Chimbu

The lack of comment from attendees is somewhat puzzling, IMO. Hopefully, it isn't a sign of apathy and doesn't carry through to the Bill's submission numbers

Have you tried uninstalling the app, then reinstalling it? When this has happened to me (not only on the TAB app or on android not iphone), it has seemingly been a cache issue and the uninstall/reinstall action usually does the trick

This is a link to the latest article I have seen on this situation https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/117342439/new-plymouth-racecourse-remains-waiting-in-the-wings

Further to Mark D's comments. I totally agree that the New Plymouth track doesn't handle the racing it has now. Imagine what sort of racing we'll be viewing if there is a wetter than usual December in New Plymouth (quite likely given the Taranaki climate) with 3 or 4 race days, 2 of those in very close succession. IMO, those in the decision making chairs really look like they are steering the Titanic in so many ways. Rationalisation doesn't necessarily produce healthier financials and propping up those venues/clubs that have a history of poor management with 'stolen' assets/funds from rural/provincials that have cost the industry very little over the years, without truly understanding the implications of doing so, is incredibly short-sighted and abhorrent. As I understand the Messara report, in a few years time it is proposed there will only be one racecourse operating thoroughbred racing in Taranaki north of Waverley. You would have to have rocks in your head if you believe that a single track in NP can cope with all of the dates currently allocated to the Hawera, Stratford & NP courses. It looks even uglier if they insist that all of the grass-track harness meetings race there too.

The TAB via my Facebook feed seem to think I am an overseas resident! Who knew???

The chances of there being 'issues' must be pretty high, C S. In saying that, I do wonder how many formerly regular, small - medium bet, punters now only bet spasmodically, if it all due to their disillusionment with the website and the NZ scene in general? If the old-time regulars are not there, perhaps the system will cope with the increased traffic numbers on MC day?

This came across my Facebook newsfeed. Warning: It is a long read. The author, PW Thoroughbreds, is an Australian TB re-homer. "Following the @abcaustralia slaughterhouse report, many people have been asking what I think and how I feel. The first thing I want to say is that I am devastated with the way the horses lives are ended. However, I am here to defend racing, as a reputable racehorse rehomer and track work rider, here are the facts: 1. MAJORITY (not all, I said majority) of the horses in those videos had not come directly from the track to the knackery. There is not a single chance in hell any of those horses were in racing condition. If you swipe through my photos, all 6 of those horses were JUST retired and from 6 different trainers, so you can see the consistency. They retire with their manes pulled, feet trimmed and their coats sleek, indicating optimal health. Horses were dropped to the knackery by which ever do gooding c^*t who bit off more than they could chew. 2. Trainers do their fucking best to rehome horses. If little Sally turns up to the stables with her $30k Rowville horse float and $300 shipping boots, most trainers are going to rightfully assume that little Sally loves horses and will keep their beloved racehorse forever. Trainers don't know that little Sally is flat out sitting on a rocking horse and this horse might change hands 5 times before it meets it fate. 3. Breeders are not responsible for these horses once they are sold. End of story. Flashing their brands on tv is NOT FAIR to the breeder whom likely hasn't seen or heard from the horse since it was a yearling. 4. For every shit story of a horse ending up at the doggers, there are 5 nice stories of a horse that has gone into a new home and proven successful in whatever pursuit it was chosen for. Do the fucking research and look them up. Has anyone ever scrolled through the Echuca sales and seen how many QH and clydie crosses are on there ?? Where is the story on them ? 5. RACING IS NOT STOPPING. END OF STORY. If you are concerned with the welfare of the horses whilst they are racing - here are two things you can do. Get a job in the industry so you can make a difference, or put your hand up for a horse that has retired and take care of it for the rest of its life. Some horses are not suitable to be rehomed, end of story. Just like some dogs have to be euthanised because they aren't suitable to be pets, it is the same with horses. If a horse is not safe around people, it is not safe enough to be alive. Horses need people to survive. End of story. Newsflash, they aren't wild anymore ! Racing is a rich industry that employs So SO MANY PEOPLE. It is one of the only industries whereby both typically developing people and people with additional needs work as equals and that is fucking amazing. If you are a racehorse trainer - please read this, it will take you five minutes. ● Find yourself a middle man - someone who knows the equestrian industry and knows racing. A track rider is ideal. This person can find the RIGHT people for the RIGHT horse. People should ALWAYS be matched to horses and not vice versa. This middle man can weed through the fuck wits and find the most suitable home possible. Myself, the Kaminski girls etc are good middle men (I am biased though) ● STAY IN TOUCH ! I know it's hard and we are all so busy, but the more you stay in touch the more accountable the new owner will be. Owners and trainers can stay in touch, it can be as simple as hitting the like button on a photo. It's not hard. ● Have a probation period and offer to take the horse back. Everything that I rehome has a probation period and I welcome anything back if it doesn't work. It's hard to know if a horse will work when we don't get to sit on them first. Give them the option of returning the horse, but have some strict guidelines. There are more fuckwits in the equestrian world than any other world but there are lots of good eggs that are genuinely just chasing a nice horse. ● Keep a data base of good horse owners. People who compete the horses you rehome at high levels or who stay in touch. And ALWAYS prioritise these people when you're rehoming. ● Keep a black book. I have marks on several people on my rehoming page. There are lots of people who will NEVER get a horse from me and they have no fucking idea. If you are an equestrian enthusiast and want a horse off the track PLEASE read this. ● Set yourself aside $60-150 a week for feed. Thoroughbreds aren't cheap to run, particularly in the first 12 months following retirement. ● GET LESSONS! Get lessons weekly, fortnightly, monthly at worst. If you can't commit to this, get a pony. ● If you are a windy rider, get a pony. End of. Get a fucking pony. ● If you exceed 85kg. Get a pony. Actually don't. Get a Clydesdale. Or a Cob. Thoroughbreds can't carry excessive weight for long periods. Our dear friend Sally sitting all 80kg of herself on poor old Socks for 45minutes waiting for cross country to start is a recipe for disaster. Their bodies are not designed for it. You'll spend thousands trying to figure out why it's unsound or not tracking up. The answer is sitting in the saddle. ● If you can't commit to your farrier every 4-6 weeks, get a pony. Thoroughbreds are the epitome of ' no foot no horse'. If you can't take care of their feet you will not have a sound horse. ● If your ex racehorse isn't working out PLEASE don't just discard of it. Try and get yourself some help or give it to a retrainer. ASK FOR HELP. I am so sick of the racing industry being shamed for the work of do gooding equestrians who promise us the world and dispose of the horses as soon as they so much as fart. I've attached a photo of a horse, Eramosa. Pete Gelagotis asked me to rehome him. He didn't even train the horse, it broke down before it had a start for him. So he took it to Moe races and Ellerton Zahra Racing bought it home with our runner from Moe yesterday. For free. Because they're good people who love horses. It's staying with us until Sunday when he leaves to his new home. We had nothing to do with this horse. We are just committed to rehoming them. Yes I love my workplace and am biased, but this isnt an isolated act of kindness, it happens all the time. I am fortunate enough to get horses from several different trainers including EZR, Freedmans, Gelagotis, Mitch Beer, Saab Hasan, Scott Cameron and one or two for John Sadler and David Noonan. Each and every one has held the horse at their stables for as long as possible, gelded them where necessary, trucked them to me and provided me with all vet info. PLEASE don't bash the trainers or the racing owners. Most are good." ?

