the galah

How come it takes an australian to inform new zealanders about what may be happening in nz harness. Is the auckland trotting club just another of those no go topics that the nz harness media don't talk about? According to the peter profit headline which anyone can read if they google it...it quotes the auditors report ...as at 31 july 2023 the ATC lost another $6.8 million for the year ended 31 july 2023 and that as at that date, its liabilities exceed its assets by $47.3 million....and that the auditors had signiicant doubt that it should continue as a going concern. several times before i have pointed out the lack of and subsequently proven inaccurate information that some racing journalists have peddled in relation to the ATC in the past.Nowdays they don't do that,they just ignore the subject and say they can't talk about it because its sensitive business infromation. Is this not further proof that people should be skeptical of much of what the harness media say around sensitive subjects and that certain media have a..Head in the sand ...attitude.. Also,if the auckland trotting club continues to rack up the massive losses and the auditors are saying they should stop trading,then why are they still going. Shouldn't they just accept the inevitable and fold before the debt goes even higher.. And given all that why no comment from hrnz to stakeholers about what,if any plans there are to enable harness racing in the north island to continue. Does the silence mean that they have no credible plans ?

You did well to analyse the form and recognise that a win may come soon for that horse. It started at 60/1 i think.I know when you do the study and have one of them come home and pay a big place dividend like portelli did,that it can be very satisfying. Horses that start at those prices and end up running somewhere are getting harder to find these days. I think the punters that are still betting these days mostly have good knowledge of the form.The number of uninformed punters betting is dropping and that is why its getting harder to find a horse at a good price that actually delivers. I also know that when you do spot one at long odds like portelli,that your hoping it gets the right run and pays a dividend before others recongnise its potential and its future potential dividends are significantly shortened.

Nice picture to make your point. But that picture is at the 200m just as the horse in the trail has moved into the passing lane . 50m later the gap is closed and unlikely portelli could have picked up the 2 lengths to take the gap in such a short distance.Also i'm not sure pulling the hood earlier when he was still on the back of the trailing horse would have achieved anything. Sure it may have perked him up a little but he also may have had to take hold and lose momentum just prior to the passing lane had the horse got keen. I just think being an inexperienced non win trotter its hard to see how the driver did anything that cost him a chance of a closer finish.Also he did break the previous start in the home straight and the driver would have been aware of wanting to keep him in a nice rhythm to ensure he didn't this time as well..We will have to agree to disagree,but i can see your point.

I agree with your comments about the cameron drive.Just following a horse who's form indicated it would not take it into the race. But as you say she was driving a horse that always seems to be driven for one late run at them,so maybe just following instructions. As to the portelli drive.In my opinion I don't think it had a clear run at any stage and didn't see anything wrong with the driver taking a couple of seconds to see if a gap would appear before he pulled the earplugs. Not much point in driving into a non existant gap.

I accept everything you say there but believe their are many successful trainers who take those steps.Obviously the willingness of owners to pay costs associated with what you say is a factor.But many of those trainers once viewed as top trainers simply are not able to match a couple of stables when it comes to the big races. So the dominance of a couple of stables in the big races and the perceived improvement seen on those big days leads people to lose hope of ever owning or training a big race winner.Many people used to once have hopes and aspirations of owning a big race winner but thats not todays reality. That has been a factor in the industries base of participants diminishing in numbers. Not the only reason but certainly an important one.

It doesn't upset me in any way that stewart dominates over there. .Personally i would prefer to see someone else that i don't think uses performance enhancers,even if stewarts horses won't return positives. But the reality is the more sophisticated and the more resources stables have to use the latest thing to enhance performance,even if they are legal,simply put is the difference between winning or not. Like i have said before,people go on about how a couple of trainers are simply way ahead of everyone else because they have the best horses,training facilities,latest training techniques,simply way more skilled,etc,etc. Then claim that hey,they are better than everyone else at everything except when it comes to knowledge and resources to use the latest performance enhancer,legal or not testable or not. I think that part is just ignoring the obvious . Thats why i prefer seeing someone other than stewart win the likes of the victoria cup with the horse she admitted giving an illegal treatment to a couple of weeks ago.But just because it doesn't really float my boat,its just my view of what i think is an obvious reality.but i accept it is what it is and no point getting annoyed about things like that in another country. I watched the everest yesterday. looked a great occasion. And when i was watching trackside last week a 1.3 million dollar dog race was on. Amazing how much money they can run for over there.

