale Watch and on-course interviews is gone as is Mick Guerin. Trackside will essentially turn into wall-to-wall racing and directors will keep their jobs as the TAB plans to import more meetings from overseas to fill in the time. It currently airs for 217 hours a week. Special coverage around racing carnivals will be scaled back. Radio Trackside, suspended last month, will not be reinstated on any AM channels.

run them into the kitty litter

word is the broken record party want to tax mile racing to its death

something tells me this went on well before covid 19 or maybe its the monteiths radler

not in brodland

and rip into it on the 29th