TAB For Ever

GREAT ! You should feel real good about the Kiwis successes in Australia , so please keep highlighting them. Two weeks ago I looked at the results of Kiwis at the bigger and main tracks and they were outstanding. From memory James Mac won 4 in the day and Jason Collet won two. On the jockey front Corey Parish , Ryan Hurdle , D Stackhouse all won while the Collet girls , Mick Dee , and the apprentices JKennedy , L Bates etc have all been prominent of late. In the training , Waller ,Baker were cleaning up while MMoroney[RIP] Busutinn/Young kept the Kiwi flag flying and our NZ Breds were doing well too. Last Saturday featured many of the above again !

Your best post......apologise and move on ! As stated earlier the rules of Syndicates are clear and upfront.....many folk take a maximum of 10% with the majority between 1% and 5%. If you want to have control over the management of a horse buy 51% or more.....many syndicates have 40 to 70 shareholders and now there are horses with hundreds of Owners .

Little point in engaging with a gossip , but some of the horses they have trained have been moved on re sale on Gavelhouse and even tho they still train a few jumpers they have encouraged a change of stable for them !

I prefer tosser to gossip....... Best you apologise and cease your unfounded rumours and maybe look at the way syndicates work.....unusual for an outfit to Syndicate horses based on their trusted brand in training and management of horses then send it to a rival stable. Personally been in several big syndicates and there always folk with vastly different views to the Manager/Trainer and these folk are often the smallest shareholder. Syndicates have rules which include ways different views can be voiced ...I'd guess many of their syndicates have between 20 and 40 shareholders.

10.15pm....just back to the TV and they winning a race ,ridden by Blake Shinn !

Wow ...this story is AMAZING ! Te Akau seem to enjoy racing horses in South and I'd say one of their great strengths is they place their horses well where success is most likely. But what a CRIME ......on the syndicate you know of.

Anyone who has been around a while in NZ hears 'stories' about our most successful people in all fields ...John Walker was a sis , Glenn Turner ditto and couldn't bat and certainly anyone excelling at Horse racing had many bad moments and habits.... What you are hinting at here is ,I believe ,very unfair ,unethical and below the belt. You should be kicked into touch !

Castlepoints infrastructure would match some of those that have been closed ! Indeed my bad.........I referred to the Messara report while in a rush and indeed quoted the figures before closures . So your correction does highlight the numbers Messara faced and why he in particular used Ireland to point out NZ's inefficiences. And England tracks are no doubt in much better shape than NZ's ,both their infrastructure and the way they run , plus the popularity of jumping still. Prior to Messara closures being implicated the countries courses were used as follows..... New Zealand 6.7 x times Ireland 13.7 times UK 24.9.

You can check that , I gotta adjust my numbers for NZ courses which were closed .My NZ numbers were taken from Messara report prior to some being closed ...at last !!! ' I guess I'd forgot about the recent closures ,which maybe shows how much they missed !

Cos he was putting up England as some sort of model to put on a pedestal. The Messara report used England and Ireland to point out NZ's inefficiencies. But I was rushing out and never allowed to adjust to post Messara/ Covid closures .

Don't be a scaredy cat Wingman....the bullies won't hurt you , but please check a few facts about England racing...and maybe Ireland ! This famous and resilient racing area got mentioned in the Messara report a few years back ...maybe you still at Primary school then . Us oldies may be as shallow as puddles but the water hasn't always wet behind the ears ! Briefly ,England with their far greater population than NZ races 897 meetings on 36 tracks ,including 6 synthetics ,one of which races 58 x times. Ireland runs 357 meetings on 26 x tracks incl 1 x synthetic . NZ races 321 meetings on 48 x tracks. England also has 24 jumps only courses so totals 59....16 are mixed ,when I last counted. Some of their most famous courses dont race too much.Aintree has a 3 x day carnival plus only 4 other days and can host 73,000 people. Cheltenham , on tonight races 4 x days in a row in March plus up to 10 other days. These two jumps only. Doubt if many of these Clubs just run by volunteers. They thrive cos they do other things like restaurants , outdoor activities and shopping malls...big business ! But hey , don't let the facts get in the way of a good story .

