the galah

The fraud was selling or using illegal performance enhancers designed with the intent to deceive the regulators whose job it was to test for them.Also prosecution evidence for those who chose to plead not gulity and went to trial,was the punters betting on races with the cheats in,were deliberately being deceived,as they rely on everything being legal and ok.

I remember going to that meeting when it was on saturday that had the christmas at the races promotion. I think it was about 10years ago.The whole carpark was completely full,and oamaru has one of the bigger carparks. Looking at todays midweek meeting they had 2 cars in the carpark,with what used to be part of the carpark looking like it had grass long enough to cut hay. 10 years ago geraldine was packed on a hot november day with the car park full and people 5 deep all the way up the straight.That too was a christmas at the races meeting.Geraldineshas only got 1 more meeting hasn't it now? Mind you it was only about 15 years ago i remember going to waimate and the place was packed to the top of the straight with people. Now they don't even race there. You just have to look at the videos of races run to see what i mean. Thats not that long ago. Those christmas at the races were a great innovation,but they seemed to lose there appeal,whether it be because they had them at the same places in consecutive years and work firms were looking for something different,or they became a bit expensive as vlubs got a bit greedy with some things,or police put restrictions on alcohol being brought to some of the tracks,it was pre christmas do's and i know that put people and firms off from coming.Then there was the weather. Any harness meeting on a hot day is great,but look at the last few weekends grass track meetings,the weather is too cold so often. Whatever happened to those christmas at the race meetings? Mind you i remember going to ashburton on a hot boxing day about 15 years ago,absolutely packed. I remember having a horse in. There was $53,000 in the win pool on the tote,and it wwasn't a big field.Within 5 years it seemed hardly anyone was there,but the weather always seemed poor. Now days the weather is often poor,covid is a factor,and clubs don't seem as motivated to get people on course. Methven used to have a punter of the year,but they discontinued that. I have said it before. People get into habits and routines. Once you break those habits and they find alternative ways of spending there time,then you are pushing it uphill to get them back. Even though on course attendance was declining quickly beforehand,covid restrictions has gotten people out of the going to the races as well. Then there was the no jab,no entry thing that racing and tab's went along with. I know people who will never support businesses and industries that didn't want them for that reason. there are solutions to getting people back on course,but is there the enthusiasm,drive and industry support to achieve that.Probably not.The one day a year clubs had the most of that,but they are no longer wanted.

So in your view the lab new york racing uses for the bulk of its testing is run by an incompetent or it isn't up to standard. And the trainers who have all been jailed and some stripped of their wealth all were fooled by the distibutor into think they were purchasing things like EPO,when in fact they weren't. The examples given of some of the trainers going to the top of the premierships at tracks like yonkers coinciding with when they started purchasing said products,was all just coincidence,and in fact they were winning based on who knows what,but it wasn't the performance enhancers they were duped into buying and using.....got it. Makes no sense to me but there you go. And examples of significant improvement in race performance aren't applicable if a horse only runs 4th or 5th in a group 1 race. I caste aspersions, yes i agree with something you have said for a change.To join the dots i suppose you have to know where they start. I was talikng to someone the other day about my views of the success of a certain stable the other day. He moves in different circles than me.He said,everyone i talk to says what your saying,but personally i don't think so myself.So there are others out there who have the same opinion as yours,so its not the echo chamber that i normally hear about the subjuct. Then again maybe that man is you chief...nah,probably not.

Also as regards the new york cases. I've often wondered why harnesslink chose to publish an article disclosing many on the client list of the biggest drug distributor. Given harnesslink in nz is associated with the only nz person named,it seemed a bit strange. Anyone who had read harnesslink would have known curtin was not a supporter of jeff gural and had published several articles on harnesslink to that effect,heavily criticising the meadowlands for banning suspected trainers for using performance enhancers,without evidence. Was that the connection that led gural to have a hand in the publishing of the list.Was it some type of payback? who knows. Of course history now shows that gural already knew who was tied up in the use of perfomance enhancers due to his links with the investigation. Did nz racing authorities ever bother to investigate that.Maybe they haven't as after al,l it could open up a can of worms that they wouldn't want to go near. Then again,maybe it would prove there wasn't much to it.Who knows that as well.

