Cockyaleg

Southland probably won't survive a year on reduced dates. Otago is a tennant, without harness it has no track. Rumour is Otago Harness are in financial strife. They should have closed Auckland. The list isn't final until mid June.

Travel and centralisation. To decrease costs Trackside teams will be reduced to the bare minimum. Centralisation will allow those teams to base in one region. The cost of producing coverage vs the benefits gained was no longer viable. Personale, equipment, trucks, accommodation and transport costs are extremely high. All production costs had to be slashed. Trackside will no longer be able to service areas outside the zones. Moving people, dogs and horses between regions is also a problem when looking at the future biosecurity of racing and the general public. The COVID pandemic has highlighted the need to keep racing regional. Preventing the spread of both human and animal viruses is a priority for the government, and would have been stressed to the various government departments. COVID will not be the last pandemic we see, of that you can be assured. Regional control may make it possible for racing to continue in one region while halted in another. This makes great financial sense. Waikato and Christchurch are the two main racing centres. Both have high numbers of trainers and both accommodate all three codes. Winston's original plan to build a state of the art all-weather track in these two regions is genius. If the codes could have agreed on the Waikato build, the resulting tri-code complex would have been a world-class showcase. Sharing facilities and costs is a no brainer, but, true to form the idea was stymied by the ego of those who could not look to the future. That lack of foresight could prove fatal in the not so distant future. I believe more club and track closures will follow at the end of the 2021 season. Every club needs to be looking at how they will survive the future. It makes far more sense to look at amalgamating now and pooling resources. The alternative is death. Roll on to the Manawatu. Winston has pledged funds for an all-weather track. This is a perfect opportunity for the 3 codes to come together and build that complex that should have got off the ground in Waikato. If ever there was an opportunity to future proof, here it is. TB is pulling itself if it believes they alone are the future of racing in the Manawatu. Together all are in a much stronger financial position. Having the facility utilised 7 days a week rather than a handful of dates per month should be seen as the only option. Not so long ago Manawatu/Trentham was all but declared bankrupt! To be blunt, clubs need to pull their heads out of their arses if racing is to survive. The TAB and Racing Board have indeed wasted a vast amount of money, but they are not solely to blame for the crisis racing now finds itself in. Racing entities have been arguing amongst themselves for the last 20 years. I'm sick and tired of the "biggest dick" argument that continues today. As far as I am concerned they are all dicks! Just because a club was established 100 years ago doesn't equate to being viable now. Shake off the sand and move forward while you can.

There isn't an overbreeding problem in the North, two meetings a week is all they are capable of and at times that's a stretch. In the CD 6 extra races were added with the intention of providing additional opportunities for the dogs who were regularly missing out. That was only partially successful. Your proposal could reduce the number of races in both regions. It would see C4 and 5 races on hold until more dogs were allowed to progress up the grades. C4 and 5 would then be combined for a short period while the pool of higher graded dogs reached sustainable levels. The GRNZ would not consider that as an option.

Good post. Yes they have a monopoly and take the lion's share, but they are not Mitre 10 or the Warehouse. What sets greyhound racing apart from giants in the retail industry, is the dogs. As sentient beings, this industry comes with a unique set of expectations, regulations, and perceptions and that is where your favoured model comes unstuck. Puppy farming is not accepted by the New Zealand public, and in this case there is an element of peril attached to breeding greyhounds for profit. Make no mistake, the public sees these beautiful animals as sentient beings. How greys are bred, reared, broken in, raced, and retired are all key factors in public acceptance of the sport. Likening the Cole factory to Mitre 10 is an extremely flawed argument. Current information provided by various agencies tells us that racing pre-COVID was on a steady decline. Punters have departed our shores, taking with them badly needed funds. Funds vital to maintain stakes levels. Unless the government halts this exodus with regulation, these punters are not coming back. If you breakdown the domestic punting dollar, a trend emerges. Who is actually betting on the Cole monopolised races? And, what benefit are they providing to the industry? Make that information available to the public, provide transparency. The TAB's monopoly and philosophy has hindered racing and if allowed to continue as is, will expedite it's demise. The saturated monopoly does not work, monopolies do not work, the balance sheet is proof. There are too many race meetings and too many races in New Zealand. Mitre 10 and the Warehouse we are not. The major player is Australia where monopolies do not exist. The TAB and Cole model supports thinking that is obsolete and out of touch with today's customer base. Winston has just pledged 72 million to the industry, 20+ million to repay debt we should never have incurred. If your preferred monopoly model was a success, we would NOT be in the shit right now. You all need to wake up!

The man is 80 years old. No he is not Brendon Cole and would not want to be. "Taking the piss" is very harsh. He isn't breaching the level 3 rules and you have quoted a very poor example to support your friend.

Then he will be in breach of the sign off rules. He doesn't have 10 staff, does he JOY?

