Joe Kidd

Had one bet yesterday. Race started on time and the notification displayed said it was to be shown on Trackside 1. Race starts and it's not on Trackside 1 or 2. On T1 they are talking about the greyhounds behind the boxes at Forbury. I figured they must have had a change of plan so switched to T2. Exactly the same greyhound event is getting ready to jump there also. WTF? What sort of nuclear physicist would have two channels for showing different events but instead have the exact same event on both channels and no live coverage of the event advertised? After the greyhound race, the Trackside presenter very kindly gave a replay of the last 150 metres of the race I'd wagered on. Why bother? You have no idea where your horse is at that moment so it's frustrating tokenism arranged by people who almost certainly have never owned or punted a horse. Today, I only have one wager. Race started on time. My horse is involved in a very tight finish. Wasn't sure if it had won or run a very close second. Was looking forward to watching the slow motion replay to help me be informed and potentially increase my enjoyment. No time for that. They instead dashed over to watch dog handlers walking around to the start of yet another Australian greyhound race. Seems to be one going off every three minutes of the day and night. Obviously the TAB / Trackside couldn't possibly care less about the previous race. They have your money. It's all about the next race. I find it a complete turnoff. If an exciting close finish of a race that started on time does not warrant a replay of the finish, then why not just dispense with owners, trainers, riders, drivers, horses and greyhounds and just have a roulette wheel being televised 24 hours a day and service all the compulsive gamblers out there. I've got a memory like an elephant. Tomorrow when I'm considering having a wager, I will remember the way me and my recent wagers have been treated and likely do something else instead. Racing is good....but it's not that good. Quantity over quality is the perfect recipe for failure.

My take. I didn't know this site existed but then I started getting a few hints. The first was the complete personality change of the cartoon dog at the oxidation pond. He went from displaying utter contempt for his members to being reasonable and even thanking them for their support. He started referring to the sewer as the premium site. I knew something was rotten in Denmark and he was feeling threatened by a new kid on the block. I could also see the contributors I enjoyed reading there had cashed in their tickets on the sinking ship and either been turned off online communication by the dictators or had gone elsewhere. I personally gave up on that site a year earlier. The third big clue was the referrals to "the other channel". The way I found this site was believe it or not was by searching for Brodie in Google. I'm 100% in favour of the way this site is moderated. It encourages open communication and welcomes differing perspectives. There is no vested interest or protected species. I believe most of the contributors here would never go back to the sewerage pond if this site closed down. The cartoon dog and the narcissist turn them cold. The fact those two are not here made this site considerably better than the sewer right from the get go. I'm confident they hate the open communication here as it highlights what they destroyed. As a result, they have set about sabotaging this site with planted conflict. The cartoon dog will rubbing his little hands with glee to know he's getting to you. It will make his year reading this thread. My advice is continue moderating this site exactly as you have but with one exception. Issue one warning for crossing the line into conflict. If the warning is not respected, ban them permanently. There's a strong possibility you will only be banning brown noses from the sewer doing the bidding for the cartoon dog. The needs of the many should outweigh the needs of the one or two shitheels. The pool for contributors in NZ for this type of site is small, hence the cartoon dog feeling so threatened by you. This site has a pulse and is vibrant. It's exactly what the sewerage pond could have been if it hadn't been taken over by self interested piss ants with serious cases of small man syndrome.

Almost crystal ball stuff Stake: $8,500 Track: GOOD Weather: FINE # Name Jockey/Driver/Trainer Win Place 6 Mass Destruction Todd Mitchell 10.40 2.60 11 Need Luck David Butcher 1.80 7 The Last Gamble Arna Donnelly 3.60 Bet Type Runners Dividend Quinella 6, 11 27.10 Trifecta 6:11:7 586.30 First4 6:11:7:13 1712.90 ALSO RAN: 13-Majestic One-Sailesh Abernethy(9.4L), 5-Dauntless-Zachary Butcher(10.9L), 3-Sunny Pegasus-James Stormont(11.1L), 4-Cruise Alaska-Peter Ferguson(15.6L), 8-Harry H-Dylan Ferguson (J)(21.7L), 1-Monarchy Invasion-Bernie Hackett(39.8L), 14-KD Hall-Andre Poutama(47.3L), 9-Grey Stoke-Kyle Marshall(Pulled up). Note: Numbers shown are the distance from winner in lengths. Winning Margins: 3-3/4L, Lg nk, 5-3/4LOwners: Mrs S M Cornwall, S J Cornwall, Mrs N J Hackett, Mrs J M ArgTrainer: Wallis/Hackett, WaiukuBreeding: 5 g Muscle Mass-Tijuana Glass Scratched: 2-Beat The Heat, 10-Grenado, 12-Sol Invictus, 15-Lovely Bundy. SUB: 13 Majestic One Winners Time: 3:32.21

