Walt

Mark Purdon in the bike so would be Auckland Reactor

I think going up against a higher graded trotter will create some doubt along with a record of breaking so you may get a better price than expected. I'm not a big punter so I will anchor him in exotic bets. No doubt about his speed. He's got a motor and a good sprint. He could have doubled his winning margin @ Nelson. Bob Butt was giggling a long way out. The way he left Make My Sundon in the rear view mirror quickly late in that trial recently also tells a story. You're right about him being at short odds first up but I think he will carry on winning. Love seeing a good trotter and The Present Maker certainly fits into that category.

Around this time last year I noticed an unraced trotter at the trials named "The Present Maker". Trained by Anne-Marie and Jack Best who are very good trainers especially with trotters. I really liked what I saw. Not so easy for trotters to win first up but I wasn't at all surprised to see The Present Maker win on debut with Mark Jones driving. I live in Nelson so was happy to see The Present Maker in the fields for our local meeting in January. Bob Butt now driving. I wasn't surprised one bit by the result but was surprised by the prices including exotic bets. https://harness.hrnz.co.nz/gws/ws/r/infohorsews/wsd06x?Arg=hrnzg-Ptype&Arg=RaceVideo&Arg=hrnzg-RacehdrID&Arg=F054FE91-CCD4-4DFF-9E63-1D30B6D74F62&Arg=hrnzg-rSite&Arg=TRUE Not sure where and when The Present Maker will kick off his new campaign but I'm confident he'll be winning multiple races. I'm going to say at least five this time in but probably more. I will be shocked if he is not in the fields for Cup Day. I'll happily drive for the four and a half hours to watch him win. He owes me nothing. He does have a chink in his armour and this has been evident but as he ages and gains experience he will just get better and better. I watched the trials in May and noticed him racing his stablemate Make My Sundon winner of five races so far. The Present Maker came from behind Make My Sundon and beat her untouched very easily. That was all I needed to see. https://harness.hrnz.co.nz/gws/ws/r/infohorsews/wsd06x?Arg=hrnzg-Ptype&Arg=RaceVideo&Arg=hrnzg-RacehdrID&Arg=F9792FE5-27D9-47C8-ADA4-D5CEF7D0A9C4&Arg=hrnzg-rSite&Arg=TRUE Make My Sundon has been back to the races twice since that trial for two very nice seconds behind 5 time winner Test The Boundaries and 14 time winner Madeleine Stowe. The Present Maker......enjoy the ride

Unsure if it's the same guy but there is one trials caller from deep South who is a shocker. Sounds like a very elderly chap looking out of the rest home window. Often misses things unfolding in the race even when there are only three or four starters. Then they turn for home and head for the "money line"....what far king money line? It's a trial ffs! then they get to the finish and bla bla "gets the chocolates".....what far king chocolates are these? haha

Same page there Shad. Having said that, the late money was an issue back in the day also. I repeat a story of a Colin DeFilippi horse he had at the Nelson trots in the mid / late 1970's. It was called Zarzuella. It won on the first day and went up a grade for the last race on the second day. It was paying $12 and I had $100 to win. That $1200 would have put me up for the day as I was about $500 down. The race started and was still paying $12. Half way through the 2400 metre, I looked at the tote board and was now paying $7. Won the race and went to collect. Had never seen so many people wearing Members and Life members badges. Dividends were read out over the P.A...Zarzuella paid $3 to win. Looked down at the Race name....Life Members Handicap These days many punters use the late movers as a very reliable betting guide. If a horse get's the blows that's invariably also a reliable betting guide of "not today".

My pet hate was always the lack of information on Enquiries. You won the race but the funds didn't go into your account. Eventually you'd find out there was an enquiry but they would never tell you what it was about. It may be about your winning bet. It may be fourth against third. Radio Pacific was like Christmas morning when they arrived. Couldn't believe we could not only hear the races we were betting on but would hear the results promptly. Action TV made every day like Christmas morning for punters. They have been a long overdue Godsend for everyone involved but they stopped evolving and went backward instead of forward. Having studio presenters straight out of school with no history in the game advising seasoned punters what to do and what was unfolding resulted in the mute button being constantly used. Then we get seasoned presenters that added to the experience but they had to tow the Trackside narrative so an own goal resulted. The push for quantity of quality resulted in wonderful and or exciting features of a race being lost in the rush to get over to the Bendigo dogs and watch a greyhound take a dump prior to going into the boxes. Sadly, Trackside has gone backwards in many ways but is still light years better than listening to regional radio stations for racing coverage. TV coverage of racing was huge as was the introduction of sports betting. A game changer for me was also when you could put your bet on right up until the jump. I remember having to get to the TAB an hour+ before the race started. Memory fading but I think it was an hour before the race for win and place betting and an hour and ten minutes for doubles.