Because at that time he got disqualified for 4 positives relating to blue magic. So you came to the conclusion...... the new york lab is archaic,.....and very similar to the one that does nz testing. So i guess that means if you think they are similar,then they have similar abilities to pick up the use of performance enhancers. Based on what the head of the main lab in new york says,he agrees with you. Obviously his "who are you kidding" comment about whether they were picking up the actual use of performance enhancers,indicates that. You say its very unlikely Epo enhances performance. Doesn't seem a realistic stance,but thats the conclusion you seem to have drawn from your research. The new york cases has so many aspects that were so interesting.One was the different stance taken by the likes of those who ran the meadowlands,from the United states trotting assocaition. The conclusion from the different stances they took were those who run the meadowlands were keen to have the use of performance enhancers exposed,whereas the governing body for harness racing in the USA did what they could to discourage whistleblowers. One of the early whistleblowers during an interview discouraged anyone thinking about disclosing illegal activity in the sport,from doing so. She said her life had been hell since coming forward,and it wasn't worth it. What does that say? Also,one of the main drug distributors in a recent interview said there were still lots and lots of his clients training who had sought his performance enhancers,but he wasn't going to name names as they were good people. The rationale of that sounds so familiar doesn't it.

You say ..its a lot to do with the fast work they do with them. So,if that really is the case,you might have thought some other harness trainers would have cottoned on to doing the same thing. . Emma stewarts partner, Clayton tonkin was the blue magic man wasn't he. Things like that are never forgotten are they.

We have had this conversation before. The head of testing for the new york lab,regarded as one of the USA"s premire equine drug testing facilities,earlier this year when asked about all the trainers and vets involved in that huge performance enhancer scandel in horse racing,especially new york harness,was asked why there was enough evidence to jail and fnancially ruin all those caught through extensive evidence gathered which proved drug use without positive results. was quoted He was quoted"heres the problem,the so called performance enhancers drugs,no one,nobody,knows what they are. Nobody has a test for them. He then used the example of EPO. When asked about the 82 kinds of epo worldwide,stated they can only test for 3 of those "they've been synthesized, they're available. So if your testing for epo and your only doing 3 and there are another 70 plus out there,who are you kidding". Remember chief i quoted that when i was started a topic about the high profile NZ harness bloodstock agent that was listed as a cliient of the jailed distributor.

actually its a wonder that emma stewart racing cheat facebook mock page was around so long. Is it still going? I see archie butterfly,loves to write about that stable as well. Do you think the unnamed"respected trainers and veterinarians"who were said to have approached a reporter who wrote a major article in the news last month about high profile trainers using performance enhancers in victoria,were real or were the sources just envious and bitter trainers abd vets or maybe they were just made up.Do you believe that racing victora was correct when it says they can test for epo,and didn't believe the article was accurate.. Who actually believes that they can test for all variations of epo anyway. Seems rather ignorant of victorian officials to say something so obviously inaccurate. Only in aussie i guess.

What punters hope for is consistency in performance so you can make true assessments based on current form. When form varies between big stake days and run of the mill days,then its hard to assess. Emma stewart. I guess the way you think you would see emma stewart as a good comparison. Doesn't she make all other victorian trainers look like mugs. Wins everything,improves anything she gets,they keep running no matter how fast they go.Great trainer that woman.....

My examples compare the difference in performance on the big days(group 1 races) to the run of the mill days.In the examples i gave, the runs came within a short space of time,with the significant drop off in form in the middle of that 3 1/2 week time frame.

That theory makes no sense when you look at individual horses performances. For example take the horses vinke b and final collect. Vinke b on cup day ran a very good second in a 1.54.4 mile rate. Then it drops in class significantly at timaru 11 days later,but runs last of 6,beaten on its merits by 7 lengths..Even a 9 start non win horse went better.Then,2 weeks later on sunday,it runs a very respectable 5th in a 1.53.4 mile rate in the group 1 race,beaten by only 4.5 lengths. Final collect ran an excellent 7th, after doing a lot of work wide in the group 1 race on cup day run in a 1.53.6 mile rate,11 days later at timaru it was understandably a red hot favorite in the 6 horse race at timaru,but managed only 3rd after having every chance. Then 2 weeks later in the group 1 race on sunday it again does a lot of work wide,yet still manages to run 4th in a 1.53 mile rate beaten by just 4.5 lengths. There are so many examples i could use,but they are just a couple from sunday. So anyone,well anyone who doesn't have an all star eye patch on,would look at that and say,how come the significant difference in performance.The difference in performance by both horses is so glaringly obvious. The all stars have very high standards anytime they line up anywhere,but when you break down individual performances,then you start to ask how come the difference? Your theory has them having a big drop off in form in 11 days,then the significant increase in performance 14 days later,all through just training. As i said,that makes little sense.