Anniversary day so a public holiday in NZ's largest city today. No race meetings at all to entice the tens of thousands of Aucklanders who had the day off. Poor planning? I can't imagine the same occurring in a large Australian city for example. Racing clubs there would be rubbing their hands together on days like today. Almost akin to a retail outlet not opening on Christmas eve.

Without doubt, the benchmark for respectful online communication is to express yourself the way you would if you were at the pub yarning with your mates. It's exactly how I communicate online and why I value this site. Moderating with this in mind creates an open and chilled environment to express perspectives. My pet hate in life are superheroes that attempt to bully and stand over others online when in the real world, they are a virtual ant in a puddle of piss.

I can't speak for others but I have nothing but contempt for the cartoon dog and the arrogant one. I've never had anyone speak to me the way both did from the safety of their keyboard. If they spoke to my face in a similar fashion, the next ride they took would be in the boot of my car. They are both totally inadequate men. The arrogant one uses his intellect to bully people and the moment it backfires, he gets others to do his bidding for him. They both epitomize hypocrisy and are worthy of contempt only. They took a perfectly good website and turned into an oxidation pond. I was there with Dave and Ange from day one so felt genuine sadness to see what self interest and bewildering arrogance did to the place. It's a divisive site where opinions are welcomed...as long as it's the same opinion they have and does not involved a member of the protected species. They created the need for this site which has given racing people an open voice and with little or no vested interest. The cartoon dog realizes now he's totally blown it. He farcically attempts to portray himself now as the voice of reason but only because he's got virtually no members left to treat with contempt. He's clearly threatened by BOAY but attempts to mask that but even blind Freddy can through him. He and his brown noses ridicule this site which results in contempt being displayed back toward them. The only bad vibes I have read here come from oxidation pond plants on a quest to disrupt the chilled flow of this place.

It's not about taking offence Newmarket. It was very much in keeping with a couple of the giants among men with small man syndrome at the oxidation pond who are comfortable bathing in sewerage. As for Brodie. I've been reading his input for several years now. I certainly don't agree with everything he says but he's a keen punter, is passionate about the industry, has an opinion to express and treats others with respect. He's exactly the sort of contributor that adds to a site. I couldn't care less if he posts his tips or not. He has nothing to prove. As an aside. there are many that still believe tipsters are worse than bludgers. Brodie was targeted and ridiculed by several hyena types and when he left the oxidation pond, the harness side there died...until farts too much started talking to himself to farcically give the appearance of a pulse. We don't have to agree with each other here but if we can't can't show at least some decency when putting up our input, we should go and play elsewhere.

Very poor form. Can you not discuss a difference of opinion without resorting to cowardly personal abuse? There is another site that specializes in that sort of communication.

OMFG...the frustration there would have resulted in my brain exploding. A few months ago, I put a trifecta on in a hurry that I thought was costing me $18. I checked my balance a little later and noticed the bet had cost me $180. I looked around the site and found an alert option that I could set for any figure I nominated. I was then able to bet with peace of mind. On the first day the new site was up I did more or less the same thing. This time it cost me $360 instead of $36. All down to a decimal point. No alert came up. I rang the TAB several times and gave up. Rang them a few days later and after a wait, I finally got to speak to someone at their help desk. Guy wanted to help but clearly didn't know which way was up. Six times during our yarn he asked me to hold while he went and asked someone else to answer my question. Upshot of it is, there are no helpful and important betting alerts with the new improved (cough cough) website. You can set a limit for account deposits etc but not for bets you place which is akin to an alcoholic telling the barman to only serve him x amount of drinks. This a huge step backwards from the TAB. The fact you can't cancel your bet and they likely won't answer the phone in time means the only losers will be TAB customers. The guy I spoke with said he was unaware of any plans to fix this error. Huge thumbs down and loss of even more goodwill toward the TAB. Oh well, what would you expect with master of the universe John Allen pretending he's the CEO....more like the CLEO

