TAB For Ever

Get with the program Chief ,its a 4 day working week now...the traditional weekend brings change. With a pocketful of cash after Thursday night trots into weekend , the lads were looking for races to bet on Friday. The week in NZ had already been unique in that there had been THREE meetings on Synthetic in one week ! The Friday menu for gallops was Ballarat Synthetic , Canberra Acton and Carnavron Dirt..all non-turf ! Saturday included Gold Coast Synthetic , Broome Dirt , Darwin Dirt ...NZ had 4 x Jumps races at main meeting ,Australia rarely has jumps on a Saturday cos no-one bets on them ! Sunday had Devonport Synthetic and Alice Spring Dirt plus Singapore [50/50 mix] ,plus South Africa, Korea and Japan etc etc. Monday had Pakenham Stynthetic , Tuesday had Ballarat again and many of the top trainers ..Maher, Moody, Freedman, Hayes, Busuttin etc all paticipating . No doubt that overall , the races on TAB that one can bet on around the world are on non-turf tracks. Sad I know.....but with the extremes in weather likely to increase ,those tracks keep the industry ticking away . And the synthetic tracks aren't too bad to watch with horses closer in general and colours etc more obvious . Good for newcomers to get an intro to wagering in the Industry.

Haha Chief...when Messara and others bring their Aussie experiences here we shout him down ,but when it suits our narrative we jump on board !

What a fantastic facility ,especially for this time of year.....over 70 in transferred trials tomorrow , 20 jumpers on jumps course there today while the weekly jumpouts had 40 x horses last Friday. Unsure if they will have jumpouts later this week , but hard to knock it in current weather ! Noticed over the weekend ,there were several Australian meetings on synthetics there , obviously the connections and Aussie punters have 'climatised' to the change . overall there must have been more non-turf meetings than turf ! Interesting !

I doubt ,very much , that the Chief could double as Brodie. The Chief seems very keen on gallops and gets around a bit , walking tracks etc. Brodie seems to be Harness only and rarely gets out of the house ! Doesn't appear to bat for both teams ! And Michael , why doesn't Nelson/Marlborough have their June meetings and when did that change. I think both had 2 x days each !

DollyP ran a nice race from the Unruly position on mobile gate. Settled further back than may have from a stand. Had to chase a bit to get in bunch and looked definite place chance at 300m ,unable to quicken last 100m and ended up 5th. It was a HOT pace for winless trotters.....2 min 45.9 , the winner Lil Whip has ability and went fast early to lead. She was 4th in Oaks recently behind good field , Empire City winning in 2min47.4 I'd double my place bet on DollyP next time from a stand ,it looks bright ,under new regime.The new stable entered 6 to make sure race got off ground. Maybe MariaP is helping out stable ! The stable has definitely improved Halberg who won later on having recently rediscovered its zest for racing.Obviously enjoys the swimming and beach work.

I often read in these columns that racing on certain , often the closed ones , cost the Industry nothing . I very much doubt if this is the case as I'd estimate that most race meetings cost the Industry money. Yes it is sad that these Clubs have drifted into obscurity over the years . Living mostly in the South Island I've seen it with my own eyes and often wondered why more effort wasn't put in to hold on to dates that they had. I particularly liked Washdyke ,particularly as it had the ability to race both allweather and grass harness as well. Of course its Steeplechase ability and good winter weather steered it into winter racing plus the Cup day before the New Year at height of summer holiday racing.It used to host 7 or more meetings including 2 x Xmas Holiday dates. Waimate too had mainly winter dates between May-July which dwindled to just one meeting until its closure in 2019. IMO it is unbelievable that NZTR said it never received a submission for it to stay open ,while Waimate said they sent one. . A big breakdown there. And the few comments I read from the Club suggests the Club thought they doing well. However the betting numbers would suggest otherwise ,as Waimate's numbers making it the smallest [by t/o] club in NZ. The other shame is that in recent years significant funds had been spent on renovating their infrastructure .The Club still had money in the bank . They have shared meetings with other tracks in area but possibly would have done better as part of a 'cluster' . Timaru ,back in a day had a sizeable number of horses trained there...their demise more baffling. Reading a few reports on line ,they seem to attract local sponsors etc but their AGM's must hardly make a quorum as usually only the committee and officers attend. And their betting figures over the years have been quite poor . Weigh up the fact that infrastructure is poor as well and little wonder these Clubs stocks have dropped. The Industry pays the stakes and race meeting costs plus contributions to infrastucture eg running rail , towers ,equipment etc . So wrong to say they cost the Industry nothing to remain open. Maybe no worse than the synthetic track at Riccarton . While Ashburton may not be too much better but it obviously got the nod to move into the future . .

