TAB For Ever

Wouldn't normally turn to Tauranga to build up Cup Week funds but gotta start somewhere to pay the rent ! Race 2 Hostility race 4 Erin Go Bragh Race 7 Frostfair Race 8 Quondo Race 9 Sassy Lass Bank the Profits then turn to Aussie Racing , Derby Day one of the best , there among the roses last year . Oh what a day !

Cranbourne training centre is considered one of the best in Australia ,with both the course proper and inside grass track used for gallops etc. And outstanding sand tracks and trails....regularly shown on Te Akau videos and a good drone shot on Cranbourne website for all to see ! A well spent 20 mins each week on Te Akau TV each Friday can be very profitable. Watching last week it was quite apparent that there was a great chance of 5 or 6 winners ,especially at Riccarton and so it proved !

Prior to last year ,the inflated Valuations were increasing the Equity or net asset value year on year. That has slowed and decreased which made the situation very dicey.........but overall there has been a strong desire by those closest to ATC action not to move out of the City. HRNZ obviously wants ATC to become strong again ,still a fair bit of investment up this way . There's still a few hoping Harness in the North can cling on. Some still see a glimmer of hope ! The North still has the biggest owners the best stables , the best horsemen/women and obviously dominates the thoroughbred scene in NZ. And the ribbon of light ,still has a bit going for it ,certainly in the top two venues for Night racing ! Still has a nice cash flow from the pokies , and has a few assets still to sell to appease the bank for a bit longer !

From memory I can't recall too many horses doubling up in these races. Plus the Breeders Stakes and Coupland Mile in similar distance range has clashed for many years .

Two horses in the Derby and a couple of other chances on Derby Day is good presence for the stable. And Bellatrix Star about to trial again soon too after a bad injury !

Great days racing at Ellerslie today.....fantastic to have a decent track back in action. Augurs well for the big days ahead throughout the season ! Well worth the effort to go today ...rarely see 2 x maiden races at Ellersile on a Saturday but the good sized fields and some good riders made up for that small blemish !

You probably refer to a Nielsen Research project about 2010 on the 6 main sports in NZ and what Kiwis impression of them was ! Each of the 6 x sports including racing were marked by Kiwis on 13 x attributes , on things such as honesty ,integrity ,drug use etc....racing finished bottom rated in 11 of the 13. But worst of all was the fact that only 16 % of Kiwi respondents had a positive overall impression of racing and wagering. That result sped up the introduction of the RIU [ Racing Integrity Unit ]

Haha , I ain't been on any payroll for nearly 20 years . Born with little ,I soon worked out god gave us two ends , one to sit on and one to think with . If you do the form ,follow trials and race films and bet on trainers and jockeys/drivers ,not horses its EASY to make a good tax free living . And Ive always bet on NZTAB [forever] and always on the tote and don't worry about the gimmicks ! Aussie racing is great too ! Success depends on which end you use most ,Heads you win , tails you lose ! Racing never been better , so much info ,so many choices and more big meetings for a great day out ! So Exciting ! 😀😀

A lot of old favourites have gone into decline. Workingmens Clubs ...only 3 x left in South Island now ,and bowls clubs started folding too before they saw they needed things to change ! Horse racing is so bloody boring , always was but little else to follow and it was all you old dogs could bet on ,a half decent double could get you a deposit on a house ! Rare today ,and the young ones much prefer to dabble on Sports. And participants love to blame the admin folk but it wasn't them who behaved badly and got the industry such a bad rating among the general public !

He's had a long couple of weeks doing special projects for at least a month ! Still clocked attendance at a few meetings even tho the Air NZ flights caused him travel issues and then tonight struck more problems with motorway issues. Despite all these challenges still managed to post a few interesting pieces of gold ,. What more can the man/person do ?? I was led to believe he considered a pariah on here !

NZ is a small country...we do punch above our weight in many things ! For a time I worked in Winstones Head Office at top of Symonds St /Khyber Pass .I had a desk where there were just temporary like barriers between rooms and Arthur was right next door. After having to go abroad for employment ,Winstones gave him a job in PR as an Ambassador and I sat and listened to him advising and discussing tactics with Athletes. ! Often chatted do him in the lunch room where he often played indoor bowls. ! Then about 2017 in Auckland the World Masters Sports event was on with over 20,000 people competing...I believe mikeyNZ from down south was involved in the oyster shukking , I was involved with Basketball and Table Tennis and Sir Peter Snell and his wife played in the Table Tennis . I always considered him NZ's greatest ever Sportsman so it was great to chat away with him ! NZ is a very small place ! Those runs that Arthur put his Athletes on were very hilly...I was driving out that way recently and my modern but small car had trouble !