Race 1. Like the way Zip Code ran at Te Aroha in her first run for six months. Will be improved by the run and stable looking good. $9 is appealing. Race 5. Stablemate Mass Destruction finally put it together at Te Awamutu. Won comfortably for THE WIZARD grrr. It's common to see horses that finally win after a frustrating run of outs to back up and win again at their next start. $12 has a lot of appeal. Need Luck won nicely last time for THE CHIEF grrrr and at $9, the quinella with Mass Destruction will pay for dinner. Majestic One was not remotely interested in winning at Te Awamutu and treated the race as a Saturday workout. Sailesh back driving today and he's not known for falling asleep at the back while the leader walks them. The driving tactics on the mare today will be of interest. If you're having a punt today, good luck. Fingers crossed White finally puts THE CHIEF and THE WIZARD to bed and just calls the far king horses.

I often ask myself, what would I do if I owned two horses in the same race and horse (B) needed a strong pace to show his best. Would I ask the driver / rider of horse (A) to ensure the pace was strong? Yes, I would but not to the detriment of horse B. If horse B needed a slowly run race to show his best I wouldn't ask the rider / driver to do otherwise. Kenny Browne would almost always have the fittest horse in the jumps race so ideally needed to turn them into the survival of the fittest. If he had multiple runners and it was a slow pace he would do something about that. Sound and sensible race tactics to my eye. The sacrificing of one stable runner for the benefit of another is outrageous and tantamount to fraud / theft. Punters are cheated and the connections of rival horses are cheated. Some of the more high profile stables have considerable experience in this area. B, more than M for example in years gone by. Racing should be a level playing field which is why we have a handicapping system. There is no point in creating new rules so there are not multiple runners from the same stable in the one race. Most will have different owners and we've seen what happens when trainers are suspended in the past. Almost business as usual. Just a different name beside the horse in the racebook. Usually the wife or brother. A level playing field is only level if everyone plays the game. I was a defence witness in a high profile court case a few years back. The judge instructed everyone involved not to discuss the case or how the trial was going with anyone, especially other witnesses. To be fair, it would have been of assistance to do so but nobody in the defence side said a word to each other during the case. I found out later that every one of the prosecution witnesses got together every night during the trial to compare notes. Honesty and integrity within these systems is largely akin to the way many drivers view rear view mirrors in their car. Just an optional extra and about as pointless as putting your hand on a bible and swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Yea right, many see that same bible as a very useful doorstop. Myself included.

Morning Harewood, You're not the first to suggest I'm reading too much into something. While you may well be correct, in general terms, I'd rather read too much than not enough. I'm not suggesting GD attempted in any way to assist TD at race start. TD drawn the outside of the front line and GD drawn 1 on the second line. He wasn't looking for position. He stayed where he was drawn. The only reason I mentioned his looking out wide was that it appeared he was interested in what the stablemate driven by his wife was doing. It's almost certain that this aspect at race start was the race plan. Makoa could have been a false favourite but that's not the point. The horse was going for it's third win in a row yet didn't put in at all or even go and sit upside the leader which is a fairly common spot to see a GD drive. Meanwhile, the stablemate driven by his wife has it's own way in front and does the business. Had Makoa been the only stable rep in the race, I wouldn't have said anything. It was fully stretched to win it's previous race. Outlaw Fella deserved it's victory but Makoa was not involved in the race at any point. If GD had sat parked or made his run earlier it would have at least appeared like he was there to race. He did absolutely no work in the race yet showed zero. On that run, how had he won his previous two races? It's the family connection that gets my attention and the fact there is a history of assisting each other during races. A 12 month banning that TD copped previously highlights that fact. The whole Leopard and spots thing comes to mind.

