the galah

It seems the gambling commission in england has decided the affordabilty checks will be introduced in 2 stages. Starting off with credit checks to be undertaken if anyone deposits more than 500 pounds into an account a month from august,that reducing to 150 pounds a month in february next year.The credit checks to be done on publicly available data.Then the next step will be for the credit information to be gathered from the likes of credit reference agencies. apparently it is a about giving those customers a credit risk rating. The gambling commission is claiming the punters won't notice it as much and betting agencies will end up with less information due to the changes they have just made.They are saying now customers don't have to give all their documents to prove they can afford to lose 150 a month,instead that assessment will be done by the credit reference agencies. But then again,many are pointing out,that even if you are well off,but are one of those people who don't have many references for credit scores because you have never booked up on credit when making purchases,well you will come into the category that will be looked at closer. Then,you currently have in ireland some legislation which some are saying will badly impact racing there.Again to do with so called gambling protection. Seems the irish government is intent on introducing a ban on gambling being advertised between 5.30 am and 9pm.Going by the articles witten,it seems the racing channels racing tv and sky racing are saying it will no longer be vialble for them to broadcast racing in ireland. Racing ireland leadership are currently saying it won't come to that,but it seems people over there are very worried as if racing channels do disappear,they are worried it will impact betting and ownership. A recent a survey/report found it could cost irish racing 30m pounds in 5 years and the irish government 150 million in 5 years.

her owner bought her off a gavel house on line auction for $30,500 when she was a yearling. i think i read he had sent her to australia because he felt they may be able to train her a bit different to help her soreness. if you looked at her race here,especially when she warmed up,you could tell she was sore somewhere.I was always surprised she wasn't vet checked here but she sure raced well and really only got beaten when she hung bad, you would assume because of the soreness.Still looks that way in australia,just not as bad.Maybe shes still able to race there due to a combination of a better medication to numb the pain,different training and bigger track.

Hard to believe mach shard paid so much after being so dominant last week. just believe a great horse. Muscle mountain very courageous in defeat.. just believe best trotter from aussie to race here for some time. high quality nights racing all night.

i wonder how installing the facial recognition technology in the 100 tab outlets they talked about is going. Have you noticed any bells and whistles going off when you've been to a tab lately brodie.

In my opinion,theres a major problem with HRNZ leaderships understanding of what will lead harness racing onto the path of future financial stability. I have always understood that history has shown that the most successful businesses are those who exploit existing assets and financial capabilities over trying to explore new income sources. sort of like saying,if your going to look for growth,stick with whats proven to work and don't go looking in investing in areas that aren't proven. It should be a basic principle that HRNZ should have when making any decisions. Its just common sense and logical. TAB,this idea you and entain and HRNZ have about nz harness racing growth being linked to aucklands population base, is like trying to invent the wheel. But to be fair. How about this. Lets see entain produce data in a way that everyone can understand. How about graphs. Graphs which differentiate between the north and south island,but that can be transposed to show the comparisons. Graphs showing things like proposed number of races to be run,actual races that end up being run. average field sizes,average start per horse,etc. Priofitability of the new meetings,gross betting revenues and margins. In reality,if they really have put any thought into these extra north island meetings,all the predicted estimates and returns should already have been assessed. Then once ita been going for 6 months,put those up on the hrnz website for all to see and judge. Transparency is the key to gaining trust of those whose income relies on the viabilty of decisions being made. Then ,if the decision makers have got it right,then everyone can see well done,but when ,in all likelihood the data will show they got it totally wrong by putting their focus on extra meetings in the north island over the south island,well then everyone can look at the data and say,we demand answers and accountability for poor decisions made.

Great stats and to me is a true reflection of where things are at. decisions should be made based on information like that.There may have been only 450 people surveyed,but the only thing i would question was the accuracy of the ownership. I'm guessing maybe ownership in that survey included numbers with small % in syndicate shares. They are still owners but large syndicates can distort ownership figures if you include them. Like 100 people owning 1 horse,is still only 1 horse. The only thing that made no sense was when you said at the end that you can understand why entains focus should be on the north island. Its like you were standing on your head when you said that given the stats you just quoted. Entain is about a betting product is it not. Using those stats, there are 3 times more horses racing in the south island than the north island. the south island makes 10% on gross betting margin,the north island losses 8%. What your saying is that entain and hrnz are well aware they have chosen to give us much more of the harness racing product that sustains a significant loss and has far less numbers to provide that product.. The only way that their decision makes any sense would be for someone to say hrnz and entain are working to destroy harness racing. Then there would be logic in what they have done.

