Special Agent

Is there anything legally that can be done respectively on this? Or is it just another "stiff shit" situation for racing that we just have to cop?

Lecturing on what?

I wish Gary all the best too. We will see more and more heart attacks, aneurysms and miscarriages. The latter has an increased by 500% in New Zealand. These are not coincidental occurrences.

When are we going to have people in charge with money making ideas, apart from realising real estate? What is really annoying is they weren't around when the original land was acquired for racing yet have control of club assets, when really as committee people they should just be custodians until the next generation comes along.

That is quite late notice for anyone intending to attend the trials. And here we go again with NZTR's own brand of transparency. What bloody issue? Come on, this is a joke!!

Don't be fooled with that problem gambling marlarkey. The figures quoted are always exaggerated and I'd say a good chunk of that 2.5% is spent on wages. Much like the 1% animal welfare taken out of all stakes doesn't go to the people who rehome the horses but, that is another story.

And here's another idea. How about only paying out based on performance? Get rid of salaries where you are paid even when you fail (Cup meeting case in point). The rest of the racing industry are pretty much contractors only getting paid when they do the work. If trainers, jockeys, trackwork riders don't turn up they don't get paid. If they only do an average job their winning percentages reflect that.

Yes, yes, yes. Why are they losing sight of what the core business is? I hope this fantasy is the last in a long line of Tim Mills inspired fuck ups. Anyone who is claiming this idea as their own has to go. This is bordering on misappropriation of funds, surely. Instead of ideas of grandeur forget keeping up with Melbourne Cup proportions. You silly people need to get back to basics, and quickly.

100% agree. Quite obviously people do not learn from past mistakes and misinformation. Is it because they are too lazy to read?

Some of the decent training facilities are privately owned. Clubs will tell you that you can't make money out of training, not sure if that includes Matamata and Cambridge though. Anything can make money if properly run. With these attitudes surely there should be ample funds to provide at least better race day surfaces. That 15% from wagering going to government which would enable funding to come back into racing is sounding attractive. Then punters could truly say they owned racing.

Woo hoo, what progress!! Who would have thought the racing industry was going to be such a benefactor to veterinary science? At least Cambridge still provide choice for the trainer. Baker and Te Akau have been mentioned as training icons here. How much do/did they utilise the AWT for training, trials and racing? If trainers at Riccarton and/or Awapuni had a choice for training how many would elect/select the synthetic?

There are some good points in here. Doomed's idea for the north island to join NSW and south island to join Victoria is a little radical but you can see how beneficial it would be for New Zealand. Would those states want NZ? I doubt it. The backdoor entry for Entain looks obvious but, not to our administrators. That says it all. 15% from every dollar wagered would make a positive difference to racing. Who in the industry do you think should be suggesting this, and be listened to?

Riccarton Fashion and Other Issues is the title which covers a lot. We can squabble amongst ourselves which Chief Stipe and Reefton are making a good fist of; fact is the Ricarton track is rooted no matter on whose say so. Bid has just discovered the stupidity of the fashion co-ordinator a day after the rest of us who are still scratching our heads over it. What's this person going to do? As Freda points out possibly nothing that will be of benefit to anyone like mending potholes which will be left for another day. As for admin at Southern HQ how much more stupid can it get? Riccarton is where NZ Racing began, all the majors were held there and all the top men and horses came from there. I don't have to wonder what the guys of that era would think of today's fiasco. For all the discussion and debate what can be done? If all we do is moan we are no better than the ones currently in charge. Is there anyone on here who can actively do anything for the betterment of all? I'd like to think it is never too late. After all we are still involved in some capacity. Starting with this fashion co-ordinator how many CJC members are on here? Are you happy with your CJC Executive making this decision to spend valuable funds on a frivolous "thing"? Is anyone going to stand up against this decision? You saw what a laughing stock the decision makers at the club were Cup week. They got off lightly. Why on earth would members and board members let Tim do this crazy stuff? What is the point being a member if you don't have your say? Please, please register your disapproval at the CJC. Please make a difference.

