the galah

It was a drive that gave his horse no chance in such a slowly run race,so cross codes is right about the drive,although of course mckendry is still a very good driver when in the mood and drove another big race win tonight. Probably shouldn't have been so well supported on previous form anyway,as its been driven the same each time its raced and not shown much. You never know next time though, with a good draw,we may see a different tactical drive and the horse might realise its there to race and improve significantly. Time will tell.

Unfortunately the moral of the story for some of these amateurs "is keep your expectations low,that way you will never be disappointed" The reality is the good amateurs get better,and the less skilled don't seem to improve at all. And there aren't any new amateur drivers coming through,so the less skilled often get drives.The fella that drove ally mae last night drove it like it was a car where you can swerve or pump the brakes hard with no consequences,but its a horse,not a car.And tactically he showed no brains either. I thought he got off lightly with a $250 fine. I think punters need s wigg to continue as an amateur driver. Punters won't invest if they have no confidence in any of the drivers She is definitely the best. Some of the others go ok as well,just theres a big difference between the best and the less skilled.

But is what you have just said a myth? I once read a European study on hundreds of harness horses which said the major factors in horses breaking down were preparation,gait, track surface and treatments. It actually did not find the pre conceived theory you suggest was a major factor.

No,its like saying i would much rather watch my local provincial team play the final of the heartland competition than watch 2 teams from the opposite end of the country with mostly imported players and high salary caps play each other in the final. I know who my local players are,have watched their progress through the season,and other followers of the sport locally can relate to their achievements now and in the future.

Those international horses add nothing to the race. Much better if only nz and aussie horses.

I'm doing a brodie here,but watching a couple of those drivers in race 1 tonight makes you wonder if they should be driving.Put a small bet on ally mae,clealy the best performed,but couldn't put much on because its drivers record is poor. Well,that desparate for the fence early that it all but breaks a couple of times, Through luck finds itself in a position where it could get a lovely run on the outer,but 5 back the fence apparently the better option. Then that desparate to get a run in the straight it runs over several markers and eventually looking more like a kangaroo as it jumps them.Suspension coming up i would think,but really how does he get to drive anyway. I came out square because i know you just back S. wigg in these races as she is miles better than the rest as a driver.Unless you back her,those amateur races aren't worth the aggravation that go with them from a betting perspective.

I guess punters clubs come in all shapes and forms. I'm not thinking along the lines of the ones you have referred to. I'm thinking an example would be running one at all the canterbury grass track meetings. Those grass tracks with the big fields are the ideal place to make money where you have a big enough starting pool to go wide when making your selections. They have the guaranteed first 4 $10,000 on every race,large on course crowds of people who are there as much for a fun day out as those who go there for a serious punt. Off course participation should also be accessible.You obviously would have to keep participants informed as to what horses the betting has been based around. Obtaining email addresses,or contact ph numbers from those who attend and participate could assist in contacting for future participation and club promotion. O.k there may be a bit of organising it all initially, but long term it would be a boost for turnover and fun punting participation.You could sell tickets to work groups at the xmas at the races functions. As long as you had someone doing the selections who knew what they were doing. Just a thought i've always had.

Sounds like your not a fan of punters clubs and don't believe people can actually make any money from them,nor get much enjoyment from having someone else with greater knowledge do the selections. Punters clubs shouldn't target,or expect participation from people who believe they have greater knowledge than the people making punters clubs selections. Thats why its important any punters clubs uses a consistently knowledgeable/successful punter for the selections. Your saying people would rather "jam $100 in a pokie". It appears your also saying people would get more annoyed if they lost money if a reputable person controlled the racing selections,and would be happier if similar or greater losses occurred when a machine is responsible for making the losing selections. Maybe many people are that stupid,don't think so though.

