the galah

Is that you brian? Do you still gear them up in the float?

They could introduce minimum penalties for breaches of certain rules if previous breaches of the same rule has occurred. Perhaps a 3 strike rule could be introduced for the type of offence being discussed. That would help give the impression they were getting tough,but personally i think in reality it wouldn't change or help much,and some industry participants would most likely not support its introduction.

I thought it was good to see Cullen finally have his own racing colours. One of the strengths of that stable has always been their drivers ability to rate them and run at consistent speeds,and i think the drives yesterday made them look a bit more surperior to the likes of the hill horse who lead and worked early,than there actually is in ability. The disappointment of the race for me was the dalgety horse casino action. Ran 3rd in a group 1 the start prior,but just battled yesterday. Its form has been very inconsistent so far.

You can think what you want about what i say. But just because you condemn those who have transgressed in your current post does not mean "most on here" have posted opinions condemning their actions. We can't be reading the same things on here. The focus for many has clearly been on attacking the RIU and the press. I actually think you expressing the view that the likes of mcgrath and alford should be banned forever is a typical over reaction from someone who is taking things completely out of context,similar to what you have with the press articles. Why on earth should alford,who has no previous history,be banned for life. Why should Mcgrath get a life ban? How could that possibly be fair when you compare what has happened to others in the past,yet you call my opinion garbage. What next. What say someone comes up in court in the future on drugs charges. Will you want them gone forever as well? Your saying harness racing is the victim of sensationalism and unbalanced reporting by the press. Well thats the world we live in. At least i have expressed constructive ways of how industry leaders should be handling that side of things. You just go on about how harness racing is the victim.How does that help change the news cycle?

So all this focus on condemning who writes the stories,and not one reference from all those making the recent posts condemning the actions of those he writes about. Says a lot,and i'm giving up pointing that out.

Wasn't sure where you got the starting 2 hours before the others from. Maybe it was meant to be a joke,i'm not sure.

Makes sense for the riu to want to score some goals,so maybe what you say makes sense.

So your saying alford was doping them 4 hours before they were due to race,as well as the 2 hours that the article says. Does that mean he gave them two lots?

He said "2 hours before they were to take to the track". I will spell out for you what that means...... It means 2 hours before they were due to race(on the racetrack)...

What a pedantic thing to say. You know what he meant,and so does anyone reading it.

You consistently never say anything positive when they catch someone trying to cheat. All you do is criticise those who enforce the rules and those that report it.

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Well the obvious answer to them saying it was a result of artisan hanging in is they should have stood that horse down,but of course they didn't because they never believed it was its fault. You seem to be arguing mangos would not squeeze up his mates. Well you pointed out last month you thought A herlihy should have been dealt with when he came across on krug,checking those inside him. Using the "drivers wouldn't check their mates" as a reason for justifying the decision is a weak argument. Drivers make errors of judgment,whether they be mates driving other horses is only relevant when it comes to giving evidence against mates. Like i said,those making these decisions take everyone who watched that race for being a mug,and that is why ones faith in those involved is undermined.

I agree with what you are saying in this post. The current perception problem,being perpetuated by mainstream media,is that because there have been more recent instances of dishonesty uncovered than in the past, then that must mean the industry has more dishonesty now than previously. But of course that perception is totally wrong if you accept that the reason for the recent uncovering of dishonesty is because we have more pro active enforcement. Thats the message that industry leaders are failing to get mainstream media to deliver. So currently instead of being perceived as a positive, it is being perceived as a negative. Its as simple as that. And so should the messaging around it be.

We are in agreement i think,just i would use different words to express it. Of course what people believe to be the truth,isn't always the truth. And people often believe what they want to be true,not what is actually true. But you can't alter the truth,Its about altering the inferences as to how it should be perceived,by the way you deliver it. And of course if you are constantly getting the same message reinforced as to how you should think on a certain subject,then thats how most people end up thinking.

So the conclusion of the inquiry was the purdon trained horse artisan ran in and locked wheels. Well a half wit would have realised that the reason it ran in was because the horse outside it was boring in badly on it,but somehow this seemed to have slipped past the stipes and those hearing this case. So what we have here is yet another bungled inquiry into driving tactics where the video evidence is ignored and they base their decision on what the drivers say. And the said drivers protect their mates. Do all those invoved in this decision really think those who follow harness racing are that stupid. Well obviously they do. To me its stinks of dishonesty.

The thing about this article is it appears nearly everybody who has commented, have expressed views that the revelations of rule breaking is a bad thing. I just don't get why industry leaders,and well known respected participants can't sell the message that catching rule breakers,those being dishonest is a good thing,and that it shows those who have the job of enforcing the rules are helping clean up the industry to make it fairer and stronger. Its not rocket science. I followed american politics over the last 4 years. And one thing that has become blatantly obvious to me,which applies to any issue,is you can change the way people think by the way you tell the story. Isn't it obvious from all the recent articles written that the tactic of lamenting the uncovering of illegal activity is only perpetuating the negative news cycle. Why can't people see that? About time everyone got on the same page and put a positive spin on things.

I think McCaffery said to whittaker as he snuck past "like the moustache,i was right under your nose all the time"

Well she wasn't the "fella" who was the vet,who was holding the tape at the christmas meeting. May have had a moustache and wore a big hat. Who the vet was at the xmas harness meeting was discussed on the galloping forum regarding a late scratching at the reefton gallops,and a contributor to that topic actually confirmed the vet(man) was the one holding the tape that day by asking them ,then posted it on the galloping topic. They did so,because they were originally sceptical the vet was helping start a harness races. As i have said,it was someone different yesterday, a man with no yellow vest or helmet.

Looked like they got rid of the vet to hold the 40m tape after the last debacle at westport,but the new fella seemed to want a false start. Instead of not releasing the tape,looked like he let it go early? Who was the fella holding the 40m tape anyway this time. Didn't look to be part of the starting crew. Perhaps they grabbed someone out of the bar.Maybe they might put him in charge next time they start the last race at westport, as those doing the starts don't seem to have learnt much from the last debacle. You've got to laugh really.

D ferguson given a 4 day suspension for the drive. Good to see the stipes up there being pro active in policing such drives.

I just thought p wakelin's case was clear cut,thats why she admitted it. And with j young-grant it looked like it made little difference,but we will never know as she didn't drive it out the last 25m. And thats why she admitted it. I get that it is a rule where there seems there may be a bit of inconsistency around penalties. Is this topic about personalities or the whip rule.

The whip rule does seem a tricky one to enforce, whichever side of the argument you are on. Both the cases you referred to noodlum admitted the charges,so they must have accepted they had infringed.

Shes in very good form.