In Saturdays excellent on-course race book Bonecrusher mentioned several tmes.....as a partner [sponsor] for day !

I wouldn't believe much about in racing coming out of your hood ..Dunedin ! Once had a great track Forbury Once had many of NZ's top horses , trainers and jockeys ...and Sires. Sadly just frittered away ! Only BJA left !

Great logic ! After 3 races with small fields , 95% of people there had lost their money........many headed to Bar to spend the remainder ,while others got ready for the entertainment , music and free stuff while many just tucked their dosh away to head to the Lotto shop before 7pm. Money doesn't just fall out of the sky ! `Over $1.25 mil on course is very good IMO ! In NZ 2% spend up to 60% of the betting , and many of them unload on the big Aussie races ! Get with the program !

Exactly , when those in charge are presented with well reasoned ,factual approaches they invariably adjust the schedule. As stated by me....'Alterations were made recently to the Northern schedule'.

Clearly you think wrong Doomed , not like you to be off the pace ! Nowhere did he make any point as you suggest ! He clearly , in oversize print put out a NZTR heading ,knowing and inviting the 'tight five' to appear like hungry dogs to feast in some negative comments. Good to see you obliged after a 'quiet' weekend . Dunno if you realise but the trials schedule is written up well in advance , at least till August 1 2025. If the dates not gonna be used then why don't the Trainers Assoc put their spoke in. Alterations were recently made to the Northern schedule. Why do some folk prefer to cry than create ?

Not really....recent Avondale trials cancelled thru lack of grass , while Foxton also had a cancellation thru lack of entries . Ellerslie has over 24 heats tomorrow with over 120 horses while Foxton has some too. Plenty of Clubs incl Levin and Cambridge been having well attended Jumpouts of late.

Exactly Chief , I think you and I can see and understand a lot of 'magical' things that happen in this business/hobby ., so need not to be distracted by others negative and cynical thoughts. Look for the good in people ...not faults !😀😀

Pointless indeed.....rumour is mikeynz lives in a cave in the backblocks of Southland , out of sight and out of touch ! Was given some slack as some thought he may be the experienced top trainer from Christchurch , Bet on Red or the former high profile Harness Mikey from Blenheim but....... Anyway he needs to get with the program from his cave ,cos as mentioned numerous times he doesn't really care or follow racing/sport much now it off radio...... Many have the population of Auckland wrong...it now 1.8 million But 20% less than 15 and 20% 0ver 65 with little cash and 10% 15-20 years with no income , that leaves 900,000. On Saturday 300,000 were working , 100,000 at Sport[ 896 folk went to the Blues v Brumbies Friday ] 100,000 at a Mall/Shopping , 300,000 immigrants with no interest in Horses and no disposable Income , 150,000 at the many other high profile events eg Pasifica, Music events and Boat show. That leaves 5,000 to attend Ellerslie from Auckland the other 5,000 plus came from Waikato and around NZ/Australia who attended the terrific race day making it an outstanding event. The numbers still being confirmed but Hospitality likely to be a record and ditto betting ,at least for recent times.....keep in mind the top 2% of punters did 56% of the betting total when I last looked ! Aucklands ethnic split sees NZ Europeans at 57% . Shame we didnt allow more puntingmad Australians in but sadly their long criminal records halt them at the border. The 28% Asian are not those that dominate Hong Kong and Cricket . Our Maori and Pacifica folk total 27% but they prefer sport and the Pokies it seems .Aucklanders lose $312 million a year on the Pokies yet only $82m returns to Auckland ,the rest they gleefully give away to the rest of NZ to strengthen their sports teams etc. 47% of Pokies venues in Auckland are in areas of high or very high deprivation...sad. When Harness Jewels [Ashburton] started the $1 million stakes for day came from South Auckland pokies .....very sad !

Check the label....that drink was fuel for the generator to light your cave !

While I don't know David Ellis and only ever spoken to him once when I commended him on the care and knowledge of one of his young male strappers , I think we/you gotta admire him for his contribution to NZ racing. IMO his speech on Saturday was outstanding and it was very noticeable that many patrons there were listening and making applause .A hint that many there were there taking things in and not reverting to bars and screens ! In particularly he thanked his key staff who organise the horses so well but made special mention to all those that start their jobs at 3.30am daily to keep the machine going. He also pointed out the professionalism of the jockey Blake Shinn for being so thorough in his study of both his mount and the opposition.A few months back that stable also had Craig Williams riding and again noted the absolute professionalism of that jockey which even included getting a personal set of colours made so he felt 100% comfortable !

