the galah

I should say i believe the same applies in both the north and south island. One, of the most inconsistent stables in the north island has horses who often run average at cambridge but go way better at auckland.. I'm thinking of a second tier stable here. just have a look at the published tco2 levels for an indication of why.

Do you really think i have to spell it out for you? How about you start with those who have previously been charged with similar offences. The best way to predict current behaviour is to look to past behaviour. Also you should look at those stables that have abnormally high injury rates which would indicate the use of pain suppressants.And occasionally there have been examples of sudden multiple deaths at stables,although i'm not aware of any stables who have had that in the last couple of years. Then just go watch the way some horses come back to scale after running record times,and look like they could go and run again in the next race. The occasional horse can do that,but every horse in the stable? Like i said some stables can do this and still say they are doing nothing illegal, often because they are ahead of the game in that respect. i think the above is limited to a handful of stables. In the big scheme of things i don't think Mcgrath was a big fish in that respect. Just an easy catch.

The McGrath case is one where i think many of us have conflicting thoughts. On one hand its confirmation of what anyone with 2 eyes open has been saying for years. That is certain stables operate outside the rules to gain an advantage over others. And of course there are other stables,those with the greatest resources, who are ahead of the game and use the latest "therapeutic's" knowing they are still operating within the rules. Reality is this will always be the case in many sports and horse racing is certainly one of them. And as i have been saying for some time the advance in the effectiveness of such therapeutics has resulted in a bigger gap between those who embrace there use and those who don't. We all know that. Those that deny that exists ,well they will fight tooth and nail to discredit anyone who says otherwise. Those people are very condescending and you lose respect for them but they are quite right to point out they are operating within the current rules, you can't stop them. Its all a vicious circle,you get trainers like Mcgrath trying to remain competitive,and to do so uses methods which are not allowed by the rules,and which he knows will give him an advantage over others. Whatever the reasons, the rules are there for the reasons of fair play. Just because someone else has more advanced methods of achieving optimum performance does not mean you can flout the rules and have no consequences if you get caught. Why did mcgrath feel the need to hand in his licence? Why not just accept that when you get caught you pay a price then move on and go again down the track. No one likes to see someone like mcgrath walk away,but people like this have to realise if you do something illegal and get caught there is a price to pay. Blaming the officials for catching you is just plain stupid. Handing in his licence was just a way of putting up the white flag. He doesn't have to spend a fortune in legal fees in the future if he just accepted what he did was wrong Thats my take on things.

An interesting read thanks. Did not appear to discount the bat theory.. I had read an article on some woman known as the Bat woman,china's leading expert apparently,after watching Tucker Carlson.. At the end of the article it quoted someone who they said was an expert on the virus "its crystal clear that bats,once again,are the natural reservoir..... Single introduction to humans followed by sustained human to human transmission" .

I guess we each have our own views on what to believe. You say the virus is not man made. The theory i put forward said it was carried by a bat then transferred to a human working in a laboratory known to do testing on infectious diseases carried by the breed of bat in question. maybe its just coincidence that it started in the part of wuhan where they do the testing ,,maybe not.

There has been quite a bit of media coverage quoting experts saying the virus came from the horseshoe bat. Watching the Tucker Carlson show on fox today they quoted Chinese scientists saying exactly that some 2 months ago. They are the same bat they have said caused the Sars virus. Interestingly they say this bat is not found anywhere near Wuhan but the chinese newspaper had quoted the scientists saying they believed it came from 1 of 2 government laboratories located in Wuhan where they do testing on infectious diseases and import the Horseshoe Bat for the testing . It seems there is now a belief by some governments and experts that the Chinese government deliberately mislead when they said it came from a food market very close to where the laboratories are situated. Does have a ring of truth to me given it was china scientists in a chinese run paper who first said it before it became so big.. What was also interesting today was watching the presidential press briefing where the 2nd in charge of the governmental response team(obama appointed lady and who's name escapes me but appears every day). She clearly stated that they did not believe any of the chinese figures and went further to state that part of the reason for Europe and usa being so under prepared was because the data from China was totally inaccurate and false.

You have made reference to that when replying to me previously. The person who you think i may be might know what you are inferring,but unfortunately i don't. Reminds me of the bloke who saw two men in identical outfits. He asked one of them if they were gay. One of them then arrested him.

Now that i don't have much to do i was doing some reading and was interested in the meadowlands boss,Mr gural,comments on the recent indictments relating to the big doping scandel over in new york. The meadowlands and the jockey club had worked with a surveillance company then the FBI to gather evidence. When asked why the FBI was doing what the racing industry had been unable to do he said. "I think its simple. No one cared." All the racetrack owners in the country who said they cared about this didn't care".... "All it was,was lip service and industry participants knew,in order to clean it up would cost a lot of money. And that drug testing wasn't the answer. Racetrack owners had to know you had to do surveillance work,wire taps,all that stuff to catch these guys. Without them you were just giving lip service that you cared..as these guys were ahead of the testing."

It was a well judged drive by K Cameron. He drove the track well in each of his drives today . Maybe his experience driving on the coast a bit gave him an edge tactically over some of the other drivers today. It certainly was a track where confident drivers got the best results.

just been thinking punter that we don't need to bring personalities into it. You can support mcgrath and all the others and still recognise that no one is perfect. Even the best make mistakes. People should just own up to them and move on. There is so much less drama if they do that. Everyone is better off. But thats not the way it works it seems, and there are unnecessary consequences as a result. Just because someone points out they think someones actions were wrong does not mean they have a personal grudge. If however people start making things personal then everyone understandably resorts to that level.