We don't like to think of ourselves as sheep when punting, but do you follow the money? I'm a keen follower of form and place as much value of the stable / drivers form as I do the horses form. The form a stable has been one of my best punting guides over the years. As important as form and ability are, I've found betting movements to be very reliable to the point it seems as if you're betting on machines at times, not animals. Runners that get the blows can still win despite the betting drift which in Australia is sometimes described as "alarming" but they are most definitely the exception rather than the rule. With the next race to go being the priority for many punters, you see a lot of $$ wagered late. This money is invariably very telling. If my wager has drifted from $3 to $4.50, I'm nervous. If the movement has gone the other way my confidence increases considerably. It's uncanny how reliable these movements are which invariably occur very late for differing reasons. The runner that gets the blows, invariably runs accordingly. The runner that the money came for can be wide doing more work than anything else etc etc but still manages to win. It's uncanny to the point it would have almost needed to fall over not to win. You have to wonder why it hadn't easily won it's previous races. $$$ really does speak all languages. If I have a wager on and I see money has come for another runner, I will always take a saver on that runner which is uncannily almost always the runner that prevails. With Australian race calls today, you will hear the term "heavily backed. It will almost always refer to the runner that won. While most betting plunges are above board and understandable, there can aspect to at times that does not sit right. At the end of the days racing, I go back and watch the previous few performances of the runner involved in the betting plunge. I often find virtually nothing to indicate it was a next up winner, certainly nothing to justify the confident betting plunge. I have to ask if that horse had been set up for a punt. Obviously, if the form looks average, the bookies will offer very attractive odds next time up. Some trainers are masters at this but that is where the issue is. That runner will not have been trained / ridden or driven to win it's previous start(s). I don't have a lot of confidence in the authorities tasked with investigating such activity.

In the US, they couple or bracket horses that have the same owner or trainer in a race. Obviously, they value transparency and believe only the horses should wear blinds or blinkers. Stands to reason that many punters could potentially feel they have just been bent over a table when they watch the hot fav run like a half asleep pregnant goat despite having superb form but watch the stablemate go on and win after being gifted a relatively comfortable lead. I'm not sure which state is the worst. Some races involving family members in NSW and Queensland more closely relate to a choreographed pantomime than an actual race. Our harness racing is generally far more authentic by comparison. In saying that, most examples of questionable tactics I've witnessed invariably involve only a small number of colours and names.

I'm not a big fan of family members driving together in the same race. It leaves the gate wide open to race manipulation or at the very least, the suggestion of it. People go to jail for insider trading yet we are supposed to accept the motivation of money is apparently not enough to produce question race results. I've seen so many choreographed races especially in NSW and Queensland, I no longer wager there but will watch races from those venues for future reference etc. I watched race 5 from Albion Park today. I've seen what Grant and Trista Dixon can get up to when both driving in the same race for years so often check out their activity. Here's a little history. http://www.harnesslink.com/News/Driver-Trista-Dixon-disqualified-for-12-months https://www.punters.com.au/news/trista-dixon-banned-for-12-months_164962/ https://www.news.com.au/sport/superracing/qld-racing/top-queensland-harness-trainer-grant-dixon-has-two-positives-to-arsenic/news-story/fd8864f10f7c57f72af744d546c0e059 So you get the idea. So, back to R5 today. Grant driving the $1.90 fav Makoa going for a hatrick. Trista drives the stablemate Outlaw Fella. Grant got my attention at the start of the race when he seemed very interested in Trista out wide and her quest to get the front. Trista is in front smoking the pipe. Grant sits back and does not put in. Ran like a 50-1 shot, not an even money fav. I've asked the question before. Would the normally aggressive driver have been more interested in racing if the horse leading was not the stablemate being driven by his wife? I may well be wrong but there is a history there and Makoa has not run like a dromedary in previous starts. I feel the question is worth asking. https://www.harness.org.au/racing/fields/race-fields/?mc=AP250119#APC25011901

Love grass track racing wherever it is but don't attend in the North anymore. Here's a very subtle clue as to why. bla bla bla began well for THE WIZARD and tucked in behind him is THE CHIEF..getting the one one sit is THE ICEMAN and THE MAGIC MAN is ALL DRESSED UP WITH NOWHERE TO GO, THE WIZARD is in front but bla bla bla and THE CHIEF and bla bla bla are filling the hobbles and FLYINGGGGGGGGGGGGG home, oh THE CHIEF and THE WIZARD have come clear but now THE ICEMAN is into the clear and THE MAGIC MAN now has somewhere to go...what a finish...THE WIZARD, THE CHIEF, THE ICEMAN, THE MAGIC MAN,...it's all too much and where the fark is THE POSTMAN. Thank christ there isn't a ribbon of light at Rotorua. Reminds me of the 3.30 at Newmarket with my old favs Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore

Thought I could smell the faint stench of oxidation pond.

