Nowornever

If you are going to keep a horse parked three wide like that you better be sure your horse has the toughness to stick on for a top six position or have a decent excuse up your sleeve to get you off the hook. I would argue Ross Camerons drive in that race was just as bad and he gave his horse no show off winning by going up the inside into a brick wall on the turn when he would clearly have run 1st or 2nd going wide. Hasn't he been done for driving like that in the past? If there has been a lot of speed during the race, the inside of the track behind the tiring front runners is not the place to be. If it is just a sprint home the inside is the right place to be. The low UDR drivers seem to want to take the opposite approach to this.

Mot was a goldmine for punters. Some decent dividends to chase and no 1.40 favourites leading all the way. HRNZ and TAB might finally work this out one day that big grass track fields are the way to go and instead of closing them down they should be building more, but not holding my breath.

Owned by Entain so don't expect too much in the way of any favours towards punters. Thought they may have changed the bookies as the pricing is not great. A lot of or any big movers in the markets on any given race is 100% bookies getting the opening odds wrong and most races you see a lot of movers. The only reason they would be making money is because most smart punters are restricted and can not get on at the opening odds otherwise bookies would be toast.

I used to look forward to the Nelson winter meeting every year. Knew quite a few trainers who used to set their horses specially for it from Ashburton and Canterbury

I might not be on here much anymore. I am off to start a donkey breeding operation!

I understand you can't race on grass in winter and Addington is the best option but harness racing can not afford to lose another grass track meeting. IMO I blame the top heavy corporates for most of the damage caused to the NZ racing industry. The TAB betting systems should have been world class with the cash cow they had available to them but we have an antiquated system and the fat cats at the top have filled their own pockets instead of investing in infrastructure, and I believe HRNZ is going the the same way. What have these guys at the top changed that has made a positive difference to deserve the big salaries they are on?

Probably changed due to the amount of social media criticism. It used to be a lot easier for the tipsters when they could just post their tips and forget about it with no accountability. Apart from emailing them there was no way of telling the public how good or bad they were. These days with social media, you post a bad tip and it is getting thrown around facebook and twitter about a minute after the race. 😂

It is probably already decided so no point raising any points of view really. Same old farts running the place that think a 1.50 favourite at Addington in a seven horse field trumps a $20.00 winner at Methven in a 15 horse field. They just don't get it! I do not know how they can argue with the facts when grass track racing attracts bigger crowds, bigger nominations and more turnover, and keeps the hobbie trainers interested that train close to these grass track venues. I am not alone when I say with winter racing I pretty much just shut down my betting and wait for the grass tracks to return. If they toss out any more grass track meetings then shut the fucking door on the way out as far as I am concerned.

I am quite the opposite. I usually back against his tips with great success. They are always paying under the odds and most of the time his picks are the hot favourite that only place or run out of the money anyway. Anyone backing his tips outright are on the losing side of it which I suppose works in the TAB's favour.

Giving the Race For Grins $150,000 is crap. How is that helping the hobby trainers or increasing the horse numbers and field sizes? I think the trotters got a raw deal as well. Anyway in two years when Entain starts restricting anyone who wins $100 the horse racing in NZ will quickly go downhill if it isn't dead and buried before then.

I wouldn't be surprised if the TAB sold Entain the business using highly inflated figures. The number of account holders in the TAB system would definitely be inflated. Most of them have joined just to get the $10 deposit bonus for joining, spent it and buggered off never to be seen again.

Geo blocking is a waste of time. So many ways to get around it it is not effective at all.

The field sizes need to be kept high from a punters/turnover perspective but on the flip side tricky to do that with the current horse population and maintain a fair handicapping system? Keeping everyone happy is impossible I would have thought.

Your guess is as good as mine on who gets what penalties. Are you sure they don't just spin a chocolate wheel in the back ground?

I got a nice collect off a horse ted trained called Randall one day at Methven when it won. I was privy to one of Ian Camerons earlier in the day that had won and paid plenty and I put most of the winnings on to Randall in the main race of the day as we got word that horse was working the house down. One of my better days on the punt at Methven.

Probably not a great look either when the stablemate wins the race at relatively long odds

I can not comprehend why the driver would drive like she did when the horse had the speed to win that race by many lengths against that field, but it looks like sheer incompetence and the stipes agree. I can't see her getting out of this one lightly either. What is her excuse going to be? Oh sorry stipes the horse didn't want to move wider on the track and I thought it would break up if I pulled the rein. I don't think the horse would be paying $1.65 if the public knew it was going to be driven for luck up the middle in the run home in a seven horse field. 😂

CLASSIE LINC - held up near the 200m and locked wheels with the weakening BOLZANO. Driver J Buckland-Stevens (assisted by S Tomlinson) was questioned regarding the manner she drove near the 300m when electing to shift ground inwards. After hearing her explanation and speaking with trainer B Negus, Stewards issued driver J Buckland-Stevens with a charge under Rule 868(2) alleging that she failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures near the 300m when allowing her runner to shift inwards resulting in the horse being held up. Mrs Buckland-Stevens defended the charge with the Adjudicative Committee electing to defer the hearing to a date and time to be fixed.

I heard Mark Jones tell someone this horse was very quick one day at the trials before it had had its first start and have been on him ever since. Bit of a heartbreaker at the start but definitely has the speed. I got a decent collect off it in its first start mainly because the first four paid 15K and then again at Nelson but can't see me getting rich off it again because the bookies must have got a hiding off that first start and have always kept it safe ever since. Predicting it opens a short favourite at its next start.

How heavy will the track be this week?

Lots of questions in that race - Mark Purdon pulling back and letting the stablemate back onto the fence in front of him - Zachary Butcher saying he had not been disadvantaged at the start when it looked like he was. - The start not being declared a false start when Kango went straight sideways into other runners. Would make you want to give up betting if you were on Old Town Road. - Tony Herlihy not putting The Big Lebowski into the race and then being desperately unlucky in the straight.

Freedom of speech is on the out. You are living in start of the authoritarian era now.

Yes he always had the size and the faster they go the better he likes it I could see him winning a Hunter Cup if he got to the front and rolled along.

Top five and will run track records in Aussie around some of those quicker tracks. Lets see how it plays out 👀