2ZN in Nelson had a lady named Margaret Costello. She would do adds where she'd talk about all the shops she had visited etc. The very last thing you wanted to hear when you were just popping out to the car at work to hear the big race or find out the result of a close photo finish. The onion by the radio was a beauty and very appropriate...haha. I'll be using that one

What a great picture Gammalite. Same colours used on Cardy but unsure if the same as Victor Supreme etc. Good memories of Speedy Guest and Noodlum was a ripper for Freeman Holmes. I can still see his picket line formline.

Yes to that as well. I remember waiting until it got dark so I could get better reception for the night trots. 3ZB in Christchurch was right next to the National Program on the wireless. It would drive me nuts when the race was in the home straight and 3ZB would temporarily fade out and the National Program would take over for the next 30 seconds or so.

Fascinating stuff bro and cool to have a bit of a yarn about such things. Having said that, I almost got sidetracked into having a yarn with a beautiful Ukrainian lady with an eye catching cleavage when I logged in. The fact I chose you instead highlights just how much of a draw harness racing is I remember the beautiful chestnut Captain Harcourt trained by Arnie Gadsby and usually driven by Tommy Knowles. I also recall following a trotter of Roy Purdon's around that time called Framalda. She won a lot of races. Another interesting aspect for me about Captain Harcourt was his sire Local Light. DG had Leading Light also by Local Light and Derek, Jack and Rod won the 1969 Auckland Cup together at long odds. As for trebles. I've noticed a very reliable pattern with treble prices over the years. Imagine the first leg paid $3, the second leg also paid $3 but the third leg was a roughie and paid $40. The divy will usually be between $150 and $300 as you still had a lot of live tickets after two short priced legs. If however you had the same priced winners but the $40 winner was in the first leg, the treble price could be anything from $600 to $2000. As a result I often take FX2X2 just to cover that aspect. Cost very little for 5%. I've been paid out the modest pool numerous times on just the first two legs.

Very welcome. I started off at Nelson where the caller was Jack O'Donnell and I thought he was the bees knees. Him taking me into his callers box to watch him call a race was a fun highlight. I'm certain Chief will remember Jack with his Nelson connection. At a time where racecallers were fingernails down a blackboard to me, I looked forward to Jacks calls so I can relate to your fond memories of Dave Clarkson.

Hey Richie, I remember Trevira. Ron Hamilton trained him. He ran in Hands Down's 1980 NZ Cup and also ran third in the second of Hands Down's three Easter Cups. He won around 15 or 16 races so was a very decent horse. Back in the day I was comfortable to back myself with a 5k wager but now I mostly just take trebles and trifecta's and spend about $30 to $50 on each bet so I'm pretty much a small punter that fly's under the TAB radar. A $1000 collect is a very nice result for me these days. I hear you on the treble pools. I feel the TAB don't want you taking bets that tie funds up for multiple races. I spoke with Michael Dore about this years ago when the TAB wanted to shitcan the Pick 6 for that same reason. I also follow the decent Australian galloping meetings at Eagle Farm and Flemington especially. I also follow the Ascot meetings in Perth.

