Murray Fish

I missed that race, but did note him getting rather excited when one won using blinkers!!!

criminal result! ps, top interview btw!

oncourse bookies not going that well either.. Wagering The last bastion of on-course bookmaking By Matt Stewart - May 03, 2024 For the first time in his 45 years of bookmaking, Anthony Doughty drove to Warrnambool this week with a sense of dread. Veteran bookmaker Anthony Doughty says the on-course bookmaking industry is in its death throes. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images) The May jumps carnival is famous for history and solidarity. Everything stays the same; grown men behave like teenagers and stagger home alone, no one finds the $81 leg of that $100,000 quaddie and days begin with a “hair of the dog” and a nostalgic wander into the betting ring. Driving through Geelong, Colac, Camperdown and Terang, Doughty hoped that these expected things would still be there. The betting ring, mostly. The way it’s always been. The art of on-course bookmaking is in its death throes (as Doughty described) yet Warrnambool has been the stoic aberration. Not even death could kill it. After a spate of fatalities 15 years ago, Racing Victoria declared jumps racing deceased. Rob Hines, who then held the seat on the spinning RV CEO carousel, commandeered the stewards’ room at the Bool after three horses perished during the 2009 carnival. Shortly after, the sport was suspended. This would rip the heart out of The Bool. Protests and new safety measures were drawn up by the jumps’ fraternity and the jumps “did a Galleywood” and rose from the dead (as the famous horse appeared to do in the 1984 Grand Annual). Could the betting ring, that other last bastion, keep doing a Galleywood? To Doughty’s relief, it did. “There was lots of cash. You don’t see that any more. Lots going on. What a relief,” Doughty said of this week’s festival. The casino started it, then the internet, then the corporates, Doughty says of the demise of the bookies ring, which had always been the star act of a day at the races, with all-or-nothing plonks cloaked in often hilarious exchanges between the bagmen and punters with comic nicknames like The Babe, the Hong Kong Tiger, the Fireman, Eyes, Ears, the Lady In Black and the Goanna. Warrnambool had a rich history of betting ring plunges and not all from the “good old days”. Harbour Views had the bagmen on their knees in 2019. Throughout our history of horse racing, the racetrack is where it happened, the betting ring where it mattered. It heaved with dreams and dread. Doughty was musing about all of this when he arrived for what he guessed might have been his 46th May carnival. “I came here a bit negative,” Doughty said. “Everywhere else the on-course bookie industry is in its death throes. “Off course everyone’s got their phones and their corporate. “On course suffers, we’ve definitely seen the best of it. The younger generation, they either don’t have cash or they’re not smart shoppers. “In the olden days you’d come on course and go up and down the ring looking for 13-2 when everyone had 6-1. Now all they’re interested in is multis, free bets and sports. It’s a whole different world.” Anthony Doughty estimates there are only about 20 full-time bookmakers left working in Victoria. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images) For now, one little pocket of the world has remained untouched. “Like I said I arrived at Warrnambool pessimistic but there was demand all day, lots of cash. They were backing six or seven horses in each race,” Doughty said. “It was great. It’s the last surviving carnival in that sense. “You’ve got to get off your arse to experience the bookies at the track and thankfully Warrnambool is a place where they get off their arse.” Doughty counted 25 bagmen in the main ring on Tuesday. Most were getting on a bit. Others were dotted around the track. It was a week of jumping and nostalgia. Only a big day at the picnics, like Balnarring on Australia Day, can boast a betting ring vibe like The Bool. “As good as it was it was nothing like the betting rings of 20 years ago. The demand from members and the public before the corporates came in … it (on-course bookmaking) was the biggest game in town,” Doughty said. Wagering through the ring was in fact down but that was solely attributed to extreme track bias for most of the carnival and lack of punter confidence in the track. Crown Casino first opened across the river at the World Trade Centre in 1994. Before then Victorians, mostly retirees, would hop on buses to the other side of the Murray for their pokies hit at RSL’s and golf clubs. The mobile phone hadn’t yet been invented when Mavis and Graham were heading to the river. The corporates and their now reined-in enticements began to take hold. Punters hopped on their phones, not the race-day tram or train. The betting ring, the engine room of the racetrack, was being dismantled. Bookies were treated as cute relics. Warrnambool is one of the last surviving racing carnivals to offer a vibrant on-course betting ring. (Photo by Pat Scala/Racing Photos via Getty Images) Flemington built a new member’s grandstand and literally left the bagmen out in the cold. “Flemington is the only racetrack where you’re working in the elements. You’re exposed to strong winds, glare and rain. It’s an unhealthy environment. Try sitting in your backyard watching monitors in the glare of the sun,” Doughty said. Doughty has been a leading rails bookmaker for longer than almost anyone when the VRC drew up their lavish plans. “I don’t know if anyone was consulted. I certainly wasn’t,” he said. Another rails bookie has described Flemington as “Siberia”. “The other tracks, at least you’re indoors. I haven’t seen the new Caulfield plans but I believe we will at least be indoors,” Doughty said. There is no clear link but it’s interesting that the creation of casinos in Singapore contributed to the death of its racing, just as Crown and the explosion of suburban poker machines sapped the racetrack of traditional customers. “The Casino was the beginning of the end. Before that (on-course betting) was 90 per cent of our turnover. Now it’s less than one per cent,” Doughty said. Bookies regard cashless or tap-and-go betting as a helpful on-track innovation, but while some bookies use it, others have had their modems shut down by the tap-and-go providers. It seems they don’t want to be linked to gambling. Doughty believes there will always be an element of on-course bookmaking but says it will morph into a pursuit for hobbyists. “To my knowledge there have been no applications for (on-course) bookie licenses for four or five years,” he said. “Some bookies are only working 10 times a year, mostly as a hobby. There are only about 20 of us (traditionalists) left. “As a profession, it’s just about finished. Do you want your kids doing this? Of course not, there’s no future in it.” It’s such a shame, the death of the traditional bookie. Punters used to flock to racetracks because there was really no stay-at-home alternative to betting. Besides, the racetrack heaved, and the betting ring was intoxicating. It was a magnet. The phone or TV screen couldn’t get near it. The closest thing to it is The Bool. Doughty will always be nervous making his way to the famous May jumps carnival. There are no certainties in horse racing and new bookies aren’t replacing old. Phones are glued to hands like extra appendages. You sense change, even where very little has changed, like Warrnambool in May. The Galleywoods of horse racing don’t always keep rising to their feet. https://thestraight.com.au/warrnambool-carnival-lives-on-as-a-last-bastion-of-on-course-bookmaking/