Its working now

I know since the races started at least. HRNZ website not working either at the moment. Must have gone out in sympathy. Betfair and Australian TAB websites working just fine .. Welcome back forbury.

I blame global warming myself. Either that or the russians or kim jong un.Is it just me,or do others think Kim jong un always sound like hes having a bowel movement when he speaks? Instead of betting i read a news story about the trial in auckland of 6 indians trying to murder an indian radio broadcaster in 2020 .I see luke radich was the crown prosecuter in that case. Or maybe the crown pros..akuta is a better way of putting it since hes a racing fan. Talking about internet connections. It reminds me of a joke. Chris luxon and chris hipkins were both looking at ways of cost cutting when they visited a school last week. One chris said to the other,we can save money here as the lunches are too big and they have too many computers.They then went to a pre school. One chris said to the other. The lunches are too big here as well and they have too many toys.They then went to a prison. They both looked on in agreement. We need to increase the size of the meals,get faster broadband and more comfortable beds. One member of their staff who had travelled with them piped up and said,are you crazy,we won't get votes if the public know we are cutting education spending to give it to prisoners. To which the both chris's replied in unison,yes but we may end up in here one day when the public find out about all the false promises we are making. Tab website still not working.

I say keep it up the tab,as i would have lost anyway.Funny thing is while it didn't seem to be working from the start of the races,it actually worked for a few seconds just before race 2 as i managed to get a place bet on Lucky Mum. The $60 to one shot broke when looking likely to run 2nd.Typical.How come the system was working then? funny thing is i have been sending emails to the tab for the last 3 weeks trying to get an answer out of them about something. All i have got back so far is one email from them saying.... "Sorry for the delayed response,we have had a system error stopping us from replying". They somehow managed to send that email to me,but still no answer to my original email.

I can't understand them ignoring the tab terminal when the staff aren't doing anything anyway a lot of the time.. I've noticed the service at the couple i occasionally vist seems to be getting worse in the last year. I've also noticed that the older staff at some bars occasionally try to serve the tab terminal and the younger staff just couldn't care whether you stood at their tab terminal all day gathering dust and cobwebs. Wouldn't you think the the TAB had some sort of system in place to monitor how their product was being handled by those with tab outlets.It seems the TAB couldn't care less how bad the things have gotten . Ring the TAB and complain,then go back to the same bar a month later and i will gaurantee nothing will have changed. It reminds me of my wife going into ballantynes and buying a handbag last year. The store says you can return them within so many days. Well my wife had bought about 7 or 8 handbags there and had returned 2 of them within the time frame allowed. Well when she went in to get another one they told her she wouldn't be able to return it even if the store had a policy that said she could. She was treated so poorly by the ballantynes staff that a customer who was waiting to be served behind her complained to management and management somehow tracked us down and gave her a nice voucher and an apology. Well my wife went in the following week to get that handbag that she had wanted the week before and was firstly ignored by their staff,then again told she couldn't return the handbag,which she wouldn't have anyway.My wife just left and told them to stick it and their voucher. I had spent about $5000 buying clothes,shoes,and a small appliance at ballantynes in the previous 6 months,but now will never ever step foot in any of there stores ever again. Provide poor customer service and customers just won't come back. No I don't use their app much because the reception is normally poor even though i live in a populated area..My wife does a bit and says the app's shit anyway.I think part of that is the poor reception. I have spoken to others who have said the same thing.

