hesi

To be honest, I really don't think they know the difference, so all lumped into one, including Strathayr

Radio New Zealand POLITICS 7:25 am today Racing industry to get govt funding for multiple all-weather tracks 7:25 am today Jo Moir, Political Reporter @jo_moir jo.moir@radionz.co.nz New Zealand First's loyalty to the racing industry has galloped beyond tax breaks for good-looking race horses to include several all-weather race tracks for the industry. The case has been labelled the biggest scandal in Australian horse racing. Photo: Photosport Racing Minister Winston Peters secured a tax change in the Budget this year to allow new investors to claim deductions for the cost of horses based on the "virtue of its bloodlines, looks and racing potential''. It's now been revealed $30 million of contingency funding in the Provincial Growth Fund has been earmarked for the coalition government pet projects and the racing industry is set to benefit. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said the money set aside is at the upper limit of what he expects will be needed. The projects, which include a Dunedin centre of digital excellence, the Te Hiku Sports Hub in Kaitaia and several all-weather tracks for the horse racing industry, all came out of coalition talks between Labour and NZ First. Cabinet has effectively already approved them and while final costings are yet to be done, the provincial growth fund will stump up the cash. "These projects can be seen as a coalition dividend, the origins go back to the formation of the government. And now that they're moving through the machinery of government I can assure everyone that they'll be treated in a robust and thorough manner by the officials.'' At the Karaka sales in January Mr Peters confirmed plans for an all-weather track, which he said would save the industry from millions being lost in abandoned races. The whole governance structure of the industry is currently under review by Australian horse owner John Messara who will provide recommendations to the government on its future direction. Mr Jones said it's no state secret NZ First promotes improving racing infrastructure. And potential scraps over which part of the country would get a synthetic track appear to have been resolved with plans to build more than one. "On the question of the various race tracks - how, when, and the scope of the various several race tracks, we'll address that after the Aussie's delivered his report,'' he said. National's economic development spokesman Paul Goldsmith said his party supports the racing industry but the lines are blurred when a project gets the green light simply because a coalition partner likes the sound of it. "They should be able to make their case clear, and open and rigourous, and if it stacks up, it stacks up. "The problem that we've got here is that the whole system is opaque and murky so it's hard to disentangle the arguments, and in that area they're not even making an argument, they're just saying we're going to do it,'' Mr Goldsmith said. Mr Goldsmith described the provincial growth fund criteria as being "as loose and as billowing as the deep blue sea''. "Well what we've seen is that it's an all-purpose political slush fund and you can fit anything into it,'' he said. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Bernard Saundry said the industry has lost nearly $3 million in the last year due to abandoned races. He said the economic flow-on to everyone in the industry is huge and synthetic tracks would go a long way to providing certainty for trainers and owners. "I don't see racing as a rich man's sport. It's a sport that employs directly and indirectly more than 50,000 people, it has an economic impact of $1.6 billion a year and it has a major reach right across the North and South Island - and the export opportunity not only for horses but for people to go and explore the world.'' Labour committed to funding the digital learning centre and Te Hiku Sports Hub during their campaigning last year. Mr Jones said it will be closer to the next election before any race track construction gets underway.

At a similar time in America, there were also another group of equally as talented backing musicians called the TCB Band(Taking Care of Business), that worked with Elvis in the latter part of his career. You can find quite a bit of stuff on Youtube

I don't like a lot of those pretentious, egotistical TV people, but I liked Greg Boyed. Don't know him, never met him, but he appeared as a guy who had it all together. So it was with quite a bit of surprise and sadness that I read this morning that he had ended his own life As per a quote from his friend, "he was fighting hard to keep that black dog away" Just watching and enjoying his style on TV, how would you ever know

Messara is a smart guy, he knows his recommendations must be inclusive of all 3 codes, or it will cause so much division. I think people are getting carried away thinking because he is focussing on thoroughbreds, that his recommendations won't apply equally to harness and greyhounds. And of course those recommendations must come up with a business model that gives rise to a sustainable future

Once again, sorry to be the harbinger of optimism, but I think, by the recommendation of substantial cost reduction at NZRB, if not total abolition, that will benefit all 3 codes with the extra money to be distributed

