nomates

Yes .

Geez and we wonder why we are struggling . No he's not answerable to the punters or any body else , so don't get bloody interviewed and straight out mislead the punters , which he admitted after the race , was trying to put punters off to get a better price for his owner , and probably a few others . I don't take much notice of pre race interviews but many do , especially less experienced punters , you know the ones we are trying to attract and retain to help our turnovers which in turn will hopefully get better stakes for our owners . Do you think giving misleading information to help the price is helpful , if you do then you are part of the problem But whilst i'm no fan of the way trackside is presented , the industry needs a public face to present racing and that includes getting trainers involved , because we are all part of one big industry that is struggling badly , and every participant needs to be involved in dragging it back from it's current precipise . Punters back Mr Myers horses because he's a bloody good trainer , i am one , and for the betterment of the industry he needs to be the bigger man and at least do post race interviews , it adds to the colour of the races and improves the image of our sport . And i have done a couple of pre race interviews , had no issue doing them , i see it as part and parcel of the sport . We are all in this together .

I see next seasons calander is out with programmes for the first 3 months showing no changes to stakes , at all . I thought the powers that be were making substantial profit gains , seems not . Or 2 months out from the new season do they simply not know how much they have to play with . Both scenarios give me faint hope that we are moving forward .

Freda , Hope you and Pitty and all the other trainers and horses are well and safe , just watched the news and thinking how bad it must be down there at present , stay well .

Could do more to increase new ownership into NZ racing than anything NZTR have done in years .

Sorry can't agree , i have the greatest of respect for him as a horse trainer and i'm sure in many ways he is a man of integrity , but the only persons he shoved something where the sun doesn't shine was the punters . Don't deliberately mislead the punters to help your owners get a better price then start bragging about it after the race admitting that's what you done , forget about AC there was plenty of pissed off punters after that race , and these are the actions that help fulfill the perception that racing is crooked . He should have just stayed stuum , it's what you do if you don't want to give away information about your runners . He doesn't have to do a pre race interview but for the sake of the industry profile talking after a win is a good look to newbies and the old timers alike . Time to get over it . Now this i do agree with , and the sooner the better . Wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to talk to these numpties at anytime .

I would think there wouldn't be much for him in the south till the National meeting anyway , if he comes up and stands up with his soundness i would think he will be heading north anyway .

Thought you were taking the piss when you said Jack Frost was racing , was just looking thru the fields for the weekend and there he was , great to see the old bloke back , great jumper and i hope for the connections and himself he stands up . He's just made winter jumping a bit more interesting for me .

$17,500 Aus . Pays for trip to broody sale .

So how do we fix NZ racing , i honestly don't know if our current model can be fixed . Making racing great again isn't a target we should be trying to achieve , well i don't think it is achievable . What i have always asked is where is the plan , for 5 years , 10 , 20, 50 + years from now , but there appears to be none , they live in the moment . But that is what you do when you can walk away and not have to worry about repercussions . No one in power is worried about leaving a legacy . But for me for racing to be relevant it is all about the future and how we see it positioned for it's participants and where it sits in the world of wagering . IMO racing in its current form is too broken now to try and repair , and that is all it would ever be , a repair , a band aid . So first and foremost we need to set out a plan , a plan that is achieved with all and any industry participants that want to be part of the process be able to have a say . The plan has to take us into the next 50/100 and beyond . It doesn't have to put in place overnight , i would thinking 5/10 years to go through consultation and get things moving . And there will be pain , because it's not going to suit everyone , but the industry needs to support those that will be affected by any changes . If i had full and final say i would be looking at building new racecourses for the northern district , the CD , and SI . Built with Strathayr or the best available that works better with our climate , and built with the racing product in mind , that means track is number one priority with public facilities that are adequate to start with and can be added to as and when crowds build . This is about gambling revenue , we want something that NZ'rs and overseas gamblers will bet on . For me that would mean building a new track anywhere in the Waikato where there is plenty of flat farmland to choose from and where the majority of the horse population is based , north of Matamata comes to mind but i'm sure there would be other options . In the CD a track is built north of Foxton where again there is plenty of flat land , and whilst i don't know the Canterbury region well enough , Reefton has stated on many occasions where a track could be built . All of these regions have satelight towns in close proximity that have tracks that can be upgraded into state of the art training tracks , with accomodation available to purchase or rent for staff . These tracks and upgrades are funded by the sale of , Ellerslie , Te Rapa , Awapuni and Riccarton . All of these tracks are in the middle of cities and were built in a time when the citizens filled them , that is now no longer the case , all bar the biggest days are redundant of patronage and even most of those big occasions are well short of the crowds of the glory days , and as i have said this is not about regaining those glory days this is about repositioning racing as a relevant sport in the future . All of the 4 tracks that i have mentioned are sitting in the middle of cities and are basically surrounded by more and more housing , retirement and private and IMO wont work going into the next 50+ years . Ellerslie is a nightmare to get in and out of , plus Ellerslie for me is the home of the " HILL " , that is what makes Ellerslie special , but it is being sold so what is it going to look like in 5/10 years covered in housing , not for me sorry . The sale of those 4 tracks should generate enough finance to set up the 3 new tracks and infrastructure , bold , maybe , mad probably many will say , but for me that is the kind of thinking that is required to secure the future of racing . They are only my thoughts but as i have said with consultation plenty of other ideas will be thrown about and who knows where that gem that looks like an industry saver comes from , some could look at my ideas and tweek and refine them . I have found in life some of the best ideas have come from the most obscure of places or people , that is why you include everyone in the process . Who knows !!! P.s. these aren't refined thoughts just broad ideas so i haven't obviously done a any in depth feasibilty , so add your ideas any questions raised can be discussed amicably . I will put down my thoughts on the other things i raised later . pps , just read thru , sorry for the novel .

