TAB For Ever

Take it easy on Chief....he may not always be right but he will always be the Chief. Old Chinese proverb...it better to own the horse than know how to ride it ! Another big night of Harness coming up Gamma , @ 2 venues !

The smoke coming out of your posts again Chief cos you feel the 'tight five' coming in to support you ! I have some idea, seen a lot with my own eyes...was born in stable ,travelled around a bit ,lived in areas which let racing die ,spoken to many educated derelicts and filled in the gaps. Surely I have some idea ,probably as good as the next average guy/gal on here !

It clearly stated on website !

Pretty much correct.......desperate times called for some desperate measures. I said Westland had cash in bank etc. But a bit pointless for TAB /NZ Racing to put so many resources /costs into the Coast when overall it running at bigger loss and taking bigger toll on their staff around Holiday time !Aside from Kumara and Harness the other meetings not up to much and over reliant on North Island horses travelling. But they gone Westland gone since about 2019 so part of History and not worth banging on about !

No one pretends that all decisions made , such as the above two , were perfect. Westland probably just unlucky as apart from the Kumara meeting the others only fair performers re Stakes etc and with all the trots meetings on Dec/Jan as well the TAB just got tired of taking the truck and tote staff etc over there. Westland seemed to have cash in bank etc ....they were promised they could hold their meeting elsewhere but quickly disposed of the Track asset to the District Council as a Xmas gift and donated Cash as well and also 'loaned' cash to other Clubs on Coast. The track will provide some housing , if folk want to move to Hokitika ! The Coast people seem to prefer Harness !

Dunno ,but fill us in.....they certainly have a lot of cancellations ,abandonments and late changes ...about 12 a week of late ! Is it for poor infrastructure of for extreme weather ? But us Kiwis stand Aussie in very high regards , often comparing us with them which is a bit futile cos of the size difference and their built in Racing DNA. We also idolise their wagering/bookies etc . Funny then when Aussie leadership takes over our TAB , we turn on them and moan our arses off !

Get with the program Chief and don't nitpick on every typo.....the DNA is reference to racing DNA. Last weeks LOTTO prize as advertised widely was $17 million ! ps...and where the little hearts gone from my last two posts , you breaking my heart now !

And also well known as NZ's premiership /champion trainer one season and possibly runnerup a couple of times too.

Plus their mates didn't have a lot to spend money on....it was hard to take /spend money outside of NZ . Now people with money to spare/burn must have a holiday home , a boat , and take annual expensive holidays[ some several!] . And many have tried Racing as something to get into but walked away with a bad experience. Many never saw their horse let alone heard how it was progressing. Fortunately there are still some great stories eg Winx , Sure , communication much better now ,but there still some shockers around both Codes !

And cos it's still in their DNA the country towns/clubs can still run a Cup day and other meetings throughout the year which attract good crowds and local support. The local racing clubs are still relevant to these towns and they market/promote their racedays and the connection is there. Racing in NZ let its relevance slip years ago and as the demographics started to change the rot set in. Clubs in general had little equity from 100 years racing and less Money for promotion. NZ Racing had to step in with promotions like summer Christmas at Racesand 'interislandersummer 'series etc. Clubs had to find grants etc to take part but few were doing it off their own bat. Clubs had even let Memberships drop. Predictably ,volunteers tired , it made sense to centralise the Admin of several clubs into one area ,further weakening connection locally and many clubs just lay down and let it happen ,the loss if dates etc. And started relyng on Pokies grants to survive at minimum levels. Yes some clubs do stuff ...like run a farm ,graze and sell animals etc to show a profit but those non-racing activities really don't promote racing...they for survival.

No way...... Old Chinese proverb....It better to own the horse .than know how to ride it !

Good question...its a term I've seen mentioned on here a few times ! Sometimes also referred to as 'suits'. Some group who we love blaming....a council , a conference or a Board .

Didn't Messara compare NZ racing with both Ireland and some Australian stakes for number of races , horses , turnover and most importantly the number of tracks. The 'obvious' take out was NZ has far too many tracks. Plus they were shouting this out 50 -60 years ago. At one stage we had too many horses for the tracks/races supplied so there were non -tote races to help progress horses thru the grades , plus division races ! The bottom line was we didn't have the betting to sustain all the horses and tracks. And those were the days of Clubs being run in the main by volunteers. Any interview with industry greats eg DJO'Sullivan[ RIP] ,Jim Gibbs etc said the two MAJOR negatives in NZ were the Stakes shortage and the state of the tracks , the latter defaulting to too many tracks as generally there was no money to invest in them. Messara commented on Clubs finances...only a few were in profit and most had little equity as many not freehold. Historically ,most Clubs had experienced financial woes and 'the powers to be' decided to help those it thought had a future and leave the rest to 'swim or sink' using their own resources/initiatives. These actions and subsequent performance have been debated to death but here we are today. Lotto and extra gambling competition and betting internationally have worsened NZ Racings situation and this likely to worsen. NZ TAB was technically bankrupt a few years ago. Winnie bailed them out. Winnie listened to hundreds of excuses , he responded to getting an outsider Messara to 'highlight' the dire situation...Winnie also gifted racing 3 x synthetic tracks from Taxpayers. Now Entain have thrown a further lifeline to NZ Racing......probably just a temporary fix but at least they trying. Your grandkids may only be able to bet on Sports and Overseas racing but the TAB /Entain or Appletote will be forever. NZ will still breed very good horses and us owners will race for sweepstake races or bag of kumaras.