What would I learn ? I already know that club is one of the best organised Country Clubs and they run a couple of good iconic picnic meetings a year ,on Public holidays when people in the big catchment area of Wellington and the CD have nothing else to do . Fantastic , they do advertise Coco the clown and plenty of entertainment for the kids etc. Less than an hour drive from Wellington and must be within 90 mins of many towns with a racing interest. To me its like the Sahara desert , I know where it is but never been there nor do I desire to go there. I understand it did have a bad rap for years [ the town] with above average 'bad' stuff but now has become more trendy. I've done plenty of country meetings in the hot sun ...my favourite would be Omakau ..... done plenty but now I much prefer more comfort , less temporary stuff .long queues and mobile loos ......and slow horses ,and often very small fields ! Jan 2 often dire ! I attend race horse meetings for the horses....won some Country cups and grass track stuff at harness...but much prefer decent races. That Jan 2 meeting has 4 -6 Harness races ,and I won some there so the cross-code meeting appeals a little.But give me Cup week [incl average Ashburton trots] and the comfort of Ellerslie. Facilities don't quite match Flemington but ATC is trying, is pretty good and Saturday IMO was a great raceday , enjoyed by many ! I get the feeling you love those Tauherenilkau [sp] meetings and you miss the vibes of pre 2014 Ellerslie and don't like CWeaver but this is 2025 and CWeaver must have left about 2013. Build a bridge !

That level is not open....I would need to check but I assume it cos it not upgraded /renovated with the other levels a few years ago ,AND maybe leased to outside firms as office workspace. The few there have some how accessed it thru those areas or found a path down from the very nice and spectacular viewing Members area on higher level. I heard it was chokka on Saturday The most popular viewing area is the first level which has rooms on two levels running on to it...it was chokka during races .All the rooms leading into it are very comfortable rooms with nice facilities , betting ,bars and toilets. Some are for 'private' functions . I watched many of the races from that area......as well as 3 x from Public stand which in my opinion is great viewing tho a lot can happen in that last 150m of the race. The club needs a 'huge' screen to assist here ...IMO the 3 x smaller screens should be better ,ditto the sound system down along the straight. To cope with the bigger numbers there are marquees on the hill past the post for larger groups like the TAB and the slot owners on Saturday. I usually check out all the facilities on big race days...out of interest ...but on Saturday it was harder to get around...comfortably in excess of 10,000 which is a good crowd these days and rarely reached.Another room I didnt visit was the old Tote facility a great room by the saddling stalls and area where horses can be viewed pre-race. In the public stand , virtually every seat was taken during Cup. BGP are on the higher level. I can confidently say it was the biggest crowd...easily...since covid. Members car park was FULL one hour before first race.The place looked great ,the gardens etc and a lot of extra little features for the observant....shoeshine , free Caps ,coloured jelly beans ,An informative racebook , a civilised crowd ! If Wingatui crowd matched the above the previous week I will eat my hat and run around the Wingatui block....Factory ,Wingatui and Gladstone Roads in my 'g - string'. Negative comments are welcome re this post , but please remember....its just one persons opinion and pessimism is for liteweights !

Don't Stop Dreaming Gamma !

The crowd was awesome ...in all aspects ! Probably could have fitted an extra 1000 in the public area but overall it was perfect for all those who preferred it to watch the races live as opposed to the screens inside which some prefer.....I travelled a bit of territory to check most areas out PLUS made a lot of walks back to the ticket sellers to collect my winnings ! I should fall in line and use my phone ! AS to BGP.....a very successful day and once again their weekly picks were excellent with 50% winners ......outstanding.And that spread out over 3x meetings including Coast harness[Friday]. Throw in the fact that Des Coppins has banged on about Trav for weeks and it wasn't hard to keep ahead of them. Track gets better every meeting , winners from everywhere and the usual trainers and jockeys to the fore ! Outstanding racing and day out at Ellerslie !