Out of interest Chief , how many tracks on race day have you walked this year . Did you check the 'give' with your high heels , an umbrella or a spike ? Do you walk a full round , one round or many laps at different parts of track ? After all this intensive walking do you still have the enthusiasm to pass on your thoughts to the stipes ,jockeys or punters.

Sure is a clear preference ,as it in early days and change is tough . But as pointed out previously there are 50 to 80 horses weekly attending jumpouts at Cambridge ,a good and cheaper alternative to trials. Not gonna help the sales potential of a horse tho....5 x trainers have told me there is often more urgency to race well at trials than there is on raceday ,when a lucrative sale is the intention !

Agree totally...that why I took great care not to mention top 20 trainers by wins ! Number of wins may indicate other things like popularity/reputation ,respect , willingness to travel , ability to place horses to advantage etc etc. Now theres a bit of stuff to dwell over as the weather gets colder and we await the next abandonment or next chance to diss the Synthetic tracks !

Sounds like 'mother-in-law 'research. They could be missing out , as can't be in the top 20 !

Re the above discussions on Harness and the lack of comment.... I think a lot of us have just accepted things as they are and stopped worrying about the administration of the sport and the way Clubs are heading ! Phase out slowly....... Wonder at how these increased meetings for lower stAkes are going to fare , the monthly training bills are going up and expect a n increase on August 1 or soon after . Never hear much about how the Northern Clubs are gonna get thru the next year ,where are the horses ? More racing but less inclination to bet on them , look forward to Cup week and the big races ,and a few picnic meetings in South over the Summer. Businesses all over NZ are struggling , folding as people think twice before spending their dosh , poor Entain could be going against the tide .

Sharrock's quote , a few words probably taken out of context from a much longer answer seemed OK , If I was CEO I wouldn't be impressed by negative publicity which is highly questionable IMO. Bellew actually was quite positive about some of the things NZTR are doing of late.....his moan about dates etc was a bit of an over reaction and not supported by facts . As Doomed points out Southern racing actually does pretty well with a number of good dates. On top of that Southland one of the few areas of NZ where Gallops goes neck and neck with Harness. Harness numbers are better overall so when discussing dates this needs looking at in tandem. Then its not as if Southland has never been strong in Gallops , used to have the best owners,best trainers , best jockeys and top stallions so the history of how it shrunk and the drift North could be the subject of a long essay. Back in the day when the whole place was shrinking and they elected the JAFA Tim Shadbolt as mayor despite the surprise of the decision he saved the place.It was losing 1000 people a year ! Sport picked up , facilities picked up ,the Licensing Trust ruled supreme ,there is plenty of money still there , the Dennis Brothers still there and all three codes still surviving ! Bad luck it at bottom of world and only one sandhill away from the South Pole !

Maybe contact them direct Chief.......and not to appear too picky point out some of the glaring errors in the latest report re the Economic impact of racing in NZ . You regularly ask me if I even read reports eg The Messara report , I wouldn't be so smug to ask you the same in regard this one. I'd assume they would be relying on Clubs to provide a lot of figures so unsure how accurate they would be and how co-operative they would be..Maybe run a competition to see how many errors posters can pick out ......I'll send you some BGP sox and an nice BGP polo shirt as a prize !