Run The Numbers – The not-so slow death of the Australian tote By Bren O'Brien - August 05, 2024 Run The Numbers is sponsored by Inglis At the start of the 2000s, totalisator betting made up 85 per cent of turnover on thoroughbred racing. Now it is 16 per cent and falling fast. So what happened? Run The Numbers explores the decline. On 2022/23 figures, Australian totalisator betting now accounts for just 16.4 per cent of the wagering market. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) In its heyday, totalisator betting was an on-course and retail phenomenon. A New Zealand invention which proved widely popular in Australia, the tote and the TAB brand, established state by state as a government agency in the 1960s, changed betting on horse racing forever. It did more for the commercial success of sport than anything else in the 20th century, driving up prize money and professionalism. The golden goose proved too good an asset for the states not to sell, and bit by bit, these monopolies were privatised, with the exception of Western Australia. At the turn of the century, $8.1 billion of the $9.5 billion wagered on horse racing every year went through the tote, either through on-course, retail such as TABs, pubs and clubs, or phone betting. Eight years later, as the High Court made the historic Betfair v Western Australia decision which paved the way for widespread corporatisation of Australian bookmaking, tote betting in Australia was still riding high, generating $9.7 billion in thoroughbred turnover annually, or 67 per cent of the market. The most recent figures, from 2022/23, shows how dramatically this landscape has changed. In that year, TAB on-course, retail and phone/internet betting contributed $4.3 billion of the $26.4 billion turned over on thoroughbred racing. That is just 16.4 per cent of the market. Put simply, while overall turnover on racing has nearly doubled in the past 15 years, tote turnover has more than halved. In 2008, the average combined win pool hold for a major Sydney or Melbourne race would frequently exceed $1 million. On Saturday, the best combined hold at Flemington was $388,000, while it was around $350,000 at Rosehill. It is also worth noting that the decline of the tote pools continues. A quick survey of home tote win pools from on Saturday reveals overall TAB turnover down 33 per cent at Flemington (albeit with one fewer race) and 11 per cent at Rosehill compared to the same meeting last year. We can break the decline of the parimutuel betting into several pieces, each of which are significant in their own right. Run The Numbers is sponsored by Inglis The first is on-course TAB turnover, which in 2009/10 reached just short of $1 billion Australia-wide, up from $572 million in 2000/01. This growth had come at the expense of on-course bookmaking, whose turnover had fallen from a height of $1.2 billion in 2001/02 to $613 million by 2009/10. But the upward trend in the on-course tote hold proved temporary. By 2015/16 it had collapsed to $391 million and by 2018/19 it was down to $277 million. The pandemic then took a huge toll as on-course attendances plummeted. In 2020/21, on course TAB turnover dropped to $65 million (6 per cent of what it was 11 years earlier). It recovered slightly to be $90 million as pandemic restrictions were fully eased in 2022/23, but is expected to decline again in the just completed 2023/24 season. It’s hardly a surprising trend when you consider the amenity offered by mobile technology and the tote derivative products offered by competitors, as well as declining attendances. This has also led to a decline in the number of on-course tote operators. The pandemic also proved brutal for retail betting through pubs, clubs and agencies. At the turn of the century, close to $7 billion a year was turned over on thoroughbred racing through retail. That represented close to 77 per cent of all turnover on racing. In 2022/23, the contribution of betting on racing through a retail setting was 6.5 per cent, or $1.7 billion of $26.3 billion. It had been a relatively slow decline for retail betting for the decade before the pandemic hit. In 2009/10, retail turnover was $6.1 billion, but the burst in corporate bookmaking saw that reduced to $4.5 billion by 2013/14. By 2018/19, that had fallen to $2.8 billion, as the corporate bookmaker sector grew to $11.1 billion, having been $6 billion five years prior. It was the outbreak of COVID-19 restriction that changed the landscape forever. By 2021/22, the turnover on racing through corporate bookmakers and betting exchanges, with no retail dependency, had ballooned to $19.7 billion. In contrast, retail, beset by the consequences of lockdowns, had slumped to $1.4 billion. The third aspect of parimutuel betting is online and phone betting. In 2000/01, this was already worth $1.1 billion to racing turnover a year, or 11.3 per cent of the total. A decade later, as internet betting grew, parimutuel pools benefited to the tune of $2.47 billion, meaning 17.2 per cent of racing turnover was through TAB-based online and phone parimutuel betting. However, the TABs were getting in on the fixed odds game and that meant driving more punters to a different market. Fixed odds betting turnover through TABs grew from less than $100 million to $2.6 billion in five years from 2007, most of it done online. As a result, parimutuel online turnover pretty much stayed steady through the 2010s. It took off during the midst of the pandemic, getting to $3.3 billion, but has quickly reverted to the $2-$2.5 billion range it has occupied since 2007/08. The Tote is dying in Australia, eaten away by both competition from tote derivative markets and the Australian betting public’s willingness to embrace fixed odds. It is a reminder of how dramatically the wagering landscape can change in the space of 15-20 years. Those regulators and governments making long-term calls on the funding structure of the racing industry need to be aware that what is accepted logic now is unlikely to apply a decade or so down the line. Parimutuel turnover on Australian racing by year (inmillions) *Source: Racing Australia Fact Book *Source: Racing Australia Fact Book Season On Course TAB Retail TAB Phone & Internet Overall 2013/14 $550.95 $4,479.24 $1,974.55 $7,004.74 2014/15 $515.28 $4,166.96 $2,068.96 $6,751.20 2015/16 $391.21 $3,785.99 $2,119.54 $6,296.74 2016/17 $350.25 $3,347.00 $2,068.15 $5,765.40 2017/18 $311.96 $3,039.79 $2,135.18 $5,486.93 2018/19 $276.85 $2,758.56 $2,171.47 $5,206.88 2019/20 $183.29 $2,021.10 $2,356.41 $4,560.80 2020/21 $64.96 $1,863.34 $2,816.49 $4,744.79 2021/22 $66.73 $1,482.56 $3,308.22 $4,857.51 2022/23 $90.17 $1,698.87 $2,542.21 $4,331.25 from: https://thestraight.com.au/run-the-numbers-the-not-so-slow-death-of-the-australian-tote/