Over the years I've heard people talk about the Melbourne Cup and all the excitement of the race being what got them involved in horse racing. I should never been interested. As a young boy in the early 1970's I'd hear race commentaries all day Saturday in the house via my dads radio and far king hated it. If we went out in the car he'd take his radio with him listening to more race calls which only extended my perceived torture. If I asked him a question the answer was often...hushhhhh. We'd go to football matches and my dad would walk around with a monstrosity of a radio on his shoulder by his ear listening to more poxy race commentaries. WTAF On the way home he'd stop at the TAB and he'd tell me he was just nipping in for a minute. 90 minutes later I was still waiting in the car watching blackbirds shagging in a tree or anything remotely interesting to distract me from my boredom. My dad was a very average perhaps even an unlucky punter and it wasn't unusual to hear just one word yelled at the end of a race call. "Fxxk! If there was a close photo his horse seemed to always beaten. If the siren went it was likely always about his horse. He'd have the leader out by 10 lengths coming to the last jump and it would often fall. We had several family friends that owned trotters but I couldn't care less. Then in 1974 my dad told me about 50 cent doubles and said I could have $2 to put on 4 x 50c doubles. I had a crack. One of the horses I took was the Terry May trained Palestine. I got the double with it and a concession at another meeting. I can't remember how much I won but I do know it was a lot for a 12 year old boy. I was shouting my mates donuts and milkshakes for weeks My previous only source of income was knocking on peoples doors and offering myself to work on their section etc. "Bob a job?" was the question. A bob being a shilling or ten cents. My school teacher would always give me the racing lift out from the Christchurch Press which I would keenly study while other students were busy learning about Captain Cook's cure for Scurvy etc. I've owned a few mostly fairly average horses over the years but won enough races to have a couple of pictures up on the wall. What came out of that was the excitement of being involved and life long friendships with people who have won a lot of races including some of our best races. Enjoying some of their big moments vicariously was always a thrill and still is. Now my involvement is mostly just as a punter but I happily watch races and not bother to punt. If I'm going to punt a decent meeting I will watch the last couple of races / trials of every horse in every race. It's not rare for me to pick the card by having two selections in each race. Having said that, I feel I'm not a good punter. I know how to find winners but still struggle with how best to bet them even after all these years. Still love the game after nearly 50 years.

Found the 1989 NZ Cup remembered for the great performance by the ill fated Inky Lord. With so much attention deservedly going on Inky Lord, many people overlooked the terrific run of the second horse, none other that Dillon Dean. There were some great "Dean's" in the 70's & 80's. Dillon Dean who won 20.....Master Dean in the 70's won 16 races and another big fav, Basil Dean in the 80's who won 24.

I'm embarrassed to say I voted Labour in 2020. Not a big fan of Judith Collins. Won't be voting Labour ever again. Todd Muller was a very ordinary National Party leader but he got one thing right when he said Ardern was surrounded by a bunch of empty chairs. Nothing has changed apart from they don't even have Ardern to ride on the back of her coattails anymore. Must admit I'm not a big fan of Luxon either but if Ardern was worth risking for two terms, Luxon is worth at least one. National do have an issue with their leader when over 50% of people polled said they didn't trust him. Needs to get that sorted.

Forgot about Rogie. He would bring a team of gallopers down to my hometown meeting at Nelson in the 1970's. Lovemeto looks a promising 3 year old. The What The Hill youngsters look very good. Don is a very good man. Versatile for sure. He actually had a stint running a TAB in Auckland a couple of decades ago. His last decent season as a harness trainer was 2001. Now the king of picnic meetings in Australia. Still using the same colours. Dillon Dean was a beauty for sure. Won 20 races. On the receiving end of some blatant team driving in the Great Northern Derby of 1988 won by Godfrey. Can't find any of Dean's races but here's Dale winning the FFA you mentioned. I hope Jason Teaz stays in the game. He's an asset but I don't blame him if he's feeling a bit disillusioned at the moment. He's been shafted.

I'm sure he still is mate. What a waste of a bloody good caller.

On the money Gammalite. I'm fairly sure Jason and his good lady Megan are duel code license holders. Not many are in that category. Don Dwyer who trained Dillon Dale and Dillon Dean is now a successful thoroughbred trainer in Australia and Mark Jones in Canterbury. He is the son of Peter and Grandson of the great DG an absolute gem of a man. .....so NZ Harness Racing Royalty you could say. I can't and won't speak for Mark but he knows how to condition horses better than most and a few seasons back he spoke about how quickly horses in NZ under the present system reach their mark (pardon the pun) so their careers must be carefully managed to achieve any longevity. He was bagged in some circles for his honest and accurate take on things. You need to have decent size kahuna's, a passion for the industry, be a keen communicator and be very frustrated to speak your mind against those sitting in Ivory Towers who couldn't possibly be wrong. I'm not attempting to portray Jason as a Saint. He isn't and I'm sure he'd be the first to own that but he's wired the way he's wired. Harness Racing needs more like him