Get with the program Chief. Earlier you said MMcKechnie , in charge of the Judgement ,is a very experienced litigator etc. He is . Now you have picked holes in MHouse's contribution to all this ,plus his ability as a trainer , plus those of us who have supported the end result here and the way it all handled , plus ignored the positive post re MHouse and ignored commenting on a poster who slapped hearsay compliments on NH and denigrated MH terribly with hearsay insults and now you trying to criticise the RIB for their role etc etc. I think you a fan of NM....yes ,he was once an outstanding trainer with a good record and great future ahead of him. He trained for prominent owners and punters. But the facts are....in mid 2000's he was caught tubing 2 x horses ...a serious offence ...considered cheating ...and DQ'd for 18 months .He MAY have been unlucky ,it MAY have been his first time at this ! When that shocking INCA enquiry struck he was prominent in a RACE fixing charge , unsure the turn of events but he was DQ 'd from driving for 6 months....did any bells ring in his head ?Top driver BOrange was on hand at his stable [drinking beer] when Stipes visited NM and BO treatment of the stipes earned BO a heavy reprimand and fine.This about the time that NM was caught tubing horse[s] the charge that led to the 8 year DQ. On top of the stench of INCA , this DQ for 8 years stunned Harness racing in NZ,the bad publicity stressed an Industry was in chaos , and its integrity in tatters. Martin VB of The Press in particular wrote several stories damaging harness. The NM one stressed what a promising ,talented and successful horseman NM was and not long before he had trained the Derby winner [ Sheriff ,from memory] Three trainers and or drivers were interviewed by MVB and each were dismayed by his need to cheat , when he had such talent and results. One of them was MH who was very complimentary , but all three clearly had had a gutsful cos everywhere they went people were casting aspersions on their industry. NM's stocks were obviously as low as they could reach and understandably he slunk off to keep a low profile and take his medicine of being a cheat and dishonest and hoping that if any passion still there after 8 years he could start again ,and be forgiven and I'd certainly welcome him back with support etc. Time heals. Then other cases arose and the MKerr one was also a shocker ...The Press got on to that and Kerr senior was quick to say he had no time for the RIB .......the blame game again , poor us ! Turns out MK was many things incl a Fraudster. So that quick and rough summary may help explain why those trying to earn an honest living in the industry really have had enough ....you can keep blaming the Administration for all the Industry's setbacks but surely there are times when the Participants need to act appropriately , play fair and square and show some integrity. Forget personal interests and conflicts for a while !

Sad to learn of the passing of Cambridge jockey Gary Edge , one of NZ's most popular and successful jockeys through the halcyon years of NZ Racing the 1960's and 1970's. Regularly in the top 10 of NZ Jockeys he was 6th top in wins during the 1960's decade. Overall he rode 750 winners in NZ and was associated with many top performers and won many of our top races. In late 60's top 3 yr olds Piko and Bardall gave him a golden run. Other top horses he won on were Vice Regal and Jan's Beau. In recent times he has kept his hand in with spelling and agisting horses on his property. RIP.

You guessing Chief and rather naive of you to look for some desperate 'gap' in my comments which you trying to decipher for error ! Of course I read it......the summary is laced with implication that NM was a repeat offender who had been caught cheating previously ,been proven to be dishonest and had shown little respect for the Industry and his penalty was not excessive ! The bottom line / end result is that MHouse's affidavit carried no weight.....but it got a mention ,the summary stressed it was from an individual...so he only representing himself ,he not a policeman or writing as an Association committee member or a spokesman of a group ...but they read it.....it had emotive and extravagant language. So it carried no weight but they heard/read it. Knowing a little about MHouse I would expect it to be 'outside the square' ,up front and to the point. Passionate even ! The report makes this very clear ! The tribunal members ,both experienced long-time racing folk would know that MHouse was a credible 'spokesman' who was not afraid to put his neck out to make his point VERY CLEAR .......no weight but I'd bet a strong message of opposition came across ! And RIB probably had little say in what he wrote. They unlikely to find any Licensed horseman willing to write a supporting affidavit giving specifics and FACTS.

To use one of your favourite responses Chief....do you have proof of this ?

Yes ,all that would be of interest.....but let's not overlook that a repeat offender here ,possibly in search of success/money and with no thought to his career ,family and fellow Industry participants maybe thought he above all of that and repeated dishonesty which he had previously been heavily penalised for ! He received less than a maximum disq . so should have felt lucky. What if MHouse was put up to this....but judging by the description it was poorly presented so he obviously wasn't helped with that aspect ! YES, Inca was an absolute mess......a total disgrace it handled so badly , and it has galvanised many Industry participants against the RIB......deserved too IMO. But the offender in this ,NM , got his support from family , friends and those helping redemption....so hardly independent...I'd say closely conflicted !