I agree with what you have said. I never said big money 2 year old races are likely to decrease. I agree connections of 2 year olds should have been beneficiaries in scale similar to all the other sectors as regards the boost in stakes as a result of the entain deal. But,if you want specific examples of a pointless waste of increased funding on 2 year old racing,i refer you to the diamond creek farm 2 year old race at invercargill. Its stake was increased form $60,000 2 years ago to $110,000 this year. So they gave an extra $50,000 to a race to promote the 2 year olds. But what did the extra $50,000 achieve. More starters,higher turnover,more media exposure,increased breeding numbers? No,it got them nothing extra. Did they get even 1 more starter because of the extra $50,000. 2022,2023 and 2024 all had 8 starters. Now if HRNZ had plenty of money to give away then sure,but they don't so they need to be making common sense calls. Then you have the emphasis on the large 2 year old bonuses. It was not a common sense call because where are the benefits to warrant the 1.5 million $ spend over 2 years? At most you were going to get maybe 40 recipients of the bonuses each year. Mostly wealthy people who could afford to breed in the future if they wanted.Those type of people already know they are not in it for the money. i'm not saying they shouldn't be rewarded,but isn't it obvious you should be prioritisng retaining breeders across the board. You can overspend today,but you can guarantee you will pay for it in the not too distant future. Thats going to happen. wheres the realistic future thinking?

the obvious question then is why aren't there more 2 year olds being raced currently. And i think the obvious answer to that is,its far more complex than people will race their horses as 2 year olds as they are wanting quick returns because of high costs.Thats a very simplistic way of viewing the issue,but it does demonstrate how HRNZ and entain view things. Again,i would point out the obvious,whats the point in anyone racing a 2 year old when you know its no chance of winning or earning.What does anyone gain from getting well beaten when racing against the best 2 year olds. Despite the current bonuses and focus stakes wise on 2 year old racing,its looking like its made not one scrap of difference. I don't have the stats,but all you have to do is look at the very smalll numbers running to work out the obvious. Like i have said and predicted,the only time you will get more horses running because of the bonuses will be later in the year.I didn't think that i was being over clever when i predicted that as i thought it obvious,but obviously the decision makers couldn't see it before it happened. Its just like the thing about them currently considering rehandicapping winners of 2 year old races back to be rated as non winners when they turn 3. Again,i think thats another obvious decision that will do more harm that good if you want to keep people participating. But hey,theres hardly anyone left now. If that does happen,all that will do is see smaller non win fields at tracks like addington as no one except thehandful of big stables will run against them. Then you will have officials and hrnz going on about ...why don't people run at addington with their lower grade horses.

hopefully thats just a teething issue. I suppose they are not differentiating between the gallops and harness tracks yet. Probably someone has just not got the inputting right or needs to create another category or something. Hopefully doesn't take them long to sort out.

I've never had sportsbet,but now i'm getting used to this new website and i'm really growing to like it.Not that i have an account. I've done the ..turn off the markets i don't want to see...which is a good thing as i'm not interested in 99% of the sports betting. They now have the start times coming up on the phone,so my wife is happy and she can even set an alarm to be notified however many minutes before start time that she may want. she tells me the new app responds quicker as well. The other thing she would like to see is,in the results,she would like what time each race was run in,like they used to. I think once people get used to all the new things and adapt to using whatever it is that interests them,then i think its going to be viewed as a real positive move.

That alumni harness racing show gives an interesting insight in harness racing in some parts of the usa. Last weeks show again had the indianna official on. Turns out he belives it was no coincidence that he was terminated after making a complaint against his boss. She had sent him a text with photos of her underwear and asked would he like them at the end of his bed.He thought thatjust a tad inapproriate. Also,he went on to list examples of how the indianna racing commission boss gets rid of other employees(sacks), who bring information about wrongdoing involving people she prefers not to penalise or do anything to. Then he went on and listed how the lady in charge swept things under the carpet if it involved high profile persons including possible drug violations,plus jobs for her friends,conflicts of interst in those adjudicating,drunk steward (twice) that they just ignored and said carry on .

Interesting article on harnesslink this week. One of the things it highlights ,is something i've highlighted before on other related topics regarding 2 year old racing. Entain appear to be pushing the 2 year old racing for 2 reasons. 1)they believe that is where people will invest next. I suppose it makes sense as everyone wants a quick return on their investment,and these days aren't looking for the horses that will be around a bit longer and which in reality keep the sport going. 2) self interest of those who are pushing and making the decisions to pay the bonuses and subsidised stakes. Whether people want to ignore it or not.Its true. The decision makers are looking after themselves. Classic example.Montana park,run by the boss of entain focuses on horses who run early. So they want to earn as much money as they can early and if they aren't considered good enough,are moved on. How do they earn the most money. Give them lots of bonuses and disproportinately high stakes. The phelan/purdon training partnership in 2022 trained 42 winners,16 2yo of whcih 9 were montana park in 2023 again 42 winner,15 2 year old,8 montana park. This year 27 so far,5 2.yo. and 4 montana park. No wonder entain want to focus on promoting 2 year old racing. Who own the other 2 year old winners and bonuses winners. are they part of the group who pushed for the bonuses. Like i said. Just telling it as it is.

been to the tab and the option numbers are shown on the printouts they have of the fields on their wall.Hopefully they get them put on the website.