talking that fella: "I also want to acknowledge and thank Bernard Saundry for his leadership at RSN and wish him well in his new role as Chairman of Harness Racing Victoria. Bernard has guided RSN through a key period of transition with great poise and commitment.” from: https://thestraight.com.au/racing-victoria-shakes-up-media-and-broadcast-with-key-executives-to-depart/

wow

reading between the lines, perhaps ulcers?

that was going to be my next posted one! surprising to see only 500 subscribers to the pod caste

Wagering On-course wagering no longer a window of opportunity for Tabcorp By Warwick Barr - December 02, 2024 The totalisator, once the financial backbone of the Australian racing industry, has reached a critical intersection as a viable on-course method of betting. On course totalisator betting could become a thing og the past. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images) In a decision blamed on the changing habits of customers and expedited because of the end of a joint venture agreement with Racing Victoria, Tabcorp will remove its on-course service, which also included fixed-odds betting, at selected meetings across the state. The move came into effect on Sunday, and while the Jericho Cup meeting at Warrnambool offered a TAB option, a midweek Victorian provincial fixture this week will provide a glimpse into life without an on-course totalisator. TAB windows will be shut at Bendigo on Tuesday, signalling the end of an era as Tabcorp winds back its on-course presence. Patrons wanting a cash bet must do so with one of the on-course bookmakers fielding at the meeting. The other option is to be through digital channels. It is a decision Tabcorp insists is a response to a rapidly growing digital market that has changed how punters are wagering. There is also the matter of reducing costs as Tabcorp implements a reset of its business strategy under new chief executive Gillon McLachlan. Tabcorp announced a $1.36 billion loss in the 2023/24 financial year, revealing a non-cash impairment charge of $1.38 billion because of a sluggish wagering market and additional taxes it pays in NSW and South Australia. McLachlan eyes national tote pool as part of a ‘fitter’ Tabcorp McLachlan has made no secret Tabcorp will be run as a much leaner operation, promising to make the wagering firm a “cost-effective” outfit. Reducing its foothold on Victoria’s racetracks in all three codes appears is designed to save costs. In a statement, Tabcorp says it will be business as usual for its on-course cash facilities at major meetings across Victoria. What the wagering company didn’t say is that Racing Victoria will bankroll the employment of on-course TAB operators at the selected meetings until the end of the racing season. “To minimise any potential impacts on clubs and their customers, RV has reached agreement with TAB to fund on-course wagering services at 140 race meetings throughout the remainder of the 2024/25 season,” an RV spokesman told The Straight. “This will include metropolitan meetings and a large selection of feature country meetings, including country and picnic cups. “With on-course cash wagering continuing to decline as more punters migrate to digital wagering, TAB have made the decision to reduce their on-course services to save costs.” Run The Numbers – The not-so slow death of the Australian tote Tabcorp’s decision to withdraw on-course cash wagering facilities, including electronic betting terminals (EBTs), was delayed until the end of the spring carnival. However, what the Victorian on-course wagering landscape might look like in 2025/26 remains to be determined, according to RV. “RV will be working closely with Country Racing Victoria throughout the remainder of the 2024-25 season to best understand the impacts, in the knowledge that on-course cash wagering has been minimal at those meetings which will no longer carry the service,” the spokesman said. Tabcorp says it is merely accommodating a wagering environment reshaped as punters migrated to different ways of betting during the pandemic and haven’t returned to traditional outlets. “Tabcorp is transforming to meet the changing needs of our customers,” a spokesman for the ASX-listed company said. “We’ve launched a new TAB App and new products which give our customers more innovative bet types and ways of placing a bet than ever before. “This is all part of creating the ultimate racing and sports entertainment experience, whether it be at home, in our 4000 retail outlets nationwide or at the track. There’s never been more ways to place a bet with TAB. “As part of that evolution we will be reducing the number of cash terminals at Victorian racetracks because a majority of customers have told us they want to bet digitally. “As the partner … TAB will continue to offer full cash services at race meetings that are the most important to the Victorian racing industry. “This includes metropolitan meetings and feature race days on the provincial and country circuit. “These changes better reflect the evolving betting patterns and feedback of our customers.” The last bastion of on-course bookmaking Under the terms of the historic VicTAB joint venture, the TAB was obligated to have cash outlets at all Victorian race meetings. RV lobbied the state government but failed in its bid for the service to be retained under the new Victorian wagering licence, which was put in place in August. As such, there is no requirement on Tabcorp to provide on-course wagering services at any Victorian race meeting. Tabcorp’s move in Victoria could be a forerunner to on-course TAB betting going the same way in other states, most notably NSW. Tabcorp NSW deal under review as it plots ‘level playing field’ Discussions between Tabcorp and the NSW government about the wagering firm’s exit from a deal locked in until at least 2033 have been ongoing. Tabcorp claims it is disadvantaged on issues such as the taxes it pays compared to its chief rivals Sportsbet and Ladbrokes. The Straight understands finer details of the Tabcorp-NSW government review have taken longer than expected to work through, with an announcement is expected in the first quarter of 2025 at the earliest.