From the Waverley Stipe's report. Hoping all is going to be OK. "The meeting was put back one race while a starting gate member was attended to by St John paramedics and transferred to hospital for observation after falling ill."

I should have said stated 'cash' in my original post. From the rules: 3. Uncleared Funds Withdrawal of VISA/Mastercard Funds The TAB cannot give you cash on funds that have been deposited by a Credit Card or VISA/Mastercard Debit Card online and have not been used for betting. If you would like to access these funds, then you will need to have them refunded back onto the originating Credit/Debit card. This is to protect you from unauthorised Credit Card activity. To arrange a refund of funds back onto the originating card, please contact TAB Customer Services on 0800 102 106 or email helpdesk@tab.co.nz.

Yes, that is correct.

Yes, you can deposit to other peoples/syndicate accounts so long as you have both the account number & the PIN. In saying that, I'm not sure syndicate accounts are actually 'legit' these days either. I know that TAB's themselves cannot run a syndicate account to pool funds for in-store competitions anymore.

Out of interest was your withdrawal refused due to the 'Money available to withdraw' scenario? Say you had $400 in the account, but only wanted $200 out and they refused to give it to you? In this scenario, these days, until you have turned over the amount of any deposit made you cannot withdraw the full balance or any amount greater than what you have turned over. Annoying - very! The moral of the story don't put in more than you might turnover if you are remotely likely to want a withdrawal. This has been the case for a few years now. It was instituted to stop people using TABs as money transferring agencies, for either convenience or criminal purposes such as money laundering

I thought Hawera had a few years before closure (5?), so why not allow SRC to race there in the interim? Also, isn't it interesting that the Stratford Harness Racing Club are still racing at home this season? Your point about tracks barely handling the number of race days they have now is relevant and if NP is to be upgraded to cope, where will Taranaki race while that is happening? The Hawera track will only cope with so much, too. Btw, my issue is not with NP either, though I am not so sure that they still have the same level of community support that they have had in the past. For instance, I know owners that won't ever leave home to go to the races on their home track track, even when their own horses are racing. Same people travel hundreds of km's to follow them to other meetings. There has to be a reason for this