Part of the reason for the payouts to all runners is to maintain participation at the grass roots level. So while most stakes may not have dropped off in real terms compared with 25 years ago,the % of each stake paid to the top 4 has been reduced.Thats one of the compromises thats been accepted as being necessary to help maintain participation levels. Brodie refers to stake levels,but of course 30 years ago owners were still paying acceptance fees if you wanted to start a horse.Now they don't. Also gone are the unrealistic huge stakes for the big races,because theres a realisation that the money is better distributed to more owners than just a handful. The problem nz racing has is in attracting new,and retaining existing customers. Its not as if people don't gamble anymore. Just look at the growth of some types of on line gambling.Part of the problem is in previous years our TAB has made some moronic decisions which has hurt their own customer participation levels. e.g. The new tab website from a couple of years ago that reduced turnovers and alienated and pissed off so many of their customers. There needs to be some thinking outside the square that generates turnover. Why aren't punters clubs run at every harness meeting. Why aren't tickets in them actively promoted with access to a website updated pre every race as to what the investments are.And i'm not talking about those that get to spend big amounts on fixed odds,they need someone running them who takes multiple type bets on the tote and knows their form. Why not have a system whereby if you don't cash out,your stake in the punters club is rolled over to the next meeting.Like having shares in the stockmarket,the current value of the share in the punters club would fluctuate depending on success levels at each meeting.But if run by someone with knowledge,would return a profit.

One of the biggest issues facing harness racing today is the value of land. Dairying has pushed land values so high that investing in alternative use for things like training racehorses ,given the returns,is no longer affordable or attractive.Thank the national government for that. Harness racing strongholds in canterbury and southland have seen irrigated land use double in the last 20 years. So many of the old school dairy farmers have been replaced by corporates,or individuals with a never ending quest to apparently build their own dairy farm empire with multiple dairy farms. Its not just other land users like harness trainers that have been shut out,the next generation of old school farmers either have to take on huge debt,and often walk away,taking their families knowledge with it. One thing that i have noted,the farmers i meet don't seem as happy as they used to be. Having major assets,but with big debt doesn't seem to help their happiness levels. So the cost of farmland in areas where harness racing is dominant is being impacted by forces outside their control. Industry leaders need to come up with a solution as far as having training centres go,otherwise it will impact future participation even more.

Going on the nz inflation calculator $5304 in 1991 is worth $9430 today. I see they are running for $8000 on saturday at ashburton,so its not as bad as people may think. 1 win horses were running for $8000 in 1996 at addington. That equates to $14,223 today. Similar grade on friday night seem to be running for $12,000 or $15,000 so not much difference there. The reality is each individual has their own perspective on where nz harness racing is at,and what the future may hold. If we have been exposed to negative experiences ,then obviously its understandable that you view those areas of the industry in a negative way. Hence how brodie feels about the tab.Same as how positive past experiences create positive thoughts. I think the likely future is not as bad as some make out. It really just comes down to the present and future decisions made by leadership right through to individuals at grass root levels. Obviously participation at all levels will decline,but the pace of the decline is unlikely to be at the speed some seem to predict.

It was only a small nose in it,and it appeared he had made up his mind Pay me visa was going to win just prior to the finish. Thats how it had actually looked,so understandable to some extent. I don't think it realistic to expect perfection from anyone every time. He is very good overall.

Reality is those within the media who decide what stories the general public get to read and view,have this agenda to push any story that highlights the animal welfare issues within the industry.Its not going to stop. The media believes in the message they promote, they believe there is an element of cruelty that exists within the greyhound industry and they believe they have the moral high ground. And the reason the industry struggles to rebutt such thinking is because there is a degree of truth in the medias message.Until that changes the medias drums will grow louder. I like the greyhounds,but i can't understand how they have got to the point where certain breeders mass produce such high numbers,and what happens around the fate of the large numbers you never see or hear of. I can't understand how the live baiting issue came to nothing and went on for so long beforehand. So if people who don't want to see the industry fold can see the industry has problems ,then its easy to understand how those on the outside might push for its demise in this p.c. world we live in..