Personally not a fan! Struggling to get a sponsor perhaps? Interesting to see how the youngest horse in the race is a 6 year old! 7 horses rated 100+ Would it be correct to say that is a first for a while! No Rain Last 7 Days | No Rain in the forecasted! Gee, does that mean a decent track? Bring it on!

TAB MUFHASA CLASSIC Starting limit: 18, Ballots: 6 WFA 1600m - $400,000 Open /Close Silk Horse Trainer Age Sex Order Rating Weight La Crique Simon & Katrina Alexander 6 Mare - 109 - Perfect Scenario Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson 7 Gelding - 107 - El Vencedor Stephen Marsh 6 Gelding - 105 - Ladies Man Allan Sharrock 7 Gelding - 105 - One Bold Cat Robbie Patterson 6 Gelding - 103 - Town Cryer Roydon Bergerson 7 Mare - 102 - Belardo Boy Lisa Latta 6 Gelding - 100 - Lightning Jack Kelvin Tyler 8 Gelding - 99 - Puntura Robbie Patterson 7 Gelding - 99 - Mali Ston Darryn & Briar Weatherley 7 Gelding - 98 - Pearl Of Alsace Shaune Ritchie & Colm Murray 6 Mare - 98 - Matscot Sharon Robertson and Alan Reeves 7 Gelding - 97 - He's A Doozy Lisa Latta 7 Gelding - 94 - Chase Stephen Nickalls 8 Gelding - 90

more 'honesty' than the normal corporate propaganda! starting with "yes I should have said I was going to resign"

here is the full Gai interview

via microsoft copolit. is Robert Cameron the harness trainer and driver still alive? Yes, Robert Cameron, the renowned harness trainer and driver, is still alive. He has had a long and distinguished career in the harness racing industry, with numerous wins and accolades to his name1. Would you like to know more about his career highlights or recent activities? how old is he? Robert Cameron, the renowned harness trainer and driver, is 79 years old. He has had a long and distinguished career in the harness racing industry, with numerous wins and accolades to his name. Would you like to know more about his career highlights or recent activities? how winners did he train and drive? Robert Cameron has had a highly successful career as a harness trainer and driver. Some of his notable achievements include: Iraklis: This top pacer won the 1997 NZ Trotting Cup and the Miracle Mile. Iraklis won 22 of his 51 starts and earned over $1 million in stakes1. Monkey King: Another standout horse trained and driven by Cameron, Monkey King won two NZ Cups and numerous other Group 1 races. Scotch Tar: Cameron trained this trotter to win two Dominion Handicaps and several other Group races. Cameron's career highlights reflect his skill and dedication to the sport. Would you like to know more about any specific horse or race? how many winners did he drive? Robert Cameron has driven over 1,000 winners in his career. This is a remarkable achievement and highlights his skill and dedication to harness racing. Would you like to know more about his career highlights or any specific races he's won? how many winners did he train? Robert Cameron has trained over 500 winners in his career. This is a testament to his skill and dedication to the sport of harness racing. Would you like to know more about his career highlights or any specific horses he's trained?