I'll bite Chief with a few random thoughts , bearing in mind it not a situation I can change plus I really only like to comment on things I have experienced. But yes I do have a horse running on the synthetic this week , so I pleased the racing season began for them. It no champ and it not a mudder but it a syndicate horse so not too expensive per person to keep it going.Would not be returning the 25% of running costs which was the average before Entain ! Thanks again Entain for the 'new hope' ! I do feel for the South Island as there looks to be a light calendar down there in weeks ahead. Cos of impending lack of opportunities ahead this weeks Synthetic noms were excellent so I guess it best not to punish several R65 horses who wanted to race ,rather scrub a small sprint field where some horses able to swap into another race on the day ! Just my guess....tough on South but folk are still taking down the 'tried' Northern horses to try luck in South. All the top South stables have runners on the Synthetic ,some many.....Te Akau ,Marsh ,Pitman, Carston , TRae etc. Up North ,no surprise Cambridge trials cancelled with 22 noms. Trials are expensive to run plus 75 horses racing there tomorrow so 100 horses in a week wanting to race /trial on Synthetic.It catching on, a positive .As I stated recently trainers have worked out it much better/easier to go in the regular weekly jumpouts...80-100 horses per week. Last week they had these on the Grass , but thru March/April they on Synthetic. NZ Racing has many challenges , if my small interests are hindered by bad/unfair decisions I'll be seeking out the appropriate person to approach , I won't be banging on about it on line. Last year I took an interest in a jumper and I can see that is fast becoming an extinct feature in NZ so that could be something I may moan about. I see races cut considerably, one lucky win and you racing against the stars if you not balloted and if you can find a jockey. But I think us participants must take the blame for this....we just didn't commit the horses to it.Most of us love the jumps races , on TV and in the main we don't bet on them. Can't blame the powers to be for that !

Greg O'Connor picks 6 ,2 , 8 & 3. Mick Guerin seems to favour 6 over 2. I'll go 6, 2, 8 & 9. Mark Purdon stepping back so some of X-factor may decline in the months ahead !

Loose indeed.....an open side 'flunker' 😀

Not fab five...tight five ! Used in rugby to describe the engine room /workers in the scrum , it a generic term used in boards,committees on Councils and in Sports Clubs where a group of 4 , 5 or 6 folk basically dominate and control the direction and decision making. They thick as thieves and usually vote the same. Inevitably the others see this and take umbrage and it leads to a stalemate and little can get done. The NZ Racing Conference used to be like this back in the day.....Early on the CD had a lot of say but as things drifted North the clubs simply stuck together and decision making became difficult. Also a reason why Boards etc choose 'new' members who will support the 'tight five'.

This last 'contribution' has just been announced ...the actual mechanics haven't. And I try to concentrate on things I am responsible and things I can't control. Shortland St , the weather ,world politics , and the distribution of Betting profits and sponsorship etc are generally controlled by others , Racing by elected officials/employees who are audited by others making sure they doing their best. One things for certain they won't be pleasing everyone ...thats impossible !

No negative difference toward you Chief......you just banging on to please the 'natives'. It very apparent that in general , Racing chat sites are seen by readers/posters as a chance to complain...to point out an incorrect number on screen , a poor drive / ride . And to generally say aggressive things about other posters. Where else can you speak your mind , try to humiliate other humans and show how clever you are etc etc. You seem OK Chief ...you stuck out a 48 start Harness horse who only won once....you divulged this....so you must be a trooper. And quickly summing me up as a ex-Christ College , Cost accountant etc showed you to be very astute. But I don't know the 'big shots' and 'elite' racing folk...do they even exist ?.......if I have a concern I actually contact the person,President ,CEO personally and they usually always reply or give me time. Otherwise I'd just be banging on Ad infinitum about things which I have no control over .

Early starts and hard smelly work never deterred me Chief......I pay others to do this now. Plus being in Cambridge ,Pukekohe, Hastings ,Wanganui and Christchurch all at once is no easy task. And Winstone used the early wake up to shovel shit to impress 'non racing 'folk a few years back [ when advancing the Messara report😀 😀 But he used 4am wake up !

I asked some 'in the know' people about this and it seems there was a lot of BS around. I heard of one definite , and I knew of a few sctachy types going into the big race. Two horses mentioned on another channel were BS...one started the next week and Chad's winner headed off to Aussie to race !

Any reference to perving at the eye candy and /or the spectators at the "grand Tour' days is strictly tongue in cheek Chief. On Karaka Day I was on a walker with 'drip' attached. No ,not the type of Drip who frequent Karaka Days to see the brilliant horses and jockeys but a 'blood drip'.

I think you're worrying about things well outside your control and area of understanding. Just making up imaginary scenarios. It been well documented that its increasing costs which have deterred the small breeder. I dabbled a little with breeding to a commercial stallions with poor results. And I also have had a lot of experience with my horse syndicates racing a majority of Australian bred , UK bred and home bred horses so often unable to race in the Sales sweepstakes . There are still a lot of nice stakes available for ALL horses to run in . IMO the big-staked sweepstake races both here and in Australia are good for racing in general......my fellow syndicate members have never showed any bitterness of not being eligible for these races . NEVER ONCE . NZB would appear to be a NZ owned company and the Vela family have been outstanding contributors to NZ racing.

It not all about greed Chief.....when you get 12,000 people attending that rarely attend you have to think of the 'experience' Chief. Cup week in Chch the same on their two big days. Plus we can't bemoan the past ...it's gone !

I too part of the passionate ,hands on , contributing brotherhood. But I dropped the personal bias , bitterness and envy years ago . But will have to comment later as I only on day-release so got to make the most of it. Keep your chin up Chief , it not good when their is smoke coming out of your posts !