Unfortunately,al least i think so,the world we live in seems to be headed further down the path where peoples opinions can not be expressed for fear of offending.Isn't it better to know what people think,than to not. At least thats what i think anyway. You mention sundee son. There is a difference how the dunn stable is viewed compared to the all stars. The dunn stable can't lift performance as much as the all stars can on the big days. The dunn horses may improve a bit come the bigger days,but what you get is pretty much what you see all year round. The all stars can lift performance on the group one days beyond what is previously seen by their horses performances during the non group one days. People draw their own conclusions as to how..Thats the reason behind why people often talk about the all stars. Is there not a logic there where you could say the dunn stables are the better trainers as they can get their horses to perform closer to their peak all year round,and not just on a handful of days. Yes sunndees son put in somwe eye popping runs,but on the subject we are discussing,no one judges a stable on just one horses performance.They are judged on the how the whole stble performs. Thats why i would say sundees son deserves to be called a champion trotter.

Yes,if you read my post after the one you quote ,i have clarified my thoughts. Like i said ,everything has to be taken in context of the whole picture,and that includes things like team driving.

Actually gammalite i have been thinking. Maybe saying i believe the all stars horses performances are helped by the use of legal performance enhancers could be viewed as being disrespectful by some. So if thats your nterpretation of anyone who says that,then yes there are many. Of course i would say,as with anything,you have to have context,and if you were to me on a rating of 1-10 how much i respect someone,then purdon would be close to the top,but would not quite get a 10 for the reason mentioned. I would rate someone like mark jones ,greg hope,ricky may, jim curtin and a handful of others slightly higher. Thats my opinion,many others would have purdon at the top.

The one thing you have got totally wrong is the bit where you say...hard to fathom the hate and disrespect of mark purdon. surprising and even amazing that you would say that. I have never met anyone who thinks that.

Ok.if thats how it is,thats how it is. You have to realise,after watching yesterday,that if you stick to the status quo,the industries future is doomed quicker than i ever thought.. Who in their right mind would spend say $10,000 to breed a nice mare to a reasonable stallion,not a top grade one like the big players can afford,and then pay for the vets,foaling,gst,grazing.etc. Then wait 2 years,send it to a trainer who has NO chance of winning a big race. You would have to have no regard for economics to do that. Also,just ask your this. How many people looked at yesterdays racing and thought,what great drugs those couple of stables have.Never said they are using anything illegal,just saying thats what i think. And don't tell me i'm in the minority when i say that. everyone i speak to thinks the same. So add that all together and the industry,as it is , doesn't have much of a future.

But they already have on occasions. They have races for south of the bombay,south of the waitaki,several other races where a condition is group one winners are excluded,races where clearly the programmers target getting larger numbers by having conditions excluding the higher performers,etc. It wouldn't cause division if you are only excluding the handful of trainers who have won group one races the previouse seaso. Quite the opposite i would have thought. Catering to 99.9% of the other industry participants would unite those people . Causing real division is in fact what you got on sunday. In other words races where only 2 trainers had any chance of training a group one winner for pacers. Everyone knew that beforehand. Don't all sports have different divisions.Take rugby for example. We have the NPC and the heartland championships.They do that because they understand there are different levels of talent and resources,and the best way to encourage participation is to have realistic championships for teams to aim at.You could guarantee if the top npc team,with all their resources kept playing the heartland teams there would be on outcry over it being unfair and pointless. I would expect the elite stables like the all stars recognise that,and want only what is best for the industry? Its not as if yesterdays race day would be taken away. They would still have the highest stakes and the group one status. Your suggestion,the money earnt in the last few starts thing is something i agree could be used more in nz, just i think is more applicable to every day racing than a higher stake day that i suggested. At the end of the day,would my suggestion be something that the 99.9 % of the industry i refer to support. Would it be something which encourages them,instead of discourages,I would expect so.