We are a country of knockers that is for sure. There are different ways to train and achieve a similar result as you cited Murray Baker vs Te Akau. Both are/were successful training models. I agree with Huey that the landscape is distorted. I also think the value of bloodstock is inflated. When you watch the struggle at the supermarket with limited funds and having to put items back on the shelf it is disheartening to see the ridiculous amount of money spent in and on racing. Companies only have to know you own a race horse to bump up the price of it's requirements. What would happen if there was no David Ellis? The void would be filled, auction prices may drop, the training and riding premiership would look different but racing would continue in some shape or form.

Sorry to Jason Laking for whom this post started. To be fair Jason will be looking for a job now. Not sure how he'd look in that garb though. My point is jobs can be found in the racing industry both here and in Australia for ex-jockeys. I would consider whatever an ex-jockey was employed to do would aid racing industry "core business". On the flip side I think the races would still go ahead without a car or overseas trip as an incentive to dress up or even attend a race meeting. When a racing club is rolling in profit, has every race sponsored (not contra-ed), the fields are full and the RACECOURSE TURF IS IN TOP NOTCH ORDER then it might be time to have a play with some novelty roles. Until then ... WTF!!!!!

For goodness sake!! The fashion shit should be left as a side show. Don't get me wrong, I am all for glamming up the event and don't mind getting dressed up now and again but, money cannot be used on all of this rubbish instead of keeping the course proper in pristine condition. This club has lost the plot!!

Trevor Robertson and Fiona Tonks were at the helm at Ashburton from what I recall. If the model you refer to was mooted in any other industry you would be deemed a failure and expected to come up with a proper solution. As for relying on the sales of courses you have mentioned, they are partially owned by harness clubs. Has the problem with this concept not been realised yet? I'm sure the Geraldine Trotting Club and Banks Peninsula Harness members will be thrilled to own a slice of a floundering outfit with a syntheic track where standardbreds will not be welcome.

What do you think the main reason for being cash strapped is? Do they only run industry days? Are not all races sponsored? Are they paying out a lot in wages? What have all these reports come up with to make their operation a viable one?

Aw come on Chief, that is sounding sexist. I know plenty of mothers partial to hot dog and chips.

Am I right in thinking that on the debut day of the Awapuni AWT on Sunday week that there is a Mothers' Day soiree at Trentham? With the Awapuni opening a big deal to the industry how is Creative Catering going to run two operations about 175km apart?

I don't buy that. There are people interested in racing right across the country. Bruce told us at the latest Road Show that they have people working in some of their departments like finance who have no idea about racing. There are worse places to live than Wellington as far as work is concerned. So, I would take much convincing on that statement.

There is this delusional idea that elitism is the way to go. Oh boy, are they wrong!! Anyone who has recently seen invoices for feed, plates, vet or transport will realise it is going to take more than the exclusive to keep the industry ticking over. The costs and risks need to be spread across a multitude of participants. Even the licence groups along with their affiliates being squeezed out will unlikely return. The field sizes are already reflecting a dire state. NZ seems to want to pick and choose bits from Aussie to weave into the Kiwi racing fabric. As you say Huey an industry catering for many rather than a few is one aspect we should be adopting/adapting. Any business looks for a wide customer base to set an unbreakable foundation. Even the mighty fall. Mr Wolf not that long ago a prime example.

Three things spring to mind after reading this thread. 1. NI and SI AWT meetings do differ. The trainers in the north have enough options to not have to race on synthetic. If the trialling at Awapuni so far is anything to go by I still don't think we are going to see racing on it. 2. Another anomoly is we are still breeding true blue wet trackers for which trainers will find hard to place if AWT's are the only option. 3. What double standards are at play making the south island one region when reasons given for the closure of Wairoa, Gisborne etc included the travel distance.

Is Centaur the only one concerned about the illegal side of this? What penalties are there, and for whom, for breaching the Acts? Centaur how can these misdemeanours be dealt with?

Trentham take heed.