If you have the right person then you would know no milkshaking. Over the years i have heard so many things about myself that were untrue. One of the bad ones was when every man and his dog was spreading the story i was the trainer under investigation by the spca who was on the front page of the local paper .That wasn't me. you would think people would get their facts right but no they don't. I've heard so many falsehoods. I have a thick skin. i don't worry as i know whats true.

Happy,would you rather them not do it at all?

Wouldn't know how to milkshake a horse so that's a strange claim,but i can see the irony of your comment. Did work for a trainer down south and he never milkshaked or used a vet either. You've got the wrong fella sunshine.

Not referring to you hunterthepunter, your mellow and at times humorous in comparison with some things I have read. Just look at the other site for an example of what I mean.

I can't help but think that the vitriol towards the riu by some is counter productive and is helping sink the ship carrying those they support. And they just can't see it.

Is this post a result of the Mcgrath runners being ordered to be scratched from tonights races as a result of a stable inspection?

Nothing whatsoever against the mcgrath stable. Always thought he was a good bloke and a very hard worker. His horses are very consistent and you know if you back a mcgrath runner they will be well prepared if they are at the races. He uses my favorite driver who i say time and again gives punters great confidence that he is there to win. Just mcgrath team drove in that race. To me that was wrong. And like ive said the price he has paid is unfair,but it was his actions that put him in that position.

My last comment on this matter. I've read the published decision and some inferences you have taken out of it, i do not think are accurate. You seem to believe that the telephone recordings were not an important part of providing sufficient evidence to prove a charge of improper driving. I can't see where the published decision says that. If the conversations were of no significance in proving the case then why did mcgrath spend so much money trying to exclude them from the hearing? Reading the stipes report you have quoted above the inference i take out of it is they looked into team driving. All this negativity you possess towards the RIU seems in my opinion so over the top. You want to turn back the clock a few years when this type of driving was deliberately overlooked by those policing the rules and they just picked on the small fry participants.

did you hear about the guy who mistakenly took viagra to help his sunburn which was keeping him awake at night... Did nothing for the sunburn but did keep the sheets of his sunburn if he slept on his back..

Maybe they need to bite the bullet and close. Sell all assets and redirect those funds into south island racing? Might sound crazy but in 10 years time it may happen and everyone would be saying had we done this earlier we would have had so much more $ to put into harness racing. Its a bit like the local RSA,used to be asset rich but members ignored the writing on the wall and kept operating for several years and eventually closed with their asset value whittled away due to yearly losses. Same strategy in effect as they are doing currently with closing some of the racetracks. Whats the point of having all that money tied up for so little benefit to harness racing. Greater good type approach.

One still in rehab and the other became a shoe salesman. I bought a pair of shoes off him the other day,i don't know what he laced them with,but i've been tripping ever since.

You wanted the RIU to investigate the allegations properly. Well they have used the avenues they felt necessary to properly investigate and they now are in possession of evidence gathered. But no your not happy with that. Your not happy they passed on the serious allegations to the police. Does that mean your unhappy the allegations were investigated thoroughly,thats how you come across to me. Surely you must know the police have a greater capacity to do so. Also do you seriously think the RIU had enough weight to have the police continue to put resources into the investigation. I think the police makes those decisions themselves,don't they. You complain about the headlines. History shows you get those very same headlines if the racing industry investigates itself. I can think of several examples. So does that argument hold much water? The RIU aren't incompetent. In my opinion they do a better job now than ever.In the past they overlooked so much. Sure there are recent cases where some individuals seem to have been treated a little bit harshly,but that has nothing to do with inca. Past history shows the riu haven't investigated some high profile cases with more substance because they were afraid of the fall out. Personally i think there has never been a better time for punters to invest their hard earned. Things are as honest as they have ever been. the handicapping system is creating good betting fields in the south island. Some of the premiership leaders are exceptional talents.

I don't think i rave on as you put it,just don't agree with it. You have pointed out the all stars do it. i think fair enough,but to single out them or mcgrath is unfair to both. I agree a number of the all star horses seem to have dropped a level in the last couple of months. There could be several reasons. maybe your right in what you say,bit hard to tell for sure.

Thats your takeo,taking things to the extreme to underline and over stating what you believe was an injustice. I don't fail to comprehend you believe there was "extreme incompetence" displayed as you put it. I just believe you are totally wrong. Crime of the century is emotive words. Bit of an exaggeration there i think. Giving the impression the industry is corrupt to the core. Youv'e totally lost perspective with that comment. Who's ever thought that. What would have been exposed as corruption would have been industry insiders failing to take action and sweeping the allegations of dishonesty under the carpet. Imagine the press getting hold of such a story.

Have you ever given much thought that operation inca was a result of actions prior to the date the investigation begun. Once again i point out you make comment on the RIU,but no condemnation of mcgrath who pleading guilty to team driving. Its seems to me you infer the RIU was responsible for the team driving charge. I think it was mcgrath. You want the RIU to be held accountable,but not those they investigate. we are at total polar opposites in our opinions.