Gamma ,I see the ladies did not get near podium in Pole Vault., Like our NZ horses we have so many potential World Champions in our midst if they get the right conditioning and training/coaching. I've seen it so often over the years ,where young athletes get noticed and put on the path to become a top performer on the big stage. Its often a mixture of dedicated Coaches motivating the kids to be their best and their inherent talent with attitude ! Dunno too much about HKerr but he was from Palmy North and Auckland Grammar School and competed on World stage like the World Uni Games and kept it up thru his mid-20's. Beamish boarded at School in Whanganui and then went to USA for Uni Scholarship.There are hundreds of NZ kids in USA on Sports Scholarships. Without this most junior sports are User pays to represent on big stage , and many can't afford it. Look at Steven Adams.I remember when he a Wellington U17 rep ,I would watch him and the other parents would scoff...he not much good ,just BIG ! Well his mentor and coach put and kept him on the road to greatness. An individual in a team sport. There are over 50 young NZ Basketballers on USA scholarships ! I think over 30 volleyballers and many other Athletes.My neighbour went as a runner and ran in 2 x Olympics.Tasman had a volunteer Athletics coach [Greg L] whose athletes held the 4 x1500m relay under 16 world record. They all went overseas ! Those polevaulters are mostly from the same club North Harbour who specialise in Pole Vaulting ,next to NZ Sport High performance ! Not many clubs /schools even have Pole Vaulting ! Talent spotting sometimes gets into the smaller regions.League legend Simon Mannering was spotted drifting around in Nelson College rugby and hustled into Auckland Rugby League. Our shotputters ,at least one anyway was noticed in the back blocks of South Island. Australia has long had a very well financed Sports institute....set up after Montreal 1976 when Australia bombed out ...haha....from memory ! Back to the horses....Hong Kong and overseas buyers will be in stand looking for next Champion in fast approaching Ready to Run and Yearling sales ...and there will be some there !

Quite right Gamma , a fantastic effort ! And we got the High Jump too. Kiwis Can Fly !

Methinks you making this moan up.....just to feel good ! Claude probably a false win favourite and both these horses had outside draws so bound to go back in small field... To win from there they needed a real fast pace. The race started fast , then everyone took a break....an early move not on as corners come up fast and you lose a lot ground out wide on the bends. Check the final bend and both were wide on the track and in a 28 last quarter they ran on very well and closed well at end. Very good runs from both and no boring than the usual horse race . Rough and Ready has won some 20 races so probably not getting any better ,especially from an outside gate !

No , I just comment on what I see and hear ! Trials are run fairly slickly ,except for one-off things like injuries etc , but there is little to do . Similar to raceday ...too boring except for those closely involved ! That Ellerslie track is really getting superb !

The Ellerslie track hosted a great trials day today. Originally 356 entries wanted to run ,hence Avondale trials on Thursday catering for half ! Will provide a different surface , todays was top shelf. One negative today was the injury to Michael MacNab who suffered a nasty kick to leg....hope he OK. Trialists I liked included the Maidens Confesara and Aliandra who competed in same heat , King of the North[ stayer by Jon Snow] and Oppenheimer [65] One group watching were estimating that 50% of horses running to day will be For Sale.

Back in the day Pick 6 @ Harness was my favourite and most successful bet. But overall the interest fell away. Pools were small took an age to ramp up and we at the TAB found it tied up too many punters betting money. We like more races , quickfire and wall to wall ...sprint races use less time etc Free bets etc Quaddies much preferred. Some people remember doubles fondly but a relic of a past era !

What is her best distance....what will it be as an older horse ? She performed very well in some of her Group placings in Aussie ...including winning .....so is a very versatile mare who handles most track conditions !

Have you rung him and discussed your displeasure. Surely they come up with these 'ideas' and promotions by gathering facts...such as , lessons learned from elsewhere , feedback from many and a wide range of breeders etc. But I hear what you saying...often existing people are overlooked in promotions. A recent gym/pool/leisure Centre close by recently advertised 'half price' memberships for new folk to join. I heard a few long-term members kicking up saying what about us ? And a mare breeding incentive last year offered deals for newcomers....a breeding friend of mine asked ,what about us regulars ? He breeds at least 4 x mares a year and races a lot of them by himself and family ! Hard to please all the people all the time.... My marketing teacher told me it easier to get more spend from existing or lapsed customers than get new customers. But I'd ring MPeden ...he young and enthusiastic so I expect he like to hear from you in person. Take your wife too !

Not too many controversies there this year ! Well done to all the winners and those nominated !

Wow ,never known that but you talking Southerners here ! Many Southlanders enjoy a 'sheep in a jeep' after a long drive to the Gore Pie Cart !

Well sometimes they need help ! Its big equipment being aimed at a moving target and some mares not so co-operative !

Thanks for kind words........As a southerner myself I admire and prefer Southern people . Not those with a filthy abusive mouth and those mentally challenged to the extent you appear to be ! Followed the Dennis Bros horses from The Missionary days and actually helped serve one of their mares at least once !

First Group 1 of the season and great to be back at Racing Headquarters , NZ's only International racecourse. Good horses , good trainers, good jockeys but most of all very exciting racing with good stakes and some fantastic dividends if you had done your homework. Nothing really to complain about , a new big screen ,sound seemed improved and a great taster leading into spring and summer racing....there was a buzz ! Despite the recent rain the track presented well and held up well once a bit of drizzle arrived. Sun came out later in day even tho temp a bit cool sa forecast. Highlight would be the scintillating finish of Quintessa in Proisir and Lollapalooza in Gold Traill along with some fantastic finishes with several winning chances in the last 50m. George warned us on screen that Quintessa at huge overs and Pam Gerard talked up her winner at 70/1. All races had good sponsors and considering it not one of the top meetings IMO it was particularly good. Then 10 x mins in car off to the rugby ...win/win. And following on from a good nights Harness on Friday night !

You change the meaning of a sentence , and overlook that the deep thinking Galah agreed with me too ! My mum sums up you to a tee when she says.....'Sometimes its better to remain silent and appear a fool ,than to speak and remove all doubt '.