the galah

What a joke that start was. That horse was always going to stand there side on(as it did when having its last start in Canterbury) .Punters on a third of the field did thier money before they started. Horses that behave like that should either be sent to the outside or late scratched,or not allowed to start from stands in Canterbury where they have to stand still before they go.

As to the vet out rangiora way,i used her once to treat a horse that had started coughing . I was just an owner trainer who did not use vets because of the cost. She was very reasonably priced and stated when treating the horse that '"Her pre race treatment wont help them run fast like some other vets pre race treatment might,I'm just treating what the problem may be",or words to that effect." I thought her very good. I know what you mean about lots using the same vets in Canterbury. My impression was you got what you paid for,deep pockets were an advantage, and preferred clients existed for the highest profile vet. Then there was another higher profile vet who is now based elsewhere who treated all his clients the same.That's just my take on some vets..

Is it not obvious that having a vet as his partner would be an asset. Personally I think his strike rate has improved in recent years because of that. That does not in any way infer there is anything illegal going on. One thing I do know is some vets will help improve a horses performance. I have seen it ,if using a good vet wasn't an integral part of some stables success, why do they spend so much money on them? Having NZ"s best driver on is another obvious asset

This thread illustrates how dubious rumours start .

You would have to feel sorry for the punters who were on. Maybe its a gore cup thing. as it was a replica of his drive on kilowatt kidd in the other gore cup 6 weeks ago. That's punting though,even good drivers like he is make some poor decisions sometimes. It is surprising how many times you see a driver angling into a non gap,behind tiring horses when they only have to pull outside the horse they are following to get a clear run, or waiting 50m too long to go, then getting boxed in. Sometimes waiting pays off for them and they look clever,and maybe they are. They are judged on the final result. However when they don't get a gap they look a bit silly as happened today. As punters we all have our bad luck stories. I remember about 25 years ago missing out on being the only winning ticket holder on a decent pick 6 when the horse I had in the final leg was the biggest certainty beaten you could see, beaten simply because of an incompetent drive by a high profile driver at the time ,who actually got suspended for breaking his own horse up early in the race. It settled 15 lengths last in a 13 horse field,weaving all over the track looking for a run down the home straight after coming wide then angling in again for no apparent reason, when it only had to pull out to win,being beaten by 3 noses in a blanket finish. It happens. I may be frustrating joe kidd ,hopefully having a moan on here has helped you, Lets hope you bounce back, tomorrow may just be the day.

User friendly? Are you employed by the tab in some way by some chance?

Brodie is unlikely to post selections on here as if you are putting reasonable $ amounts on,then you are only reducing your odds by telling others . I like reading peoples selections,and actually think those who do so on here are very good. Its just the horses selected often seem to have the odds shorten. So each to there own. I don't know why some keep asking for brodie to name his selections, which if he did would reduce the odds, when he clearly wants the tab to increase the odds. It would be a contradiction, and not on the money if he did so.

The website is such a backward step for racing followers. Whoever came up with the current set up obviously had no idea about punters needs. Much of the information no longer displayed is what punters look for.So many other issues. Personally I think it just a display of incompetence by those in charge.

well its been about 3 weeks and as far as the racing side of the website goes my opinion is still the same. The website is far inferior to what was there previously. Its slow, it discourages betting, the layout is poor,and while it does have some new features I like,it has definitely meant my spend has gone down. In the last couple of days I have had feedback from 4 different levels of punter,and all said the website was poor to middling. I just heard the box seat say that it was going ok,thats certainly not my view and I am still to meet anyone who thinks so.

No doubt the diversion probably just relates to the lower grade drug charges such as possession. Its the way the justice system works for those who previously have relatively clean records and sometimes applies to those who have not offended for a while. Who knows,maybe those who have been charged with more serious drug offences such as supply may have been able to negotiate their way into less serious charges in return for admission of guilt. Press reports state none of the diversion relates to the serious race fixing charges.

Good to see the kitten back on track with a good performance yesterday. I liked the way he drove her,keeping her momentum going and finding the line nicely. It should be a good confidence booster. although its never easy when you start from the unruly.

A mile rate of 2.23 meant it had to be one of the slowest races ever run. Certainly had the slowest middle half seen in recent history in a race.. Not even a mention in the stipes report about the change in tactics from majestic one who ran a mile rate 16 seconds faster when winning the same grade the week before.

