Special Agent

Yes exactly. Comedic, spoof or slapstick. All are apt descriptions of this current madness.

It is hard to believe we are expected to think this is all a great deal. Money is supposedly going to materialise out of thin air with Entain able to magic up funds. HOW??!! I may be missing some important revelation but, to summarise the reports of the day as I see it:- 1. Cameron George thinks the partnership is exciting and can only make the industry thrive but, cannot yet divulge the secret parts of the agreement. 2. Bruce Sharrock thinks the partnership is what New Zealand has been waiting for but, needs to reserve final judgement until it is known how it will effect racing. 3. Kieran McAnulty is unable to make an informed decision until he has considered all of the information and is certain due diligence is complete. This is poppycock!! Are these adults in charge of a multi billion dollar industry from whom we are supposed to be following advice? Maybe a couple more blinks and it will be Cheshire Cat, Hatter, Alice and Queen of Hearts stepping up to the plate.

It doesn't seem like a real decision has been made, it's more like a discussion paper. The older I get the less balls people around me seem to have. Who knows how half of these people get on anything resembling a racing board and what credentials they supposedly have. Then the bastards all hide behind an expensive consultancy exercise. It is not good practice to look back as we must be moving forward with ideas and innovation but, for goodness sake only halfwits do not learn from their mistakes. If time and effort had gone into past appointments maybe funds might not have been pissed up against the wall. Not only that but, incompetents were given a free rein and extended contracts. If the Racing Minister, who has the final say on this, is not enlightened we will only have ourselves to blame.

A few tall poppies maybe.

I interpret this differently to some on here. If I had a kick from a horse sufficient to break my leg and couldn't sleep because of the pain the fact that voltaren had not been prescribed for me would not stop me taking some pills out of someone elses bottle. I think it is irrelevant whether it was prescribed or not. If the drugs are in the system they have been administered.

As the Racing Minister has the final word on this does anyone know if he has any thoughts of his own, or is it just an influenced rubber stamp?

I would like my colours on either of them.

Have you noticed that nobody anywhere (not just racing) can put out a schedule or programme first bang without errors? People of today cannot spell, have bad grammar and cannot proof read any detail. It used to drive me nuts. After a while you start to relent and slip into the comfort of "who cares" about a few mistakes. Gone are the days of a sharp blow over the knuckles for not listening or concentrating.

I am so over the flashy shit we have been subjected to over the past 5-10 years. I can't stand the flourishing of the whip at the line to the extent of the jockey nearly falling off (such a bugger for the owner to be landed with a photo of that for a life time), the bullshit jockey interviews and the crying. All young jockeys could take a leaf out of this down to earth bloke's book. Some owners might only win the one race with their horse so that race becomes their Melbourne Cup and should be treated with the respect it deserves.

Absolutely!! There is enough to sort out in racing without dabbling in the fluffy stuff. This doubling up of jobs is a doubling up of egos. Racing would continue without media and marketing. I'm not saying it would be the best in the world but it would continue. To think it matters who is presenting the races and what post race programmes are running is important is madness. How about not letting jockeys ride until they are competent, getting the track surfaces and horse facilities right and making sure there are enough horses in the first place to compete. It seems to me the cart is being put before the horse and the emphasis is on the wrong areas. Administration is top heavy, there are too many in influential positions more interested in moving real estate than "the product and core business", and to put it simply the whole shooting box needs stripping back to basics. Just my opinion. Horse training and racing has pretty basic components that outside influencers are over complicating.

More than 30% of RIB investigations relate to licence holder behaviour .... I'm not sure how to react to this. If you think about what RIB investigates, how much is investigated outside of what licence holders say and do? I can only think of ownership discrepancies and patrons oncourse on a race day but, I may need enlightening. NZTR and the RIB have the power to not relicence. If the Code of Conduct regulations is going to aid in non relicensing I wonder what numbers will look like moving forward. Racing is fast paced and sometimes volatile.

Does form analysis fit into what NZTR should be doing? I thought NZTR was the national horse racing administration, not a betting agency. The articles and videos seem odd to me too for an organisation which should primarily be for licence holder information. I believe these guys are sons of Donna Logan and Steve Davis respectively.

It seems a new broom sweeps clean as the list of employees includes a heap of new names from a year ago. Was Marty Burns superfluous to needs or was his role disestablished? Either option means pretty much the same thing but, I wonder what the thinking was behind him no longer being there.

As you have pointed out it is not always about the sometimes small amount of sponsorship money. It is how you are treated, being made feel a little bit special and included, and the word of mouth advertising you are going to provide on behalf of that club and the whole racing industry. That brings us to "culture" which has been created by you and people like you. Move over Tharsha, Honestjohn already has credentials I'm guessing will outstrip any you have on paper.

Tharsha Adamstein - Head of People & Culture & Infrastructure What an earth does this role entail? Is Tharsha in charge of all people in the racing industry, or just those in the NZTR office? What culture? As New Zealand's racing community is a multi-racial place is Tharsha adept in origami, can she efficiently handle a taiaha, does she know the words of the Indian National Anthem, and because the latest census will show the increase in nationalities here is she proficient in Mandarin? What absolute nonsense!! Infrastructure of what exactly? If Tharsha has a handle on all of the aspects listed in her title she is well and truly wasted at NZTR. She should be working out of the Beehive.

That is a lot of people. With less horses bred and less participants it appears unbalanced to even a simple mind.

As an industry we should expect nothing less. I know we can't go back but for goodness sake how the hell the track got to the stage it got to, a stage where the races couldn't run on the club's "money" day, is beyond belief. As for thinking it's all about throwing money at the problem, there are a lot of heads that need to be read. Now there's a little bit of pressure off, those at fault are strutting about like peacocks.

If you have ever braved a full game of the Phoenix Women you'd wonder why they get paid at all, let alone pay equity with the men. The NZ women's football team are going to be an embarrassment at the World Cup to be co-hosted here.

I wonder if the likes would be permitted to ride today. Their licences would be subject to some pussy regulations and checks by someome with a title and letters after their name. They would be labelled as being bipolar or having ADHT or aspergers. Their ability to handle a horse wouldn't even come into it and a certificate for the wall would not be issued.

Bang on. Today's peeps can be precious and boring. Too much PC crap for my liking.

What dumb ideas the TAB are coming up with. The next Black Friday might be interesting.

I have to admit I haven't watched much Trackside in weeks but, I think if women want to ride against men they should be known as jockeys and not given any preferential treatment. They all get paid the same fee.

A whole different world to the one we live in today. The car being driven was probably a borrowed one to boot. Keith Nuttall was a case all of his own. They say there's a fine line between a genius and a maniac. Funny how over the years some of the best riders sat somewhere on that line.

The whole situation sounds like Hicksville. There should be no poor management at any track in New Zealand. There are good people available to teach and assist. Some who have landed a good racing job under false pretenses have become too big for their boots. Who in their right mind employs an expert and then tells them what to do or restricts their responsibilities? NZTR will always bail these poor performing larger clubs out.

I don't agree it isn't the Track Manager's decision to renovate or rest the track, unless he is Track Manager in name only. Is it not his job to manage the track? Pat Reardon managed the Riccarton course proper, training tracks and grounds for many years. He came from a farming background. He knew what he was doing. I'd call him a Track Manager rather than the Caretaker title he had. For a "Track Manager" to not know how to mow correctly I'd have to firstly question the recruiting process. Secondly is the chain of command and relationship between track management and board flawed? Thirdly, there is always advice and support available, never be too proud to use it.