In Part 2 of the Weigh In interview I saw Mick Guerin mention Stratford wanting to race at Hawera. The reply from Bernard was they were offered the opportunity to race at New Plymouth and declined, but may decide to do so in future years, thus SRC won't race this year and the date has been re-allocated (to TRI). I wish Mick Guerin had continued the line of questioning by asking him why Stratford weren't permitted to race at Hawera given that Hawera was willing to host the Stratford day. If unable to race at home any longer, then racing at Hawera is much more palatable to the SRC than taking the day north to New Plymouth is. The town of Stratford has much more natural & historical affinity to South Taranaki than North Taranaki and the Hawera course is also closer to Stratford by 10mins/10km approx.. I sincerely believe that non-racing Stratford people seeking a great picnic day out may consider travelling to Hawera for their annual day at the races, but few (if any) would ever go to New Plymouth as it doesn't have the same 'country' atmosphere that they seek. So many in the Taranaki still want to know why is Bernard is dictating where in the Taranaki the SRC must race if they wish to retain their raceday? Why were Stratford not allowed to race at the Taranaki course of their choice? To those that I talk to his entrenched stance is mystifying.

Racing needs more people like Mrs Blackie. RIP, lovely lady.

I checked this out... Yes, on the TAB form page there certainly is form and runner comments. However, on The NZ TAB PDF form page the field shows as all first starters (as does the Aus TAB). Gobsmacking stuff! How can anyone punt with any certainty when this sort of thing is happening?

Why follow suit? Why doesn't the industry act now?

I support the call for change that seems to be emerging. The whip is just a tool, one that racing can do without, IMO. Removing whip use won't harm racing, nor will it damage the image of it held by many not directly involved in the industry. A good jockey will get the best out of their mount using all the skills they possess - hands, heels, voice, kidding to the horse etc.. Some of our lesser skilled & less experienced jockeys may even ride in a more balanced fashion without the whip.

Unwarranted tax or subsidy - call it what you will. I must be missing something because I can't see how it is the panacea required for NZ racing. Even as a first step, it seems to be relatively insignificant, not something to be pinning your hopes on in regard to meaningful change.

I know very little about IT and am happy to admit it, however, as far as I am concerned it is this simple: The NZ TAB takes my money when I bet on their site so they should provide the information for me to make informed choices. If they wish to outsource the provision of this information to someone else, that's fine. I don't care, so long as the information is timely, accurate, fit-for-purpose, easy to use & I can access all of it from the TAB desktop site. As for the app IMO it has been an abject failure since long before the upgrade. I just don't use it - hated it from day one & gave up trying to use it within minutes. Might be OK for younger people - I can't speak for them. As for the expense of all of this, I just despair and tend to agree that we are likely to see huge sums written off in the not too distant future.

Ran a huge race after a poor start. Was paying around the 35's Fixed Odds when I picked him in my World Cup selections (on another channel). Might have been interesting at the finish had he made a clean getaway. No doubt the believers will follow their money (and some) when he races next time.

The dead heat at Te Rapa threw the Will Pays into a real tizzy. Was I surprised - No. It was an 'as expected' scenario

What is more obvious to you and I, than the nose on each of our faces, is not so to them. I face-palm daily over it. 'Woefully inept' springs to mind when describing the site and spending $38-$60mill (who knows the true figure and how much more is still to come) on something that has failed to provide a remotely adequate service could well be worthy of a government instigated independent inquiry (yes, another one ?)

I am not in any way criticising (or even commenting on Pub TABs). Some offer a superb level of service, some don't and I commend your local pub for making a great effort. However, these days I would never expect a PubTab to meet the same standards I would like to see in a TAB branch or Agency. Their return just isn't big enough to justify putting the TAB ahead of their other functions. The TAB Branch/Agency operation is not an add-on feature to a main service, it is the revenue stream (along with the dreaded in-store pokies) so it should be providing a service that is on a par and offering the same features and service-level as the online operation does. If this isn't possible due to system limitations e.g. Jetbet then close the shop fronts and operate solely online. Banks are rapidly heading down this track more and more so it is hardly ground-breaking stuff.

Don't you pity the poor TAB store staff - in particular, the ones who really love (and often live and breathe) racing and punting? How cringeworthy must it be to be telling people what they can't do in store (that they previously could) and that all of the marvellous new stuff (yes my tone is sarcastic) is only available online and your job is to direct the people to the online option and refer them to the HelpDesk for assistance should they require it. Demoralising for TAB branch people, but even more than that for Agents. Frankly, if you cared about the racing game and you could find another job, why would you choose to stay under these circumstances?