Still no ff option numbers on website. So does anyone know what the ff option numbers are today for addington? say for race 1 as an example?

whats pdf stand for?

i actually meant so i can plan to get to the tab with the teller in time, as i don't have an account.Now i can't use the tab app to work that out.

can't find them either. Does that mean you can no longer have a fixed odds bet on course either. do they have a plan is to close all the tab outlets that serve people and replace them with those awful machines, and get rid of the punters who go to them because they like a person serving them ,like i do. Say you were at addington and wanted to have a fixed odds bet at auckland,how would you know what the jetbet is?If you wanted to have a bet at the meeting you were attending do you rely on the person serving you or do they intend to no longer have tellers at the races and just want people using those machines that the inexperienced punter takes 5 minutes to put one bet on.Is that one of their plans. they also seem to have lots of meetings with no trackside coverage and no jetbet numbers on,in their system. For today they are always coming up in the nest 3 races to go. Whats the point of having them from all over the world,and why if no one can bet on them at a tab outlet.. some of the changes are good,but some seem stupid. Can people see the times for the races on their phones? My phone screen not showing when races start unless within 2 hours. If i was working out my bets for the day and wanted to plan so as to get them on in time,i can't seem to tell if im using my phone. Maybe its because phone screens are too small? I don't know,but thats how i often plan my day. Work out the time a race starts and plan to be home in time to put a bet on. Thats strange.

Actually when you think about it,if the todd stable had any consideration for the punters,all they had to do was notify the stewards of the tactics they would be using,that way punters could have been notified. The likes of mark jones has done that before and i don't know why others don't. Its like these drivers that carry a whip then complain when the stewards pick on them for showing no vigour at all in a finish. If they have no intention of using the whip,why do they carry it.And why don't they notify stewards pre race that the horse is very risky when pressured in a finish. That way they cover their own arses and punters are informed .

Yes, the being unproven on a grass track thing that tab mentioned ,wasn't really relevant . Mounga won its first race start easily on the grass.It also won a workout on the grass a month prior to westport. Also it would have been fit enough as it had trialed well at the workouts and trials 3 times in the previous month to westport.

I'm sure his owners love wining. Just as i'm sure his trainer/driver love winning. Punters accpet that not every horse goes into a race with a realistic winning chance and accept that horses have races that often ,with some good horses,they are being aimed at bigger races down the track. Punters aren't mugs. Obviously there can be many logical reasons why a horse is driven a certain way in any race,and punters understand that and accept that. Sure,some may get a little frustrated when they don't get the ideal run,but no doubt the horse and driver feel the same way and thats just part of racing and gambling. But,theres a difference in that and in going out there with a pre conceived plan not to win. thats where you lose the punters confidence in the product and once you sow the seed of doubt,its there for some time.This was one of those rare occasions. This topic has just been pointing that out. surely people don't expect punters to sit there and see something they think is dodgy and just say nothing.This discussion around this topic just reflects what would ahve happened with people who saw that race,where ever they were.

Without wishing to go over it again. But your memory not that good as he was a significant drifter on the ff at westport. The reason he opened up so short would have been because of his prior form. Just as the reason he was well punted again on the 2nd day,where he was again driven to have little winning chance,was because he finished so fast at westport. Also some have suggested on here that they were told pre race,that the horse was not there to win. So you can brush over it as much as you like,but the horses connections are not seen in the same light as you imply by many as releates to the horses west coast runs. Nothing that has happened since westport will undo what happened there in many peoples eyes. Those type of things will be remembered by many much longer than any wins he has had since.

Hindsight a great thing but can't say i'm over clever in this case,as he had won his 4th race from only 7 starts on 1/9/2023 at addington,winning easily with Bach,The falcon,Deceptive lee and Alta Meteor the next 4 home. From a betting perspective, i haven't invested on him since westport .Just a personal choice not to support him due to previous loss of confidence in intent. But good luck to the punters that have stuck with him.

Good old mounga. You would have to say hes been well trained and well driven lately.Certainly wanting to win the more prestigious country cup races hes run in lately. As walt and i said when this original thread was started,hes really just living up to what we knew he could do if they wanted,which was why we felt aggrieved with westpeot. But thats all in the past now. Well done to mounga. on to the final. will the cunningplan come off. It may well do going on today. Only thing about winning today was he goes back another 10m by the looks of it.

But then you would get the likes of mounga winning an early race and just being driven like at westport so not to get rehandicapped for the big final.

I think they become elegible when they have started in three of those races. Today will be his third. I had thought those qualifying races had ended a couple of weeks ago. I'd looked at the hrnz website and it never had this weeks on,but maybe that was a list of all the completed qualifying races.I found it confusing.