wasn't it great to see him bolting in! I recon from around 72 to 76 there would have been one meeting in Canterbury and the West Coast , gallops and trots that our crowd wasn't on course! I would hate to think how much warm flat bear and cold pies we ate and drunk! lol, I recon I jumped the fence at most meetings as well!!!

sigh, at most of the recent meetings at Wingatui (not counting Melb Cup day) I usually get to speal to the 5o people on course in the public area!

then there is this: How many Group one races are there in Queensland each year? In Queensland, there are eight Group 1 races each year. These races are part of the state's major racing carnivals, including the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival and the Gold Coast Magic Millions Carnival2. how many group one races in nz each season? In New Zealand, there are 20 Group 1 races each season. These races are part of the country's major racing carnivals and include prestigious events like the New Zealand Derby, Auckland Cup, Wellington Cup, and the Tarzino Trophy.

Both Queensland and New Zealand have significant horse racing industries, but they differ in scale and economic impact. Queensland: The racing industry in Queensland generates over $2.4 billion in value-added contribution to the economy. It sustains around 15,839 full-time equivalent jobs. The industry sees more than 675,300 attendances at race meetings annually. New Zealand: The racing industry in New Zealand generates close to $1.9 billion in value-added contribution to the economy. It sustains around 13,632 full-time equivalent jobs. The industry sees more than 639,100 attendances at race meetings annually. While Queensland's racing industry has a larger economic impact and more jobs, New Zealand's industry also plays a crucial role in its economy and community.

I think I can see myself!!!

By chance it was the first cup I was oncourse for! Besides him bolting in the big thing I recall was the massive ORRRRRRRRRR that went up from the crowd when they put up his price on the semaphore board! two dollar something!!!! ps, back then of course you had to have won 10 races to get into the cup! and there was a whole lot of Open Class races leading up to the cup Here was the field for that years race Here are the horses that participated in the 1973 New Zealand Trotting Cup: Arapaho Young Quinn Globe Bay Robalan Royal Ascot Vanadium Lightsey Scottish Charm Noble Lord Rauka Lad Fab Manaroa Manawaru