The restrictions thing is part of the puzzle,but there are other just as importantreasons as well. The lack of access to tab's that place any emphasis on customer service is a major problem. From my recent experiences,Go to any christchurch tab and its either one of those self service machines and it generally takes about a minute or two for someone in front of you to put on a bet and like brodie has said ,doesn't pay out in cash anyway. I used such a machine a couple of times in the last month and both times had to then work out with a fella ,how much i owed him because he hadn't cashed out. I think the problem there was this fella was the only one in the tab both times and no one else was using the machine and it caught him by surprise that anyone else would come in and have a bet. The customer service at these tab's is a joke. Every time i go into any tab and try and use the terminal where there are operators i am completely ignored by their staff. I just stand there for 5 minutes while the staff just chat to each other,not serving anyone at the bar. Its pathetic customer service. Every time,guaranteed,i have to go to them and ask them to walk 10 steps down the bar to serve me. I either get an apolpogy,which i know is fake as they had already seen me, or i get a grumpy look. Tab customer service at tab outlets is a joke and very frustrating. No wonder theres hardly anyone using them.

John allen once said the top 1.5% pf their customers produce 56% of turnover. Its just logic that the top 1.5% are more likely to be the successful punters given they can afford to create the higher turnover. From that it justs logic to conclude that if you implement policies that make it less attractive for that top 1.5% to spend and return profits,then you will directly impact the overall spend on the tote as well. There are several ways that the tab has made it unattractive for winning punters.Some of it has been fair play and others it has not. So when people say that its as simple as reducing the winning returns of winning punters on the ff....and that will lead to the tab giving larger returns to the harness racing industry,well that is over simplyfying things.That completely ignores the impact that has on tote betting turnovers. In fact,i believe it is a direct cause of reducing tote turnovers. I know people who can point to the amounts that they have reduced their tote turnovers as proof.

Are we allowed to laugh at the comments about drivers laughing pre race? I can understand where they are coming from but i think they are well off the mark if they think punters care at all about that. Over the years i've never heard anyone ever comment about that occuring in a prelimanary. I think someone should actually be saying,hey,this is going a step too far fellas.

O thornley actually drove millwood nike to win its first couple of races. I'm not sure No matter what was a headcase. It always ran like something was bothering it. Somehow it was able to race like that. They actually reported at one stage it was sold for big money which seemed surprising someone would try and buy a horse with a problem that even the all stars with all their skill and vets couldn't fix.Then they reported the sale fell through because it hadn't passed the Vet. It was a horse that o thornley's quiet style seemed to suit better than any other driver.

I agree. All their silence does is lead to speculation. Its counter productive in many ways. Who drives what horses in races with markets open is information they have a duty to research and inform people. I think they most likely do know. i think they knew why last time as well.Maybe last time they thought the reason was none of anyones business and maybe the reason is not something they can discuss. Still,even if that is so,this topic is proof that silence hasn't been the right strategy.

So why didn't they mention it? On one hand those that present that show make out they are out to inform people and ramble on each week about the nz cup,and who's paying what, but they would know that people are interested in who will be driving which horse. Having said that,it doesn't surprise me they haven't said much. They may or may not know,like last time she took a break...

This topic i find interesting because it highlights the different perspectives. Punters like newmarket and brodie have a good understanding of all the effort that goes into having a racehorse but their focus is on how best to get a return from their punting dollar. Thats not to say they don't care about the horse/owner/trainer.Its just thats not their primary focus. Then on the other hand you have k butt. Its obvious from her reply, she has an understanding of all the effort that not over's connections would have put in to have him racing and how running a nice 4th,albeit after getting the perfect run,would be seen in a positive light and would have been enjoyed. i often think maybe the punters perspective probably doesn't factor in the feelings of whoever it may be that is being discussed and on the flipside i think sometimes the people and connections of the horses being discussed are over sensitive to what is actually being said ,especially when no malice has been intended. Thats why this thread sort of sets a nice standard in the communicating of both perspectives.I don't know k butt myself,but a bit like a harrison who sometimes replies,i'm guessing that apart from their skills as drivers,part of the reason they get drives is because they enable the horses connections to enjoy each horse and each race.

