hesi

It was the excessive amounts of a grade of sand that was finer than specified that has worked it's way into the drains and blocked or clogged them Gee will provide the detail

What's that old adage It costs many times as much to attract a new customer as it does to keep an existing one.

I recall that one NM on RACE CAFE, quickly becoming known as Phillip Quay Cafe(occasionally featuring Racing and Comic Dog), for it's sheer nastiness. An apt time to just reiterate the Chief's stance on privacy, contained in the Welcome note "The Privacy of posters/members of this site is paramount. At no stage will a person's personal details be passed to a third party. If they are requested by an authority we will first contact the individual concerned and wait for a court order for a release of the information. In our experience such requests are very very rare and only occur if an individual has overstepped the mark by a very long margin;"

For trainspotters, the rule they have been charged under by RIU 1001 (1) Every person commits a serious racing offence within the meaning of these Rules, who, in New Zealand or in any other country:- (v) either by himself or in conjunction with any person: (i) does or permits or suffers to be done any act which a Judicial Committee deems fraudulent, corrupt or detrimental to the interests of harness racing; or

I'm just relating this to the Lisa Cropp case, where because she kept appealing, she was allowed to keep her license and keep on riding. This was because the rules did not allow NZTR to suspend her. They were subsequently amended, to allow NZTR to suspend a license holder while proceedings were happening I'm just asking the question as to whether the HRNZ rules also give them the power to suspend licenses while proceedings are underway, or whether they must wait till the outcome of any court case, including appeals If you recall, Cropp dragged it on for 4 years through appeal after appeal, made a monkey of NZTR, and they could not do anything, is the same thing going to happen here

If that is the case, then it should be a formality that the licenses of those charged are suspended by HRNZ

Don't get me wrong NM, as damage control, I think HRNZ should be immediately suspending the licenses of everyone charged. But I'm not sure they have the legal authority under harness racing's rules.....innocent till proven guilty etc etc

Rules of racing offence or criminal offense?

The police won't be laying charges based just on interpretations of race videos, and the relative merits of various drives. Much of their investigation will have been around linking texts, emails and recordings of phone calls to race videos of drives, betting patterns etc I don't think it is an offense for one licensed person to send another licensed person a text arranging 'driving tactics'(could be wrong), unless it can be proved that it actually happened in a race, and this was supported by wagering evidence

I recall the issue with Cropp, was that NZTR did not have the legal power to suspend, so the rule had to be amended. A situation of innocent till proven guilty, therefore NZTR had no legal right. Might be the same with Harness??

That was thoroughbred though?? Not sure what the rule is in harness

I understand the Rules of Racing were changed maybe 6-7 years ago, so that anyone under investigation could have their license suspended It was in response to Lisa Cropp carrying on riding when under investigation

Is that double speak, for the fine sand has blocked the existing drainage system

I think the claim is, that to bring all tracks/facilities up to standard, would cost another 104 mil, so 294 vs 190 mil.

Also found this in the 2016/17 Annual Report The infrastructure projects reserve was set up in 2010/2011 to fund critical projects at strategic and significant venues. Since 2011 NZTR has set aside $4,566,951 to help fund these projects

About as simple as it gets. Include NZTR in that NZTR, the national body of thoroughbred racing, has a marketing budget of approx 350K. How can you expect to run, and build a business and fight off competitors with such a small budget

Have a look at the Annual reports, financial summary on the NZTR website nztr.bmp That's a screenshot of 16/17

So the lateral drains every 5 m, for the total circumference of the course at Ellerslie, will be a total waste of money. I suppose if the report recommends a rebuild of the course proper, there is some hope that a properly constructed Strathayr track is on the cards