I don't know what a camel looks like when racing normally apart from a pick 6 anchor i took recently but those things look shattered to me and about to faint. How long is that straight? 15 miles? Perhaps the TAB will look at a more appropriate and an easier on the eye option to start here.

My god. I just listened to the commentary. If I heard a race call like that I'd likely shit myself and run a world record for 10 miles...in the opposite direction.

I'm picking this types of shite races with feeble pools are targeting compulsive gamblers. I don't want to say too much here (most unlike me) but I understand the NZ TAB is presently involved in sensitive negotiations with the appropriate authorities for the next equally exciting product for the mugs oops I mean customers to "invest" on. The form is a little difficult to follow with the humps getting in the way. It's also a bit confusing that all the connections seems to have the same first name. They won't have to attract much interest to have bigger pools than the yank races do.

You'd be feeling a tad aggrieved if you had your crystal ball out and nailed this first 4. M46 Northfield Park Harness (USA) on 23 Jan 2019 Race 1 - 12:06 - RACE 1 CLAIMING MOBILE PACE . (Northfield Park R1) 1609 m Results home Stake: $0 Track: FAST Weather: OVERCAST # Name Jockey/Driver/Trainer Win Place 4 Ima Ironman Simon Allard 11.40 2.70 2 Pow Chicka Pow Pow Ronnie Wrenn Jr. 1.10 3 Thru N Thru Jason Thompson 2.20 Bet Type Runners Dividend Quinella 2, 4 15.80 Trifecta 4:2:3 4341.00 First4 4:2:3:1 73.30

Win lose and draw are not the only options Happy. If they were, I would struggle. Goal starts and total combined goals are two that I reach for routinely. The one option I avoid like the black death is half time full time doubles. They are a trap for young players. I learned the hard way on that. My most common bet is $100 multi with four or five games. I, like FU often throw in a lay down @1.20 just to sweeten the pot.

That's the cartoon dogs version of welcoming free speech and differing perspectives. They are only welcomed if the topic does not involve a protected species who's obviously purer than the driven snow. The arrogant one clearly the puppeteer there. Having said that, it must present a quandary for doggy do do. He wants input in the pond so it appears the site has a pulse when it's clearly on a life support machine. Very sad of course What I find especially humorous is his advice to the three contributors left in the harness to not make it personal. Then along comes the narcissist and calls someone a dickhead for not agreeing with the arrogant ones attempt to discredit Nigel McIntyre as an expert in the upcoming court cases simply because of the number of winners he drove himself back in the day. I noticed the cartoon dog gave him another free pass on his personal abuse and vested interest shite.

I remember Steven John very well. He won the Nelson Cup in the mid 80's for John Rogers. I recall him winning about 6 races in a row so three of those would have been the Westport bonus FU. I'm certain the bonus was 20k at one time and I'm fairly confident Jim Curtin won it at least once. Ian Chambers was a solid caller and an improvement on his predecessor Eric Percy. When it comes to callers in the area, Jack O'Donnell.was the bees knees. He was also very welcoming to having me in his callers box while he called the Nelson Cup which was a buzz. I wish I could hear one of his calls again but can't find one. Grrrr. Always started with "this time". He was a character who enjoyed a tipple https://www.hrnz.co.nz/news-and-events/latest-news/3246-jack-o-donnell-passes-away

Yes McShane was a beauty. I can't recall any other trotter from the Nelson area that has performed as well since McShane. The Hills know how to get the best out of trotters and Brian has passed that on to Kirstie. In recent years almost every trotter the Hills have raced has been very speedy but a bit on the temperamental side. Chief would have known about Single Lord as well who I believe is the best pacer they have raced. He was of course by Lordship, the sire of my all time fav horse, Lord Module. We were family friends with the Devine's and were fond of Lord Module before he even raced. That grew into admiration and adoration. Many remember the 81 Matson ffa which showed him at his brilliant best beating horses that were top shelf. Having said that, the race that will always be with me is the 1979 NZ Cup. Lord Module was magnificent. The crowd went off and I haven't heard a rousing reception as good since including when Terror to Love won his third. The whistle went as it was alleged Lord Module had impeded third placed Trevira but thankfully that was dismissed after hearing from the driver of Trevira, Gavin Hamilton. I don't think I slept for two days after the cup. Incredibly exciting.