Some good and relevant observations made above. I know the average industry grass roots participant would see yesterdays meeting as proof they have no chance of ever competing with the big players like the all stars and the telfers,when it comes to the pacers. You can ignore the point,but reality is ignoring it won't make it irrelevant nor will it make it go away. It has to be addressed in some way. It looks like they paid out over $150,000 in stakes to the horses who didn't finish in the top 4. i don't know whether they still charge nomination fees for such races,but it sure seems a lot of money they elect to pay,just so they get enough starters to make up a field.Why are the also rans entitled to so much appearance money? I think one solution would be to run a similar type of meeting,with all the races programmed to include a condition that any horse trained by a trainer who has won a group one race for that gait(e.g.pacer) in the previous season,is excluded from being nominated.The condition of the races would also make it clear that horses would not be eligible for nomination if trained by an excluded trainer within the previous 3 months.Obviously the races would have to include a wider spread of horse ages,and not just the young age groups. If you want the industry to maintain participation levels,thats part of the solution. Either you want the grass roots participants to continue,or you don't.

No one is saying they aren't very very good horses. Nor are they denying their trainers aren't very very good. But you must know how watching those races today effects how people think. And i can guarantee you this,that when people think about breeding or training or owning a horse in the future,these thoughts will be part of what makes them decide to or not. Anyone who doesn't recognise that,simply is ignoring what people say and think. Its not just here. Look at victoria. One stable completely dominates harness racing there. 5 in the interdominions pacing final,including the clear top 3 qualifiers. Just look how that is perceived in that state.That stable even has a special facebook page dedicated to it,and not for good reasons.Look at some of the media coverage racing has gotten in the last month there. It all points to one thing. As much as people should try and think positive,its hard to ignore.

Thats sad as hes a great horse. . In my opinion he often has warmed up nodding a bit,but never seems to race that way.Its always been noticeable on trackside for quite some time now..As we know,horses nod for a reason,but often its nothing major. I had guessed they sometimes treat him to remove the pain,as occasionally its not there,like the night he won the rowe cup. i watched his race last night and going up to the mobile in the score up it was very noticeable. Yet he seemed to forget about it when he raced.One tough horse. Hope its nothing serious.

Well done to olivia thornley. Rated it well. But as the whale said" he hasn't seen one pull like that and still keep going". It did look to be the 2nd best of the all stars pre race,so given the way the rest of the team has been going today,it all was no surprise.. Top run by true fantasy as well.Should have stopped given it sat parked the whole way on such a fast speed.

Well there you go,wins by 6 lengths in nz record time.Could have won by double that if he had wanted. I didn't bother to have a bet,but $2.20 seemed money for jam as they say.

Looks an entertaining days racing,high quality. But you can't but help think the results so far just reinforce in the minds of the ever reducing number of owners/trainers/breeders still left in the sport,that they are wasting there time if they want to have a horse good enough to win on days like this. Reality is their is no hope for them. Its a day where they are running record times,and when it comes to the pacers the all stars are simply way better than the telfers who are way better than the dunns. The rest are just there to get their heads kicked in . Don't understand why some bother myself. Each to their own i suppose. At least the trotters have don't have such dominance,but really only p nairn stopping that. Still the 2 year old of the all starts just sat 3 wide the first round,then 5 wide down the back ,then won with a leg in the air in a nz record. So,while you must applaud the winners and their performances,anyone watching would have to have their head in the sand to not realise such dominance is definitely a very bad thing for overall future participation. As to the favorites. Well you could say their have been a couple of upsets today.But,then you could also say you are right in that favorites tend to dominate tracks like addington. I just had a look at the last 26 races won at addington,and half of them have been won by horses paying $3 or under. As to crowd size,you could say it looks ok,but in reality pre covid you would have got as many on a fibe day at a grass track meeting in canterbury. I did notice motukarara had a very small crowd by their normal standards yesterday. I'm off,i will now watch how akuta goes. Must win based on how the rest of stable is going.

Anyone else notice how the two brothers often seem intent on driving to beat the other,always at their own expense. The race just run was yet another example. The 1 horse, hesashorething,driven by j abernethy looked the perfect horse for his brother to trail,having drawn alongside him at 2. At its last start the 2 horse had worked very hard early to lead and dropped out badly. Well as if to prove the point i make,again tonight s abernethy was absolutely desperate to head his brother as they went way too hard for the lead. Then ,low and behold,he immediately eased up and his brother came round and took the lead. As you would expect after such ab early burn,J abernethy then opted to trail at the 1000m,when no doubt he wouldn't had he not been forced to burn so hard early. S abernethy finished a very long last again. S abernethy could have had the perfect trail without any exertion.

I agree with you brodie that some decisions made by the tab actually stop people betting. Personally my turnover through the tote would only be about 10% of what it was say a year ago.Thats a direct consequence of some of the tabs policies and how it impacts tote prices.