billy connolly

Is one at far right the real McCoy or Transgender ?

Continual Professional Development (CPD) ensures all license holders have the relevant skills and knowledge to move ahead in the industry. NZTR want all license holders to be passionate advocates for the industry which will involve completing an on-line series of courses and certifications by June 30 annually to hold their license. Fuck me, I always thought practical knowledge and opportunity were the two essentials to succeed in this game.

K. Browne (MBE - HOF) didn't need to ride mongrel horses who ultimately cost him his life either. Can you list your achievements in the game please, Fish?

You're saying that track camber has no affect on a horses cornering ability and their ability to get grip/traction, I'm saying the greater the camber the safer the track. If Ellerslie management are conceding their track surface is sub-standard, why haven't stewards intervened and put an immediate halt to racing until remedied? Stewards should be demanding consensus from Ellerslie management, Strathayr management, Trainers and Jockeys alike.

Totally irrelevant, two different scenarios. What is the current camber at Ellerslie? According to this paper(which is an interesting read) Mooney Valley has 7.5% camber on bends and 2.5% on straights. Ellerslie also has a slight downhill run from approx 1200 metres to the point of the turn and an odd shaped home bend who's contour should've been given more consideration. It looks like Ellerslie have paid a huge price for trying to preserve their old layout. Note Mooney Valley's Strathayr cost 7 million in 1994.

That's not enough camber for Ellerslie's home bend, it may be sufficient for tracks like Flemington and Riccarton who have big sweeping home bends but it's not adequate for Ellerslie. Horses don't slip galloping in a straight line (unless Mills is running the show) they slip on bends, notably the home bend whilst under pressure. Put a negative camber on a bend and the field will not negotiate it at all and likely end up in the car park or nearest street.

Take it from me squire, horses do not and will not slip on a cambered surface. Because they primarily race within summer months whereby moisture isn't a problem. As much camber to prevent a fatality.

The majority of horses who loose their footing do so whilst negotiating bends under pressure, which correlates to the final 600/800 metres of a race and any moisture on the surface exacerbates the problem. By not banking/cambering this track, Ellerslie have either ignored or have been given wrong advice. They could've got away with running the last two races yesterday but to my eye they're going to have to completely rebuild this track with camber as they're currently relying on luck to get them through their meetings.

I'm not familiar with Strath Ayr surfaces but when a horse negotiates a bend that isn't cambered its inertia pushes it outwards and if that inertial force is great enough it doesn't take much to make it loose its footing. On a cambered bend the opposite occurs and although a portion of a horses inertia still pushes it outwards, the camber pushes it into the track which in turn provides grip/traction. Jockeys will also try harder and take more risks on a cambered surface.

Oh dear, I thought you had a few clues but you obviously don't. If Mooney Valley wasn't banked it would be a skating rink, car racing tracks likewise.

The crucial error they've made with this track is they never banked/cambered it, which was a monumental risk on their part and in my view is the reason why horses are losing their footing. The significant problem with a cambered track though is it creates a leaders bias, but it looks like they're going to have to do it because safety is paramount.

Like this clown... https://youtu.be/17fQXPnWQ1c?t=60

It's a piss poor assessment, but you'd need to have race-ridden to know that. Every other jockey in that race used their brains by not chasing the tearaway, if they had they would've been the first beaten. There was a class galloper here in the late 60's early 70's by the name of Game who led by big margins and broke the opposition's hearts, as did Vo Rogue. Opposing jockey's back then also did not fall into the chasing trap. If you're going to chase, you must use a rabbit to do so.

Why do these half-breeds have the need to announce their departure. No one gives a rats arse what they do or who they are, they've probably registered here under multiple aliases anyway. The bloke who runs this site (which no doubt costs him money and time) does so to provide a vehicle for ungrateful pricks to voice their opinion (anonymously) to the world without moderation.

An authority on whip use, knew Jim Tomkinson, knew Noel Eales, knew Ray Verner, knew Cecil Devine, knew Dave Kerr and can read the mind of a Racecourse Detective, FFS. And we have another clown here (Thomass supported by that woman trainer from Riccarton) calling jockey's cheats for administering a couple of extra strikes with a feather duster whip. A trainer pushing the physical capabilities of a horse could never be labeled a cheat though !

A trophy for them both -

Correct, she wouldn't have a clue and neither would the sycophants she's in bed with.

Absolutely there is, the woman who posts here as Freda (and elsewhere as Pam Robson) isn't ever likely to train a Group 1 winner. I have respect for anyone who has achieved at the top level in this game.

Oh dear, the know-all (Special Agent) is now calling TAB For Ever, who's raced a Group 1 winner together with other successful horses a know-all, FFS.

Haven't you been espousing (here and elsewhere) the fact that your partner was a former jockey??? A well heeled gentleman came to me for advice not that long ago. He'd been offered shares in a horse to be trained by you. My advice to him was that although she'd been in the game a long time, she wouldn't know whether a horse was any good or not ! Regardless of the sanctimonious nonsense dictated above, you've used horses to obtain a living for close to fifty years.

In my experience those who claim to know everyone and everything actually know very little. FYI, I've ridden winners for Dave Kerr and also ridden Domingo, and although I've never met the man I've also ridden a winner for Cecil Devine. Can you list a few of your achievements in the game please?

Cecil Devine (Lord Module) owned, trained and drove champions, Dave Kerr (Domingo) unlike Freda never took a horse to the races unless it could win, Jack Holmes (Karu) won a host of open handicaps and placed in a Melbourne Cup. With the odd exception, few of the best performed horses over time ever wore full hooded blinkers. Full hooded blinkers are a massive advantage when used sparingly and especially so when used for the first time on a cheat, but they're also a dangerous piece of apparatus when used on the wrong horse and IMO should not be permitted on two-year-olds or jumpers. Regardless of the arguments of the anti whip brigade, padded whips won't be banned here as they're first and foremost a control mechanism.

Then why the need for blinkers, bull prodders, pharmaceutical assistance etc? Even some very good horses were cheats but had that much ability it didn't matter. Domingo was a cheat, Karu was a cheat, Lord Module was a cheat. No doubt there's many more. Toporoa won the 1955 Melbourne Cup (defeating a near champion) but never won another race... funny that.

How many make it to races? How many salute once?? How many salute multiple times??? How many pay their way???? The majority are cheats.

How many laps in the pigskin? Regards cheating, most horses are cheats by nature but very few jockeys are ! Those who want the whip outlawed are all tarred with the same brush.