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK HORSES ARPAHO A winner over two miles in 4.19 as a 3-year-old, Arapaho brought himself into light harness racing prominence as a 4-year-old when he won the New Brighton Stars Travel Mile at the Addington track. Starting from a second row barrier and running against the elite of NZ pacers, Arapaho ran the distance in 1:59 in conditions that were anything but favourable. Arapaho defeated the Australian Bay Foyle, who ran second and also had to contend with a second row barrier draw, Robalan and Radiant Globe. Arapaho became the first of his sire, Bachelor Hanover's progeny to enter the two-minute list. Arapaho won 10 races, was second twice and third twice as a 4-year-old for prizemoney, $31,740 to be the leading NZ stakewinner in 1971-2. Arapaho was subsequently voted the NZ Harness Horse-of-the-Year in 1972. In February, 1973, Arapaho set a world record in winning the Dunedin Festival Cup. He ran the 11 furlongs from a standing start in 2:48 3/5, a mile rate of 2:02 3/5. This clipped 1 3/5 off the world record set by Johnny Globe, in 1955. Following his success in the Dunedin Festival Cup, Arapaho raced in Sydney in the 1973 Inter-Dominion Championship series. He was defeated into second placing by the championship winner, Hondo Grattan, in the first heat he contested but won the next heat. He qualified for the final, but ran unplaced from the 12 yard mark. During the 1973-4 season Arapaho was again the leading stake-earner in NZ with earnings of $69,375 for the season. This followed wins in the prestigious NZ Cup and the Auckland Cup in 1973. Arapaho was sold to Canadian owners and left NZ late in 1974. Credit: Ron Jenkins: Great Trotters YEAR: 1973 1973 NZ TROTTING CUP Doubts that Arapaho would see out a solidly run 3200 metres against such talented opposition were completely dispelled when he raced away with the $40,000 NZ Cup. Not only did Arapaho win the Cup, but he did so by five lengths in the brilliant time of 4:08.6 for the 3200 metres, which compares favourably with False Step's 4:09 recorded in winning his third NZ Cup in 1960 when the distance was two miles. The fastest time recorded in the Cup over two miles was Johnny Globe's 4:07.6 in 1954. This was a world record which stood until 1969 when Dainty's Daughter recorded 4:07 in Western Australia. Arapaho, who at the start of the season was under option to an American buyer for $100,000 but remained in New Zealand when the sale fell through, proved by far the best stayer in the field. Dunsandel owner Mr Laurie Forde has now won 23 races both here and in Australia with Arapaho who took his stake earnings to $90,270 with the $24,000 first prize. Arapaho was given a dream run by trainer-driver Jack Smolenski. Sixth early he had a turn in front at the 2100 metre mark as the early lead changed frequently, and was then three back on the rails when first Vanadium then Rauka Lad took the lead. Rauka Lad made the pace from the 1800 metres when Young Quinn was shot into a handy lead by Bob Cameron. Vanadium and Arapaho moved to be second and third on the home turn, but Arapaho proved too strong for Young Quinn and went on to win by five lengths. Last year's Cup winner Globe Bay went another good race for second. He improved along the rails to be in fifth place on the turn and finished determinedly to edge Young Quinn out of second by half a neck. Young Quinn, the youngest horse in the race at four, made a game attempt to beat his older rivals. He was one of several to have a turn in front early when he led briefly at the 2600 metre mark, but at the 1600 he was well placed in the fourth line on the outside of Fab. Cameron sent him passed the tiring Rauka Lad at the 600 metre mark and he turned for home with a handy advantage. He could not maintain it, but his third in such a fast-run race was a good effort for a young horse. Robalan third in the race last year, gained another placing when he battled on for fourth though four lengths back. He drifted to the rear after 800 metres and then had to go very wide when improving from the 700 metre mark. He was sixth, but very wide out turning for home. Royal Ascot did best of the three horse bracket which include Manaroa and Manawaru. He finished fifth, but never looked like paying a dividend. He had only Manaroa and Robalan behind him at the 800 metre mark and then had to go three, then four wide round Noble Lord at the 400 metres. He was a length back fifth at the line. Vanadium, who trailed Rauka Lad from the 1800 metres, wilted to sixth a length back and a nose in front of Lightsey who ran on well after breaking at the start. Scottish Charm just battled away in the middle of the field two lengths back with a gap of five lengths back to Noble Lord who made a brief forward move at the 800 metres, but was struggling at the 400 metre mark. Manawaru, who was under pressure to maintain his position at the 800 metres, was a further four lengths back ahead of Bomber Bill, Fab, Manaroa, who broke badly at the start, and Rauka Lad. Rauka Lad stopped badly after going up fast to lead at the 1800 metre mark. Credit: 'Lookout' writing in NZ Trotguide

who was the nz cup winner Arapaho named after? Arapaho, the New Zealand Cup winner, was named after the Arapaho Native American tribe. The name "Arapaho" is derived from the word "Arapa," which means "dog eater" in the Pawnee language. The Arapaho tribe is one of the Plains tribes and has a rich history and culture.

It came up via 'prof algorithm', I've been trolling through youtube looking up videos on gambling and punting. Starting to get to see a interesting vein of videos! This podcast has some interesting videos, I've been enjoying watching various ones about various old school bookies and big punters! https://www.youtube.com/@WolfdenApp

a change of tack... Experience has thought me to be rather cautious of bring to much 'cognitive bias' to the punting table, especially around any perception of 'who owns' 'who trains'. My late Dad would comment "never kick a mans dog! or "bad mouth some ones races horse!", both can later bite you! Back to talking Te Akau, not a stable that I often bet on, as much as it seems that their is often a lot of early smart money on their runners, fascinating to see when the opposite when one of theirs goes on the drift, Atrai was one I had black booked, opened @6 drifted out to 11, v's big $$$ which didn't stop coming for the winner!