TAB For Ever

Does anyone know if the big Northern Clubs actually talk to each other and to the trainers etc to see what horses are available to race. Cambridge about to have it's time in the sun with some big meetings / top horses leading into ATC meetings later in April/May A glance at the Nominations for Thursday so disappointing. There are two Group races for our top horses preparing for the much hyped GRINS night with the slot races the following week. The pacers has excellent noms with 11 entered ,but the Trotters a dismal 3 x noms. Pathetic....and one is top Aussie [ part NZ owned] Queen Elida. A Group 2 Race. But the top Southerners just raced at Addington on Saturday in a Group 1 so hardly surprising. And with the extra incentives to race 2year olds has fallen on deaf ears..... the pacing fillies have 2 x noms. The pacing males have 4 x noms and the 2yr old trotters have 3 x noms. I guess they will combine the pacers and put some slow maiden older horses in with the trotters. At least there are 17 noms for non-win pacers so will squeeze two races from that. And Cambridge still runs minimum stakes for most of it's supporting races so I'm unsure how all this can be justified when the SLOT race stakes are highlighted far and wide ,giving the perception that the Cub in good financial shape !

Be nice Chief.....this current push is bigger and better and there is a good buzz around currently and with Imperatriz etc etc doing so well in Australia and more widespread promotion and marketing here in NZ you gotta admit there is some hope ! If not we will still have Sports betting and Aussie racing...Nz Racing has hamstrung itself for decades thru regional bias and poor decisions ! No irony in Belclare being sold..the owner points out that money talks and it will enable him to continue his interest in racing. Certainly been well placed to win close to $1 mil in NZ . Breeding is difficult and not as easy as many infer and I find snide remarks about the big Breeders to be off the mark as most have earned the money they put into it from outside business and /or hard toil. