Nowornever

I personally love the big numbers and wish there were 24 in a race like the old days. You will notice the Trifecta pool in that race got up over 27K the highest of the days New Zealand racing including gallops. If there were only 14 in the race the pool would have been only three quarters of that. The race was a good watch and the winning horse came from near last on the turn so I say the more horses the merrier.

YES

I agree totally. Not many of these horses race both nights so it is a no brainer to combine them into one meeting a week. Trying to get two off the ground if the numbers reduce any further will be next to impossible

NowOrNever and Brodie aren't being mean — they're being realistic. It’s not personal — it’s a pragmatic view about sustainability. The fact is, races with 5–6 horse fields produce very low turnover and the races are run at a loss which in the end will damage the industry overall.

Yes as long as the South Island meetings turnover are not used to keep propping them up.

You having a go at Cambridge this week Brodie ? Enticing fields on display for you LOL

Raining and heavy track. Delicious! Bring it on

Methven's meeting tomorrow (Sunday) will go ahead as planned. There were concerns that the meeting would have to be transferred to Addington Raceway after this week's poor weather in Mid Canterbury. But after a track inspection today by a group including HRNZ representatives, club officials and the Racing Integrity Board it was decided the meeting would proceed as planned. The track, though wet, has held up well which is a credit to the work done by everyone at the club. The first of the day's 11 races will be at 12 noon with the feature being the Group 3 Alabar Methven Cup at 4.36pm

Lol the bookies are not much better 51.00 was a gift on the last runner up there. How do they get these prices so wrong? No wonder they are struggling.

No chance of those guys getting restrictions. What they are doing is a copy book on how ENTAIN want everyone to bet. Just throw bets down willy nilly on every race until the pot runs out.

We’re writing to let you know that we have made the decision to close the stable doors on the TAB Racing Club (TRC) at the end of New Zealand Cup Week on 15 November. While it has been a popular initiative for those of you who have joined us on the TRC journey over the past year, the business case no longer stacks up, as we reset our focus on our core business of providing our valued TAB customers with the best products and services. They got burnt on the book bigtime with the first starter winning at Addington and every consequent starter has been a nail biting loss on the books. What part of the NZ operation will they close down next? This was almost a replica of the emails Ladbrookes send out to advise you of your impending restriction or ban from betting with them.

Harness Racing New Zealand advises that significant rainfall is forecast for Methven over the next 72 hours, including up to 30mm on Saturday, prompting the introduction of a contingency plan for this weekend’s meeting. A track inspection will be conducted at Mt Harding Racecourse, Methven, at 11am on Saturday 4 October. If the track is deemed unsuitable, the meeting will be transferred to Addington Raceway. In that event, race distances will be amended in line with Addington’s approved start points, and Race 8 will be reviewed to meet maximum field size requirements. HRNZ will confirm the outcome immediately following Saturday’s inspection.

Trying to cater for the younger audience but it is cringe to most. I do get a laugh out of some of their bets they put on that have absolutely no show. It is ironic that these guys are betting thousands and some of us can't even get $100 on.

Methven Trotting Club

Mot is pretty sheltered in behind that hill so should be ok.

Well it does not take a lot of early money to move a market these days but the main reason is the opening price was wrong, so naturally the market will gravitate towards the correct price once the public start betting. Bookies also get an advantage early as most of these markets opened at 135% a couple of the bigger fields with the emergencies even opened at 155 - 165% so yes they are pretty average with their opening odds sometimes.

Maybe they are working on the theory that terminals are the only option for restricted punters since they stopped them betting on account and also overseas. Terminals are probably quite well frequented by a lot of these banned people. Pretty sure I saw Brodie down the local last week.

Oh absolutely let’s scrap those awful big fields and go all-in on 8-horse processions where everyone gets a pat on the back and a ribbon for participation. Because clearly, what punters really crave is less value, fewer betting options, and $1.30 favourites jogging home in single-file. Forget turnover, forget trifectas that actually pay more than a loaf of bread, and forget any kind of liquidity in the pools. Who needs proper markets or real competition when we can stage glorified trials with field sizes so small you need binoculars just to spot a quinella? And yes — we should absolutely ensure no horse finishes with a "0" next to its name. Maybe we can throw in appearance money, a warm cocoa, and a voucher for emotional support. Because clearly the goal here isn’t competitive sport or sustainable wagering — it’s morale preservation for slow horses. Let’s also ignore the well-established fact that larger fields = more turnover = more stake money = more sustainability. Truth is the betting public doesn’t tune in for soft draws and walkovers. They want depth and a chance to find value all of which come from, you guessed it, bigger fields. So sure, we could run two days of cuddly 8-horse fields where everyone finishes 4th or better… or we could accept that racing is a competitive sport, not a community raffle. Some horses will finish last. That’s the game. But punters will still bet — and when they do, the industry survives. If what you say is the best option for harness racing, why is it that all the owners trainers absolutely flock to meetings like these and punters open their wallets to create the bigger pools. Actually the complete opposite! Give him a BK Dawn at $5.00 a place at Mot and Brodie would have been straight in to take the bookies to the cleaners back in the days when he could get on.

The main two at value I had a nibble on were Amendment at 10s and the horse Blair Orange is driving in the first. I see that starting shorter on the day the way it ran home last start. Heavens Mark I think will start shorter than 8.50. Plenty of overs on horses paying 20+ too many to name.

How about those fields for Sunday at Motukarara. Dive in Brodie there will be value everywhere. Can not see them pricing those fields accurately at all.

Half the trick of backing a winner is knowing driver intent. Half the drivers just go round with the intention of "we will see how we go" Quite a few just follow the one in front until the home turn without even thinking about trying to steer their horse into a winning position.

Menangle a track I will not have a bet on. The lack of a passing lane is a real travesty. Hard to get confident there with such a leader dominated track. The form is all over the place. One day they go good the next start they go terrible. Cya Art winning at 100 is pretty typical of the form on that track.

Why don't they run a betting competition on betcha/entain on a thursday/friday night with a $200 buy in that would create some interest. Could run a leader board and have these guys compete against all the other punters. That would be more interesting than watching them throw darts at the racebook and waffle on like they do.

You are right I couldn't have a bet on those fields tonight. Absolutely woeful exotic pools.

These figures do include exotics right?