Watching the races at Timaru today its quite noticeable how the good drivers like May, Williamson, Williams make the racing far more competitive and exciting to watch. That seems to rub off onto other drivers as well. Lets hope none of them get suspended as they make the racing worth watching.,even if you don't back a winner.

Westview. Just one point you made which I think needs clarified.You mention the 1 day rule and not being able to treat for dehydration and other possible animal welfare issues.. The notice on the hrnz website last week I thought specifically referred to that and said horses could be treated under official supervision or if permission was officially granted.. Of course the reason for such a rule is to try and prevent stables giving their horses substances on raceday that would enhance performance. Of course that is a very hard rule to enforce. I note apparently 2 people connected with the same stable currently have a charge pending in court for that very reason. You do a good job promoting harness racing and through that a lot of people have a good deal of fun. keep up the good work.

degenerate-meaning immoral or corrupt. ahh. yes.... but not the gamblers. I know you take the mickey,either that or you don't watch southland harness.

There you go. Gavin smith sits 3 back the fence,with a $54 outsider in front. What happens,the gaps open and home he comes. Gone from mug to genius in a couple of hours. All in a days racing.

Mr mclellan is an excellent horseman,its just his intent that is the worry. He does have a long history of not trying to win.He has spent time on the sideline a couple of times for that I think. So from a punters perspective,he always deserves a bagging,in my opinion..

One thing john dunn does do is normally put them in the race.Same as blair orange . They move at the right time 98% of the time,and if they aren't good enough they don't knock them about. So few drivers do that on a consistent basis,even when on the better horses. Take the race just run at nelson. You had the favourite ,anamajor,,sitting at the back,over racing on an average speed, following a horse who was never going to move,then pulls out 200m out 10 lengths off the leaders. All the punter wants is for the driver to drive to the horses ability,not wait for another day. Having watched a lot of races in the last 12 months,i now believe you get a far better run for your money from southland drivers than anywhere else in nz. That's apart from mr mcclennan of course.

That's what you get when there are race fixing allegations before the courts involving those concerned.. Punters,rightly or wrongly,lose trust. Totally understandable.

Punters did their money cold on this one today before the race had even started. Was red hot favourite. Fancy letting a horse start who had fallen onto the track pre start. When a horse falls to the track before it starts they never perform at their best. As a side issue. How many times do you see horses galloping when the mobile goes too slow. Lots lately.

I noticed in the first 2 races yesterday Gavin smith steered his horses completely off the track when they got tired,out of others way. I don't thinki have seen that done before apart from when the stipes asked the question of him at addington recently. If this is the new trend it looks like the trots will look like those steeplechase racees where the jockeys take them out of the race if they are tired. I just wonder what the point of driving like that is. He really wasn't holding anyone up,and besides even if he was then would he do the same if he had a stablemate up front. I see he got 5 days suspension for another matter relating to one of those drives.I wonder what the trainers instructions were for that first starter? Personally I understand that suspension,but the other bit of his driving i have referred to I think was more of a worry,(except if you were connected with the horse in question)..

While ive worked out how to put different type of bets on it has many flaws and really is slow and tedious. Unless it improves a lot I can see it turning off punters. From those ive spoken too,they have nothing but negative comments. Maybe it is time to go elsewhere. Anyone know if the overseas agencies have websites that aren't as irritating? For the last 20 minutes I have been searching my bets for today to see what i collected on a particular race. The website seems frozen,and the previous 10 times ive looked through my bets I haven't found the one im looking for. It appears to have vanished,but I know it was there earlier in day.

I have worked out the phone betting banker quinella problem where it cuts you off. Apparently has the same problem on the website. I had previously rung the tab complaining about it several times over the last 2 years,however someone I know has discovered what the problem is after giving up the the website in frustration and going back to phone betting. It seems if you have more than 1 runner as a banker in your quinella the system cant handle it and cuts you off. If you have only 1 banker it will take it. Very poor indeed

I here that ape got so high he wandered into a minefield He's now called a baboom...

maybe its just me.,but if it was simple I would have worked it out. I dont know what I was doing wrong. The tab service is poor though. I tried to place on phonebet a multi banker quinella on the race just gone on 3 horses,banking the first 2 home. The same thing happened that happened when I tried the same phone betting option earlier today. It said there is a problem and just hung up.