I'm not sure whether its the whale,but i mute the tv when he presents as well. At least i leave it on the racing channel with him,as if it was mick guerin i change channels when i see him. Both very knowledgable,but they aren't my cup of tea. My theory is the punters who do the form are the ones who get most frustrated with him.He causes horses to come into unrealistic prices when he selects them. And it is the uninformed punters,who in reality will remain uninformed by using the whale as their sort of robot selector,who like him the most. I honestly don't know whether trackside catering to the people with not much knowledge of form,is a good thing for turnovers.I very much doubt it gets people to follow the sport long term. But the betting focus these days always seems to be about todays picture. Then theres those who watch for the people/horse stories.I can't say trackside would be doing anything to encourage them to keep watching.Theres much more to harness racing that can attract peoples attention,but it somehow doesn't come across that way on trackside when all the focus is on getting the uniformed to bet. i think its as much a trackside focus problem. Although i do prefer their other harness presenters myself and don't mute them much.

So i guess that means you prefer my 10 paragraph replies instead of my 2 paragraph replies. The case being one from the USA didn't really get me over interested this time.

He's like a TABloid version sure of a harness racing site. It sure is entertaining some of his headlines. One of the latest that caught the eye was "zoologist that roots dogs-only in australia".People can give him stick about his accuracy sometimes,but hes on the money there. I must have too much time on my hands as i goggled that story and discovered that the zoologist was originally from britain and was a crocodile expert. Seems he had a thing for dogs was a very sick person.The judge even sent the security staff out of the court for fear of causing too much distress when the facts of the case were read through at his hearing. Anyway another news story that was on that news page site, was about a vietnamese lady,just a week in australia,hitting the accelerator and running into and injuring 2 boys. Seems she thought the accelarator was the brake. From that news page i goggled a story about a gathering hosted by a village chief in thailand ,who invited 31 police to his restaurant for a meal. Seems he was upset one of the policemen,a local police major, hadn't promoted his relation. So he had one of his henchmen shoot him in front of all the police.Then the local police did nothing until the area commander,nicknamed "Big Joke" learnt of the incident and tracked down the henchman and shot him and arrested the village chief.The story referred to how "Big Joke" was doing his best to stop the perception that justice can be bought in thailand. Which reminded me of a bloke i knew. He actually won a bronze at an olympic games as a cyclist and he went to coach in thailand. I used to occasionally run into him. One day i saw him and said to him are you not coming back home as often, to which he replied he was back to stay. Then he told me he had been stuck in a thailand jail for a few weeks because he had been targeted by local police who took away his visa and threw him in jail until he was able to raise enough money to bribe his way back out.Apparently he had told one of the cyclists he was helping coach that he should coach him full time.That cyclist went and sacked his normal coach. The sacked coach then bribed the local police and hence thats how he ended up in jail. It turned out it cost him as much to get out of jail as he had earned there. Obviously there are worse things going on in the world than backing the wrong horse.

I haven't missed anything.Not sure how you get that from my brief reply.. I just repeated the abitrator referring to it as truly an exceptional case.Then i just said it seemed pretty straight forward and made a comment about the pony's name. You posted it and i just repeated it.

So that was in ohio ,usa. The arbitrator described it as a truly exceptional case,although it seemed pretty straight forward reading it. Sounds like it was easy enough to trace the source of the positive to the pony who used the stall prior to the racehorse arriving. Bucky the pony,its a wonder you don't get some harness horses named that,or maybe there are.

If you look at the names of todays sponsors ,they all are with businesses in gore or townships that aren't far away like clinton.Southlanders like to support their local communities so racing in gore must be a help when they sell the sponsorship side of things.

I don't follow galloping as closely but the te akau thing i thought got its share of publicity and i believed them when they said there own investigation revealed it was a result of a senier foreperson making an error treating the horse with an anti inflammatory medicationIn,in other words no intent. Stewarts actions were clearly intended and she even admits that. She had no choice but to admit it anyway. I have never observed anyone ever do anything that i believe was intended to break the rules and cheat and is why i particularly dislike the actions of people that do.I know what those who abide by the rules think about this type of thing.