I think MHouse is in a different 'league' as a trainer to the top ones with the 'rich' owners who provide the wellbred expensive untried yearlings to be trained. To me MHouse is a committed horseman who is very knowledgable with a lot of experience. To me he is a battler with 'flair' and a bit of shoestring innovation. He takes cast-offs ,older horses and gives the horse and their owners an extended life in racing. He travels extensively and almost single-handedly provided Manawatu Harness the opportunity to continue racing by transporting horses there at some very difficult times. He also helped boost fields in both Southland racing and Auckland racing. He enjoys good success with a lot of 'cast-off' type horses. I see him as a 'grass -roots' battler , a great country clubs supporter ....the type so often praised on here !!!!!! He obviously has strong personal opinions and resents 'cheating' in the industry and doesn't mind saying so in public. Good on him I say...... IMO no need to turn on him and challenge his integrity and credentials. From what I hear there are many in the industry who support his strong stance on cheating , cos like him they understand the negative impact it has on Harness's integrity. And he proven a good mentor too , his son being a talented horseman and nice kid. IMO poor form to put knife into MHOuse for speaking out against a repeat offender !

Dean wants profitable turnover Brodie. Me ,my father and grand father been betting for many decades and never been unable to get a bet on . Bet on the tote....100% on ! I quite OK with the TAB , and it sure to get better ! If you want to talk to Dean or Cam contact them direct. They very approachable ! And I repeat......bet on the tote !

Come on Ranga , you know the Brodster is always on the money on Harness matters except when he confused by his repetition of being repeatedly restricted.Repeatedly restricted .... He getting confused with a couple of Discretionary Stand start races for filles and mares run earlier in year that are Group 3 races for Trotters ! The Northern Breeders Stakes run at Auckland and the Waikato Trotting Breeders stakes run at Cambridge.....both Group 3 races, stand start over 2700m with a One win front line. I think Resolve raced in these..imagine a race with Resolve , Revolution , Resolution , Repeat ,Restricted , Repetition and Representative all lining up ? With Reon or Reg commentating , would be refreshing and revigorating. Call it the Brodsters Breeders Stakes...all bets accepted Tote odds only.

Thanks for explaining this ........which leads on to other thoughts... Like the importance/influence of Australian betting into our races...a significant influence. Does this mean that the success of the Sunday betting into Harness is in fact the main reason these numbers so impressive ,I have always thought that the $10k guaranteed pool for First 4's on a Sunday for example were there as an invite for Australians to bet. Maybe it not the often explained reason that grass roots NZ punters like the big fields of slow horses predominantly racing on grass tracks to bet on. Of course this goes against the other known fact re NZTAB betting that the top 'elite' 2% bet up to 60% of the pool and the top 10% do over 80% of the turnover ! I've never understood how a serious big punter could 'unload' on the big fields of plodders ! And more and more decisions likely to be to suit the Aussie market eg Start times , gap between races etc etc. It all starting to add up !

Yes ,parking now an issuer on the better nights racing when more people turn up. To be fair ,a note went out advising cars would need to go to the area behind the back straight to park. And there was talk of a parking building being built but that would mean more money needed. And with construction starting ,the area taken out because of it was probably a lot bigger than it could have been , in view of it being Cup night etc and more people wanting to turn up. And tho the Rowe Cup always been in May ,the actual Cup now not on a date the Club wants.

Gamma ...you dead right that us KIWIS across the board just don't get a BUZZ when the Aussies beat us particularly on our home soil. In harness there seems to be TWO major ways to get a BUZZ from horse racing....the first is watching high class horses up and personal[ie live] particularly when racing in Group 1 and iconic races. The other is in punting and enjoying a good win. Recently I dined with a successful breeder/owner and he confirmed the above. He told me about his biggest bet on one of his horses , a 'hot' favourite. He wagered $100k to win on it and it won but the extreme buzz he got from that is not something he likely the emulate...it was too much ! Great to see in recent weeks some horses winning big races that were bred and still raced by the breeder ! It often claimed there is no room for the small breeder ! The Trot Derby was a great result for the Herlihy clan......the winner owned by Tony's wife and a share given to a young lass who was a committed and loyal strapper/employee.And driven by loyal employee Tony Cameron. Great to see. And the horse came from last to win. Many claim and point out the fact that many races up North dominated by lead/trail horses. Last night several of the winners settled well back early on !

Dean Entain could build anything ,he got plenty of assistance...Merlin [Magician] , a Cold Chisel[Derby] and Grease[ YourtheonethatIwant, Sandra Dee, Igotchills ] plus a share in Conderate and Jeremiah plus several much sought after lots from latest yearling sales ! Other Aussie owned winners of late include Demon Blue and All Cashed Up [Yabby Farms]. Bettor Eclipse in two sustained preps in NZ had suffered a lot of bad draws and little luck ,I have the tickets to prove it, but it still a mystery to me how he ended up as TOTE favourite in Auckland Cup from the stand start.