TAB For Ever

Don't tell me positiiiviitty is catching on and not such a bad thing ? Well, well ,well !

Indeed they do train for other owners ........but the BRAND is very strong and very important hence they predictably keep it to the forefront of any publicity.I feel the article re the South Island win gets the brand up front and then deflects much credit to the Christchurch foreman / Asst trainer HDurrant who oversees that stable. And it an advert to let people know the Southern stable is currently there to stay and not just a motel for their Northern based horses. I liken the strong brand recognition similar to Harness kingpin Mark Purdon who has been in partnership with various folk ,most recently his son Nathan. They often referred to as the Allstars....a strong brand ! Then the mighty All Blacks brand , they represent and play against mainly other countries who are known by Ireland ,France ,England etc . All Blacks not a country ,ditto the Springboks. Back to Te Akau , I see where they have bought 72 young horses this year........quite extraordinary really ,so they need strong brand recognition to syndicate all those .

Isn't Winton a track that produces fast times .....this looks good on a horses CV and maybe increases sales value ! Re Christchurch trainers getting around the rules that intend all horses to be genuine Southern trained horses isn't this typical of Harness folk in general.....study the 'rules/conditions' then quickly look at loopholes or ways of 'getting in the back door' ! THis comment was made by a recent CEO of HRNZ ,after a breeding bonus was announced ! But as noted earlier in thread this is a promotion that has worked well. Many will remember the good ole days when South Island harness closed for all of July and most of June , and Southland for a bit longer . So dare i say ' well done HRNZ ( and Entain ).

And I thought it was arthritis in the neck. I really can't fathom why something from 'left field' hasnt been done to increase horses ,with urgency in North ! All Stars were somehow lured back and RDunn [on Board] maintains a few in his stable but breeding bonus' and next Gen stuff and TAB Racing Club is bit of a slow burn ! And the Club not really pushing it...Golden Gait sounds good ,and is for the few horses that benefit by winning the final .....no real push to attract more owners etc or attendees to races with the fewer races and tiny fields poor for turnover. I don't think the Club even has a Marketing/Promotions person and has a 'temporary ' CEO........just hanging on while selling up things to reduce the debt which grows by the day. The facility in the City has a lot going for it and the population continues to grow but it seems less and less people care ! It would be totally irresponsible of HRNZ to give up on the region for Harness Racing. BSteele has really only been in the job for 5 x mins and he is employed by a Board who surely do not want to give up on Auckland ! Then Entain have been a huge influence since saving Harness and racing in General in NZ. They made it very clear they saw the future prospects of resuscitating Auckland ,any hope on that would seem reliant on the various key outfits working together and this just not evident at moment. I notice Aussie harness runs many ,many meetings with very low stakes ...eg $6000 and lower ! And I see the young energetic CEO of Cambridge is leaving ......maybe he going back to Auckland to start the revival , branching out ?

Fair comment..........but realistically anything less than 40 horses extra ready to race each week isn't going to make much difference. And Northern horses have been drifting South in recent years and the Sale of horses from the North hasn't really stalled even with the extra stakes and Golden Gait carrots. It still bloody expensive to own a horse and very hard in North for them to earn their keep. And the active Auckland membership ,who surely must average close to 70 can't see any future for them moving to cambridge . It would limit their outings to races, a few hundred still attend and ownership would decrease. All the way through this Group have had plenty to say about the future of the Club but few if any have spoken up on matters nor voted the current out and new folk in. Most realise there aint a lot of 'ideal' solutions. And the big players /trainers/ breeders do OK as things are .They don't want to move everything to Cambridge. It only a glimmer of hope ,but the easiest current option and the best chance of a revival is a to battle on as at present and hope the Government and Funding/Grants organisations just GIFT the money to allow a reset and a 'new birth' for Harness in the North. Protects jobs etc etc ps....The current leadership was not the same that created this mess , but the ones who supported the mistakes are the same . Go figure ! We now suggesting solutions !

Quite an imagination here and its great to see Canterbury coming to the rescue as its been decades of support the other way ......when the Earthquakes hit Chch ,Auckland sent tens of $million's no fanfare , no issue no problem. And mention of Rugby....who will ever forget the shocking start of Canterbury in the Super Rugby competition.....stone cold last , so the North ,especially Auckland starting sending the talent to boost the ailing Cantabs . Caleb Ralph [120 games on end] Ron Cribb , Norm Maxwell , Norm Berryman , Keiran Read plus a raft of Fijians Auckland had recruited plus Taranaki lads and Scott Robertson from Mt Maunganui. Recent Captain Scott Barrett Taranaki etc. They became Invincible ! And as for Southland ,a region of struggling Trot Clubs they should chip in for Auckland too. One of them Tim Shadbolt saved Invercargill , that was losing population of 1000 per year . This Aucklander saved Southland ,much of their sport and economy. Now the struggling rugby team down there the Highlanders hopes to be saved by a group of investing Aucklanders who make up the Board..PKeane,MEllis, CGallaher etc. Auckland Harness needs some of their past 'love and money' in return . At least send them some money first ,then some horses[ Brad says 30 - 40 ] then bet on them !

My TOP 3 are NZ Met , AUCKLAND and possibly Methven. Great post TAB man !