Going back to Jason. I note he expressed remorse for speaking out.........but was still nailed to the wall. If that was me I'd be feeling dirty. Those in powerful places already decided his penalty. A pathetic and perfunctory $250 penalty discount for Jason's cooperation and remorse. What a far king joke. I compare that with our Justice systems. Routinely we see certain people appear in court after committing all types of diabolical offending ranging from crimes against vulnerable children to vicious assaults against innocent people. They express remorse and then nek minute, the Judge gifts them a free pass. Why? Mercy? yes if you believe in the tooth fairy. Reality is the Judge was looking for a reason to exercise discretion in favour of the offender. We've all been seeing it. Very rarely does the victim receive that same priority and consideration . Who was the alleged victim in this case? A colleague of those deciding penalty who was offended and hurt by words. Do me a favour! Have you seen what's unfolded in Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine? Jason's penalty was designed to keep everyone else in the industry in their lane....and quiet. Jason Teaz has a life tied up in an industry he's passionate about. Many participants will tell you privately the settings within the game are broken and an industry we all love is headed toward oblivion in NZ. "Fucked" is a description given to me more often than not. What happens if so many people know the system is broken but nobody say anything? Does that sound like the ingredients of a recipe to evolve? What many are on the receiving end of is like sunburn on sunburn. Why not seek input from those in the industry with considerable knowledge and with so much at stake and at least try and address what's wrong? Surely, that's the right ingredients to evolve? I could say exactly what Jason has said but use a bogus name online and be free of consequence. Sure, Jason should box smart with his choice of words and not make it personal despite his passion but it seems to me his biggest mistake was having the personal integrity to put his authentic name to his authentic perspective.

By installing facial recognition in all TAB's to prevent restricted punters circumventing their bullshit restrictions.........under the guise of "harm minimization" ...haha The Government will also prevent any competition to the NZ TAB by "taking advice" haha...and stopping kiwi punters wagering offshore due to offshore wagering platforms "not exercising NZ law"...haha.

I think Ardern went to the Casino and gambled her popularity at the time on you getting jabbed. The irony of that is she refused to use her influence during the Cannabis Referendum. I'm not a midnight toker but make no judgment against those that do. I see it the same way I view what shirt lifters and pillow biters do in their own space. It's their own business. I am however a regular CBD user for chronic lower back pain. I've used most pharmaceutical drugs that have either been ineffective or unhealthy to use long term including tramadol. CBD however has been very effective and I know of many people with a similar story. Anyone who still doesn't believe there are medicinal benefits from Cannabis has not been paying attention. I can still run my business and function normally thanks to CBD. During the 2020 campaign there were millions spent on advertising how dangerous cannabis was. We'd be seeing cars upside down due to cannabis effected drivers and a young people smoking 30 cannabis cigarettes a day resulting in a generation of zombies. All total bullshit of course but people were rightly alarmed by this misinformation and the polls turned from yes to no. Still Ardern sat on her hands. Me and people like me are now paying $150 for a two week supply of CBD instead of $20-$25. Certain companies are rorting people. Young people are still being harassed and or arrested by the Police due to small amounts of cannabis. Ardern betrayed NZ and flushed away authentic generational change. I appreciate a fair percentage of kiwis also didn't want a change for their own reasons which I respect. My contention however is people were not given all the relevant information / facts we have learned over the decades to assist them making informed decisions not based on fear.

I'm assuming it's on all Fixed Odds wagering. That's where their biggest liability is. The tote pretty much sorts it's self out. If you put 2k on your fancy via the tote in a smallish pool, you're betting against yourself as you've lost before the race has even run. That's my take on it anyway. What concerned me about the wager I highlighted is the pathetic amount the TAB system allowed that punter to wager. That's not good business. It's the epitome of cowardice. The very organization wanting you to wager is absolutely determined not to wager themselves. It's a money tree for them.

Racing is not vanilla but that's exactly what Trackside want and get. Anyone prepared to discuss the full picture need not apply. The rose tinted glasses view is the only picture required thank you. The rest didn't happen. If you disagree they will find a way to shut you down. Racing needs people like Jason Teaz but he needs to box smart when giving his perspective so the sensible shoe wearing brigade can't shut him down and use him as an example to anyone else who has the audacity not to tow the TAB line.