With A Dream

Mehe is right, we need large jackpots to excite punters. Obviously the TAB can't afford to put the money up themselves, bit if we had a pick 9 instead of pick 6 we would get larger jackpots so no need for the TAB to fund it. I suspect you are correct that the TAB don't want Jackpots as it ties up funds for longer but I believe that is a big mistake.. . New funds will come into racing chasing the big jackpots, people will form syndicates as happened in the past. Just look what happens when lotto has a big pot. Like Brodie I have no interest in the other codes but can see advantages in running a jackpot across Gallops & Harness 1- On a Saturday it could be run on Invercargill Harness & Ellerslie for example thereby running it in a shorter time frame 2- Harness would then get an equal share of the turnover which would be helpful when accessing the distribution of funds to the codes.

He is being disingenuous by saying he will rip it off horses and give it to people. Of course the money that went into racing IS going to people. It goes to horse people but also filters into all sorts of other economies, ie. Hospitality, hospitality suppliers. Vets Transport companies, airlines, accommodation suppliers, Farming supply businesses and the list goes on. What he is really saying is, we will take money off the racing industry that supports around 17,000 jobs and give it to my people. Thankfully the Maori Party has little or no chance of making it back into parliament and even if they did they have no chance of holding any real power.

Hopefully we are wrong and they are just late putting them up.

Cuts need to be made but cutting jobs that are revenue promoting is the worst thing you can do in a crisis, it just makes matters worse. Anyone that understands management will know this. The people who make these decisions should be moved on urgently before they do more damage. They have responsibilities beyond their level of competence. Companies that promote themselves during a crisis and make cuts in non revenue producing areas always get through a crisis much better than those that don't

I guess the New Conservatives are the remnants of Colin Craigs party so never likely to see the inside of parliament buildings. I don't agree Peters should resign as racing minister as I honestly believe no one from Labour or National has the slightest interest in the racing industry. If racing stopped tomorrow half of them wouldn't care less and the other half would probably be rejoicing. When was the last time anyone heard anything from the National spokesperson on racing (if they even have one) Good to see this Mr Ashton obviously has a genuine interest in racing.

A we bit harsh I thought. All drivers, no matter how good, are going to drive a shocker every now & then.

Interesting driver change for Copy That. Blair Orange appears to have been engaged even though David Butcher will be on course

Case in point Whiplash smile &Arg=OfficialRaces&Arg=hrnzg-rSite&Arg=TRUE

Reon was the commentator at Addington when I started following the sport. For me he is still the best. I have heard old recordings of David Clarkson and he was superb, if fact I believe he pioneered the NZ style of commentating. His daughter taught me at secondary school. Jack McDonald was another favourite.

Agree totally Rusty. I was very proud of myself finishing 16th and beating a couple of my mates

Couldn't agree more Galah. It seems every time a change is made at a track (particularly Addington), whether it be to cram in more space for hospitality packages or for Health & Safety, it involves further removing the horses from the public. Addington did away with the birdcage years ago, which was a big retrograde step IMO. Then they stop owners from standing beside their horse for a photo after winning. I rue the day, when for health & safety reasons, some idiot suggests they build a wall between the stands and the track to protect the public in case some horse bolts off the track and careers into the crowd.

Races he won averaged about usd $14k per race, so not too bad. I see he won another 17k race today. He would be doing very well financially I would say.

Nice run by Alta Endeavour for 1st time to the trials

Final Decision, maybe not one of the best but certainly one of the unluckiest.

It must be about time HRNZ is going to announce the winner of the Dream Team competition that concluded 31st December. I know I don't have any chance of winning but interested to see where I finished. It's been over 3 weeks now.

If it wasn't for the visitors there would not be enough horses to hold the meetings. I think, considering how few horses are trained in the top of the South Island they do well to win what they do. As far as I know the Nelson/Blenheim circuit has always been dominated by Canterbury horses due to their superior numbers.

I always thought of race fixing as 2 or more drivers colluding to bring about a certain result by helping one particular runner to win while impeding the chances of other runners, for financial gain. While drivers texting or calling each other to discuss tactics to gain an advantage for their horse may be dishonest, it is not the same thing as trying to arrange a pre determined result. Drivers are primarily required to drive in a manner that gives their horse the chance to obtain the best possible placing they can achieve. In traditional race fixing this does not happen, where as discussing tactics,( while it may be dishonest) at least the drivers involved are still doing their best to be competitive and win the race. Traditional race fixing therefore is a far more serious offence in my opinion compared to the latter example.

She is past her best alright, Consensus died in 2009 lol

Should we be surprised. There is no connection with USA gallops and New Zealand racing. No NZ Jockeys, No former NZ Horses, No common bloodlines with NZ Thoroughbreds. They should be showing USA Harness instead, with Dexter driving over there and plenty of former NZ Horses, there is much more interest from a NZ perspective.

Was going to be hard for her winning money racing against Dream About Me, Elle Mac & Ultimate Delight. Not many other options to race where she could be competitive.

I certainly wasn't advocating for a return to the old system. My point is, regardless of how many wins a horse has had or how much money it has won, it should be racing horses with similar ability as much as possible. For instance, Rukapuka Ruler won a GN Derby but was not competitive against the top tier. In a 75 - 85 rating he would be competitive, I don't think he would dominate. Other horses in that grade may be on the way up, others on the way down (in the case of older horses in particular) and others suited to stay there. If horses are dominating in that grade (like the allstars as you mention) then they have to move up to the next level so that the 75 - 85 rating band remains competitive. I admit I am not sure how to best construct a system that achieves that but I think that should be the aim of any improvements to the system. You can't ask Mark to become less of a trainer but you should be able to make changes so horses have a place to race where they can remain competitive. Surely that is what we all want.

Don't really agree Galah. I don't enjoy the AS domination at all but that is not really the problem as I see it. The problem is we have swapped the old handicapping system for a new one that has the same faults embedded in it. Good horses are constantly promoted to a rating where they are not competitive and then take months to get back to where they should have been all the time. If Rakapuka Ruler and a host of others like him were able to stay in a 75 - 85 rating where they were competitive many of them would not have been sold and there would be enough of them to make up good fields. If HRNZ continues to ignore this problem it won't get any better. It doesn't cost money to make changes to the system but the powers that be need to think outside the square as to how better retain good horses. Do we really need to persevere with a system where horses are re accessed every time they win regardless of their talent. It has always been done that way and we have ample proof it doesn't work.

That makes 3 then

Bettor Joy?

Actually I say good on the ATC. If our industry is to thrive it needs to become much more professional, and this is part of that. Perception is important and even though drivers talking to each other on the track is quite innocent 99.9% of the time it can still be a bad look, particularly in the eyes of newcomers to the sport. Also, good on the ATC for making the horses parade in numerical number before going out on the track. Horses are our product and I think sometimes they are too far removed from the public. Going back to when I started following the sport,they always paraded in the birdcage before a race. Now days, especially around Canterbury, too often they go straight from the stables onto the track. The public who want a good close up look at the horses don't get a chance. What other industry tries to put barriers between its customers and it's product. I hope the Met follows suit, although it won't be easy since they did away with the birdcage years ago.