So you assume person "B" and "C" also work at the kennels fultime, is that correct?. Person "B" and person "C" do not. As you have deemed yourself more intelligent than "you all are", maybe you would like to tell us who the eight workers claimed for all are?

If you work at a greyhound track on race or trial days, you can join a bubble, but only one. Each trainer has a separate bubble and is responsible for all within it. It is a condition of being allowed to race at Level 3. And by the way, I had no part in the formulation of work safe protocols.

Many people will share your view Chief, but bubbles have been agreed upon and signed off as a condition of racing. You can argue to the cows come in, but it is what it is. To breach the terms and conditions will end racing in Level 3 at least.

If you don't understand why that statement is incorrect please do not attend the races. There are people in TV land just itching to close you down.

Omg read! Your statement is incorrect. ALL club protocols contain the following and refer to specific "bubbles". "CATCHING: Maintain 2m spacing until lure stops. One catcher per dog. Catchers from same bubble should move in to catch first. Maintain 1m spacing whilst catching. Return to 2m spacing once your dog is under control". So based on ALL sets of protocols published, Ms Kite cannot be part of more than one bubble i.e. if she is in the paid employment of one specific trainer (her bubble) she cannot then break that bubble to handle for any other trainer as you cannot be part of more than one bubble. The problem is cross contamination. Yes the track is a workplace, but each trainer is a seperate entity with a separate bubble. You are expected to supply (bring with you) sufficient staff from your bubble to handle your dogs for the duration of your engagements at that meeting. Worksafe are very specific in what they consider acceptable safe practice. The people watching television coverage will not hesitate in notifying any track action they deem to be in breach of COVID-19 Safe Work Site Protocols. When looking at the published protocols for trials on the GRNZ web pages, the following statement is made: "Each trainer would then be allocated a time-slot to bring their dogs to the track with two or three people from their 'bubble' - one person designated as Releaser and another person designated as Catcher." Again published protocols refer to trainer bubbles. So, if you are planning on enlisting help on race day from participants who are not part of your bubble, you better rethink that plan.

Anyone who is now back working in her (Lisa Cole) kennels or is living on her kennel property constitutes a extended bubble. You cannot extend that bubble further to include people from outside that extension i.e. Ms Kite and Mr Trash, or anyone else on track. The GRNZ should have made sure no breach could occur prior to nominations being accepted. Accepting nominations which are likely to cause or assist a breach of protocols is an offense.

I totally understand how CD people feel. But be honest, no one in power actually gives a shit. They honestly think they are needed, important. The country doesn't give a damn about greyhound racing or racing in general for that matter. If GRNZ can't police what they publish, then you will be shutdown sooner than it took to get back. You must operate by the protocols signed off on. There are no exceptions. Racing got the green light based on that official agreement. Flout the rules at your peril. Only takes one complaint and you will be gone. One case of COVID and you're gone.

Did anyone expect anything else? It's a Cole benefit again. Buggar the others.

That's a turnaround without a court appearance. Should make for a lively first week of racing, especially if the media covers racings restart. Personally I never missed seeing his face on the telly, after all he's just another of Lisa's many staff.

That's one way of looking at it. Unfortunately if any participant tests positive once racing begins, that track will shutdown and all will be doing 14 days self isolation. So it is still a threat to racing. I read this morning they closed a South Island meat plant because 4 workers tested positive.

It makes no sense to put up results for races that never took place, does it? There do not appear to be any positives at present, apart from racing resumption. Previous advisories posted by the GRNZ on the GRNZ web page have been ignored by RITA? The participants who begin trialing this week have no clue as to the stakes they will be racing for? Clubs are scrambling to get trials underway with 48 hours notice. COVID is still a threat, and the weatherman tells us its all going to turn to shit from this weekend. Good luck to everyone trialing under those conditions. The whole thing resembles a second rate circus!

Have you? I don't race any dogs so pointless sending an email. Will be interesting to see what the spead is once racing begins in the CD, and down South.

Bankruptcy in 2010? I believe that is when everything was changed in to his wife's name.

Yankiwi is right, you can't use your maiden name to register as a company director, and then train for that same company under your married name, then work in the education sector under your maiden name. Why would you? If you change your legal name to Cole then that requires a name change in the other two areas. One IRD number, two different names?

Waikato would get 12 races if it were the only Northern track running. Trainers could not op for racing at Auckland on a Sunday. I don't know whether it would be possible but could one or two alternative distances be added to the options? Movable box starts, maybe a 290m and a 510m. Just a thought. There is room at both ends for an extension pad and no outside fencing.

OK, thank you. I took my queue from the statement, "318m, 305m and 295m respectively". I omitted Waikato as the sprint distance is 375m.

Thank you. I would assume Auckland and Wanganui are the two North Island tracks. Addington already confirmed in the South. Interesting. All two turn tracks if my thinking is correct.

I am not sure what the comment means. Are you saying all racing will be confined to three tracks only?

Please share Mehe.