I agree with all 3 of your points chief in your most recent post. The kerr case has highlighted current areas in which a very deceptive person can gain unlawful financial advantage from his victims without their knowledge. But my point is how restrictive and compliant do you make things to protect against people who act like kerr and at what cost ,and i don't believe that would stop people like kerr acting deceptively anyway. You have a thing against the RIU,and have refered to them as keystone cops in this thread. You refer to poor systems at the tab and hrnz, but put little focus on kerrs actions to deceive,his victims being sucked in and their failure to pick up the deceptions earlier,and kerrs family and friends who despite having good intentions,whose trust was misguided. So i get what your saying,i just think the picture you paint focuses on only a small part of the overall picture.

All this looking to blame someone else. Its a bit tiresome. I once came across a bloke going crook at a taxi driver,blaming him for enabling his daughter to drink because that is how she got to the local liquor outlet. It was his fault,the liquor outlets fault and her friends fault. They all enabled her according to the father who was at his wits end. The point i make is people can be very deceptive and manipulating,and to expect them to turn off that behavior when it comes to satisfying their addictions is not how addicts work. One thing i have learnt from people who manipulate,is with experience they get better at their manipulation,and the better ones know how to suck people in. Also many of those around them believe what they want to be true,irrespective of truth or not being spoken by the manipulator. I would go as far to say, those who do that should look at themselves in the mirror,instead of continuing to blame the wrong party.Thats humans for you.

There is not enough detail in what you say to get a full picture of whether any fault lies with the NZ TAB. The NZ TAB already has a "Harm prevention and minimisation policy". If you read it, it shows the TAB can refuse to take bets from problem gamblers,problem gamblers can self exclude themselves for periods of 2 years,People can set their betting limits,Friends,family can contact the tab about problem gamblers,etc. You say had the nz tab approached Kerr it would have got a mention in the jca report.Well what about the opposite,had kerr approached the nz tab? Appears no mention of that in the jca report. My point is you are right to say lessons can be learnt, but to deflect blame onto the TAB,when Kerr himself provided no evidence of it to the JCA,seems unreasonable. Why the nz tab anyway,what about the australian agencies.

I thought it went ok,but it is by Auckland reactor. Many of the Auckland Reactors look promising in their first few starts,but then become inconsistent and poorly mannered. Many seem to get worse with racing, manners wise. Personally i wouldn't buy or breed one myself as they look as if they would be frustrating. Having said that sky vale looks one of the handy ones. Its always interesting to see how certain sires progeny have similar traits. Its like Peaks,you can guarantee they will break 90% of the time.

I really think you have no idea about how to analyse form,and compare previous performances of horses and the class of horse they ran against. Thats what i believe.Your arguing with someone who makes a living analysing form. I know what i'm talking about. You think someone who is cleary very,very dishonest is somehow squeaky clean when it comes to training horses. What world do you live in? Thats the last post i make on this topic.

I'm getting a headache.Banging my head against the wall is not doing me any good. But i will comment on your post one last time. A better act had 4 wins and a second in its first 5 starts for kerr. So it did not have a drop off in form when it went to kerr.

You obviously don't. Go watch its videos before they sold it and said it got sick.. Cutting their losses. Like i said earlier,not talking form anymore,as your not up with the play.

think it was paying about $20.. Ran 2nd to cruz bromac in start before cup, with star galleria and ultimate machete 3rd and 4th. The start before that it had run 2nd to dream about me,with alta orlando 3rd. Both were group races. So they would have paid good money for it,but apart from 1 $20,000 race,it won 5 other $6000 to $7000 races in aussie.Lost a leg somewhere. Not as bad as smokin by of course.It lost 2 legs.

Like the picture. But don't take up punting for a living ,because you won't last long if you miss obvious form changes.

forgotten highway started 7th favorite at about its 20th start in the 2018 nz cup. It only had a couple of more runs in nz after that then was sold. Its australian record is not impressive for a horse the australians would have paid big money for. Chief,no point debating form with you. If you can't see it,then keep backing the former kerr trained horses,then get back to me how you go.

Well in the last week or so,A bettor act,Manhattan and A delightful act.All have been flops and appear to have lost a leg somewhere since changing stables. They have gone to N williamson,R butt and R dunn as trainers. yeah right.