While i certainly don't disagree regarding the TAB , that part is fundementaly out of racings control , they have management issues of their own that need to be solved along with their customer service , what we can control to help the TAB improve funding is improve our product , significantly .

Good to see the ego's still in check .

No one HAS to go to the awards , Myers i agree with .

Had good friggin reason to ban going , a complete rort . But if you hadn't been on the Gold Coast on hols you would have seen him say he would break the ban if his apprentice Hazel won the apprentices premiership and go .

Well i will try to be constructive although i like to think i am always trying to be constructive in all my comments , even if others of another mind only see them as negative , plus i find it difficult to believe that listing racings ills that need fixing is actually being constructive , really just reminding us of how bad things really are and how big the job is . Here we go , and this is the simple bit . Stake increases Fix tracks Fix ratings Get more young NZ's into racing , both ground staff and apprentices Better and more pro active central management with more participant inclusion The calender The programming Black type racing Stem the flow of tried horses sold off shore Start appreciating owners more , this is one of the big ones for me . You get the idea , there's more , plenty , but put succinctly , pretty much everything . Now the more serious question , and the one which is much harder to solve . How do we recalibrate all these problems and get racing thriving again , because for all people want say " get positive , be positive , stay positive " , saying mantra's aren't going to solve racings ill's , and i believe racing is ill from the roots all the way to the top . And so far i have seen nothing from anybody in this industry that wants to or has the will to make the serious changes that are required . I will give you my thoughts on what i think the industry needs to do to get better later .

Haha , a simple question , but requires a huge amount of thought and discussion . I will post some thoughts tomorrow .

I think for myself thanks , i like a punt and Riccarton is as inconsistant as most other tracks in NZ that have little or no investment intrack upgrades . I've been watching racing and occasionally been to Riccarton for the best part of 47 years , and no amount of positivity from someone even as successful as yourself will convince me that that Riccarton track is anywhere near the condition it used to be . NZ racing is in an awful state for various reasons , but one of the biggest failings has been the lack of track maintenance and upgrading on a regular basis , which has bashed punters confidence , and if you wish to believe that the A/W's are a game changer for racing you are entitled to that opinion , but for mine they are but another shinny toy that will do nothing for improving our dire financial position .

So for an industry in the state we are in why would we do anything substantial that wasn't going to improve our returns , all we should be worrying about is increasing revenue to increase returns .

Wouldn't a business plan have told us that ? I wonder where i can find one ?

I believe Riccarton has a grandstand in much the same state of disrepair and unuseable , Trentham is a relic , Otaki is in bits , Wanganui is from another era , god i could go on , but as you should know horses don't race in the grandstands , this is all about tracks surfaces . I only mention those as they are some of the ones i visit , visited .

For get Riccarton , Awapuni is a bigger shithole in winter , in fact any number of tracks are in just as bad a state .

And this is what should be the measure of whether they are a success or not , if turnover doesn't improve massively , which in turn grows large revenue returns for the industry , then they have just become rich boys toys . They will say that it is better than watching horses slog thru tracks like Rotorua , but if they are not making any more money for the industry they are just shinny objects used to impress .

What if you have a horse that actually grows a leg on the A/W's , and there will be some , they can only race there in the lower grades and only for 10k , where do they go after they make rating 74 and over , back to grass racing on heavy tracks till they get their rating back down , then possibly 1 win and back to grass , it has a limited shelf life for racehorses that actually like the surface . Will a horse such as this be kept going by it's owner then . My money is that in the next 2/3 seasons some Saturday racedays will take place on these tracks , they wont be able to help themselves .

Yea and i've won the 6mil lotto jackpot tonight , you never know . The thing is what if it's not . The biggest problem is that outside of a few royalty nobody knows what the real situation is , everything is so cloak and dagger , and in my experience that only happens when businesses aren't travelling .

That's interesting in 2 ways , first the goss i got was that they were going to use it to build up a reserve , for what i don't know , secondly , we're talking 2 million , even if they put it into stakes it ain't going far , but i suppose some would talk it up as a success . Maybe $20mill would have been something to crow about . As for the $5mill bonus payout , after a year of Covid where everyone was talking up how much was being spent on leisure activities because of the lack of overseas travel , it would appear gambling whilst it did improve not to the extent of car boat dealers who ran out of stock and many other areas of NZ business , which boomed . But i suppose every little victory has to be talked up .