Just noting this from the report The main reasons for proposing the retention of each of these 28 racecourses, and the major capital projects required, are set out below. Note that rebuilding a course proper could mean up to 2 years without racing, a reconstruction 12 to 18 months without racing and a renovation 6 to 12 months without racing. The retained venues are: Ellerslie – Venue with 18 race meetings in 2017/18. Best racecourse venue in New Zealand. Excellent location in Auckland. No training. Requires rebuilding of course proper,(2 years) some general facility improvements and landscaping. Freehold. Matamata – Venue with 14 race meetings in 2017/18. Good location. Major training centre. Requires improved facilities and landscaping, and renovation of course proper.(6-12 months) Freehold. Te Aroha – Venue with 14 race meetings in 2017/18. Good location. Key jumping venue. Training. Requires improved facilities and landscaping, and reconstruction of course proper.(12-18 months) Freehold. Pukekohe – Venue with 15 race meetings in 2017/18. Good location. Training. Requires general facility improvements and landscaping. Freehold. Yet nothing for Pukekohe, that is probably regarded as the worst track in the north, current abandonment after 20 mm of rain overnight, extremely wet and inconsistent nature of the track.??

Thanks, have set up a separate thread, the Chief can move to his box of tricks if he wants

What I don't get, is that previous reports talked about there being too many racecourses being the problem. The Messara report is saying the same thing, but for a different reason, that being the need to reduce racecourses, is to generate 190 mil to upgrade the remaining 28 courses

Editorial: Messara report on racing offers familiar answers 4 Sep, 2018 5:00am 3 minutes to read Racing industry reviewer John Messara acknowledges he is proposing the same solution recommended as long ago as 1965 by the Reid Committee and endorsed in 1970 by the McCarthy royal commission. Photo / Getty Images NZ Herald The report on the racing industry commissioned by its minister, Winston Peters, and released last Friday, is one New Zealanders have read many times before. Peters' industry reviewer, an Australian racing administrator and breeder, John Messara, acknowledges he is proposing the same solution recommended as long ago as 1965 by the Reid Committee and endorsed in 1970 by the McCarthy royal commission. Namely, that New Zealand has too many race tracks. The theory is that with fewer tracks there would be more money in the industry to improve prize money, providing better returns for the owners, breeders and trainers of race horses and giving New Zealand a stronger bloodstock industry. Yet more than 50 years after this theory was advanced, there are still nearly 50 thoroughbred racecourses in New Zealand, many of them in small towns and holding just one or two meetings a year. And they are no more willing to close now than they were 50 years ago. Messara notes that racing clubs are not the owners of the land they use and suggest these assets should be vested in racing's regulator for the benefit of the thoroughbred industry. About 20 of tracks could be sold, he suggests, generating sufficient capital to renovate the remaining racing venues, few of which are up to the standard he believes racegoers and punters expect. Maybe so, but it seems a draconian solution to impose on small racing clubs that might not be the legal owners of the land but their local community regards it as their racecourse, which is how so many have survived. They may hold only one or two meetings a year but those race days are usually big events on the town's calendar, attracting visitors from near and far. Across all New Zealand courses, the average is 6.7 meetings a year which is only one fewer than the average for Australian courses. Messara prefers a comparison with Ireland, with a similar population to New Zealand, which has half the number of courses, an average of 13.7 meetings a year on each track and a thriving thoroughbred industry. The reason New Zealand's industry is in decline, producing fewer foals each year, probably lies deeper than the number of race tracks. As Messara observes, racing has become a largely off-course betting and entertainment attraction. His most controversial suggestion is likely to be outsourcing the TAB to an international betting operator to add to the TAB's products, upgrade its technology, improve its customer services and offer New Zealand punters, "a compelling global product". An industry financed by gambling will struggle to find favour with the present Government and a foreign takeover of the TAB might not appeal to Peters, but those are not reasons to resort to public funding and additional tax breaks. Industries need to find strength within themselves for sustained success. New Zealand's breeders and trainers have a good reputation in a global industry, they should look offshore for more of the returns they need. That would wake up local clubs and the TAB. Racing should not be relying on a politician for direction. It must stand on its own four legs.

Has Scoobs contacted you yet to write a piece for the liquorice all sort site, it's the sort of bs propaganda he's into