You would have to expect that this will be a major part of Messara's report, hence impossible to pose the question

I've posted this from Trump on the dark side. I don't like his style more often than not, but he does have a lot of racing knowledge, and puts things in good perspective quite often I'll take it down if anyone objects from the dark side. Sorry about the reference to you Barryb Just adding in, that Messara did the report pro bono "I think some of the comments re Messara are a bit off track. The guy is one of Aust most successful breeders via Arrowfield. He’s a successful racehorse Owner. His son is a successful racehorse Trainer. Himself is a very capable Racing Administrator and single handedly, pushed Racing NSW and Australian in the right direction, working “with” the Govt to bring it out of the doldrums. As a result, Racing in Aust is far better off for his direct involvement. So, when he was invited to do a report on NZ Racing, There’s no doubt in my opinion, that the right person was chosen. Sure, some in NZ (eg, BArryB ) might say, “but he’s an Aussie and us kiwis don’t need another Ozzie blah blah blah etc”. The biggest worry for NZ (imho) is “ “What is activated from the Report - if anything?”. Going on past performances, NZR doesn’t do itself any favours and no Govt has ever looked upon it as an Industry that contributes to the NZ Economy and also the social fabric of Society. So much can be done to invigorate it but whether or not the Govt and Racing Authorities have the will to apply the paddles to the patient is another story. But don’t blame Messara - he has the broad knowledge of Racing and he has the runs on the Board - something many on this site don’t have. "

I'd love to see the tracking for each horse in a race. Click on a horse the tracking for the race comes up, click on another horse, you add the tracking in etc etc Hold your cursor over a part of the tracking, it shows distance run etc If they can show the track for a cricket ball travelling at 90mph, accurate to a few mm, then a horse should be a piece of cake. Might help put figures on just how much extra distance a horse that is drawn wide, travels to the first bend, how far extra a horse travels sitting 4 wide for half a race, how much extra a horse travels coming 8 wide into the straight. I realise there are lots of other factors that affect performance, but more data is better

Therein lies the problem Releasing the report a few days prior to the meeting, takes away Peter's thunder, so that won't happen. Really need a double session meeting, presentation of the report, summary style, release copies, dinner etc, then Q+A session

You do raise a good point though about the logistics The report is released at the meeting, followed by a Q+A, so it does not give much of a chance for people to read the report and digest, if in fact they are even going to provide a report copy to all attendees

Firstly, can you clarify if Messara will be present, it does not specify if he will Secondly, the contents of the report, may answer many of the questions posed??

A lot of data to digest, but I think eventually it will become standard and as I have said, people will quickly sift through and take note of what is important. Surely these GPS trackers are the way of the future in assessing a horses run, takes out a lot of the guesswork, particularly for wide draws, unlucky runners caught wide and coming very wide on the home turn

Watched it also even though it has been on several times before and is about 10 years old So much great historical footage

That must mean a lot finer grade than specified was used

Just a few figs If they applied 50mm of sand around the entire 1800m course, 12-18m out, then we are talking about 540 cubic meters of sand, about 800 tonnes

Yep you're right, it has got into cover up territory, and quite a while ago

Played and missed, you might say

Suggests no one was project managing

Here's the audio of Ken Rutherford speaking, thanks Curious http://www.nzracing.co.nz/News/25374/Audio-Ken-Rutherford.aspx He probably wishes he was still opening the batting, at least then he had control of his own fate

Good point, it suggests that no one realised it was a mistake, until the problems started occurring, too late then It was only then that it became apparent they had made a mistake. I see Ken Rutherford saying 2 inches of sand was applied over the middle section of the track. That's a lot of sand, and would have partially covered the turf grasses

I don't think the report will recommend closing any tracks. It will be all about money and a sustainable way ahead, and I can't see how closing down tracks will have any impact on either

Agree Hedley, I see over on race cafe, they are bitching about the venue and the date coinciding with a trot meeting. Some just never get it

And that is when you want all the machinations in the Peter's handbook on Racing's side......don't you think

A bit of tit for tat, if you get what I mean