Great to see Gamma fighting the good fight against the great protectors of NZ Harness......we are doing it for the Industry !!!! And we don't like the place prices , we don't like the product , the quality of the horses , the drivers ,the tempo ,the sit/sprints the commentators and definitely don't like Auckland particularly as they lose the Industry money ! Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change....... And who would go and watch this dross......well I do and I been doing very nicely thank you .....look beyond the odd $1.20 shot and go for your free drink then and there are some great prices in the small fields on the win pool and trifectas etc ! After years of the huge expense of keeping Harness afloat in NZ , the punters now have 100's of options to show their skill , the owners returns are higher. Trainers are better off than ever and Drivers and Juniors are getting more opportunities each week to progress and learn faster. And the NORTH is flying , the have the top breeders/stallions , many of top owners , the Northern trainers are killing it it ...Telfers winning the numbers game . All Stars and BPurdon up there on stakes. Northerners HCullen and SReid in the south as big back ups for the Stockwell/ Telfer machine. Dunns keeping a leg in both camps. The BIG ISSUE seems to be that each Northern meeting is losing money .........well look closer at the numbers you will see that many Clubs /regions are currently losing money in that the GBR is less than the stakes contribution...at a quick glance it appears , Nelson ,Rangiora , many Southern Cubs /meetings do like wise. And how is each of you being affected by this 'perceived doom and gloom ' being pointed at Auckland.......I'm enjoying the racing , free parking ,free drink , free racebook , good racing with top trainers and drivers....Telfers won at least 5 x last Friday ,maybe 8 for week ! , my owners returns are up , my small betting is profitable ,\. And the participants are enjoying it. Again ,how are you lot affected ???????? The new 'strategy and dawning' will be revealed at Special Meeting tomorrow night !! In the meantime , imagine if all the Harness Clubs had to throw their net worth /equity into a big hat to divvy up between the top THREE clubs in NZ who would YOU PICK the TOP 3 as..........

My post from September 2024 with some of my memories of Timaru /Washdyke and racing in the area ! The ra ra crowd are doing their best to talk up another racing area which many years ago let itself slowly deteriorate . Some good memories from the area........then there was Phar Lap ,the Ranfurly Shield , South Canterbury Finance ( Ouch ). I think the Course Manager was recognised with an Award recently and today Timaru representing NZ in a Drinking water Test against Australia. But blaming NZTR for the current situation is drawing a long bow ....sorry DOOMED ! Maybe the new Airport there will improve things !

I guess Opunake is actually a place as Peter Snell ,my favourite Kiwi ,was apparently born there ! I'm in a home for the bewildered ,but Ducks are definitely not allowed here. We do watch Trackside tho and I must say the synthetic racing is good watching , I understand why so many big meetings around the world are held on all-weather tracks ! Our 'slow' syndicate horse ran a place today and it gives these plodders a chance to race and for the bettor IMO are easier to predict than the bog mud tracks !

JH certainly a hot favourite...surprised he been a Junior for 9 years ! As one -sided as the West Indies test !

Certainly an excess of horses in the Maiden and R65 grades , but otherwise predictable with the higher than average stakes. But it doesn't stop the horses being imported from the North Island. I did a very quick check of those nominated in the R65 and 12 of first 15 i checked had started racing in North plus the odd Aussie and Hong Kong visitor. And the number of meetings and stakes allocated based on historical results so going to be difficult to reverse. Back in the day racing Winter racing in the South was rather limited ,both codes. Obviously clubs and trainers never tried to change this , the weather never helped ,hence it is what it is. Those with jumpers, a poor betting proposition kept horses going , Rex Cochrane[Gore] based his horses at Waimate and the better winter trainers eg Bill Hillis travelled north ! Wingatui had 2 days at Queens Birthday then nothing till Otago Hunt in August ,and all Harness closed up even more !

Sure Thing Captain ,Udderly sweet I speak the Truth ! You talk with Fire and Passion ......I see one of our Goats Richard Brosnan driving over there to night , and another ex-Kiwi star AButt still getting the odd drive on big stage. Meanwhile Brooke been told to put Treacherous Baby in the race early this week when GRogersons mare tries to walk/sprint. Looks like the weather gunna be a big issue for us Friday. I like Major Hot for odds Saturday and maybe Not as promised. I'll BetN Win ! This Harness talk on here will no doubt earn me some slings and arrows of outrageous indignation ....oh well ! And most of the Harness Forums on social media in NZ are not anonymous so there are a few Licence Holders who try to Leap to Fame , maybe some will succeed ! Nothing succeeds like a toothless Canary. Great win Billy Slater and the lads !

As a licence holder they definitely will be coming after you......stay indoors and lock the doors ! Stuff written on Harness Forums recently has definitely crossed the line and once again brought this topic to the fore ....many organisations and clubs etc have Codes of Conduct plus the general responsibilites an employee has like ...act in good faith , not divulge sensitive information or tarnish reputations etc . If you not aware of this stuff you must be the Vicar of Dibley or similar !

Whitebait has no idea ! Indeed Gamma , not likely to be matched ...the Parsons , Nolans and maybe Mark Purdon have achieved and /or tried to achieve big success in both Codes but unlikely any will start to ride jumpers ! Graeme Rogerson has a CV which covers a lot of things in Harness/Gallops including riding ...over a log period. Michael House is another , currently still a contender for leading Harness Trainer and many will forget that only a few years ago he won the "Emerging Trainers ' award at the Annual Gallops Awards. Well known harness trainer/driver Robbie Holmes a descendant of Maurice and Freeman Holmes dabbles in gallops too......certainly still rides work as he appears in this weeks "Unhinged' Beach report video on FB. Check it out !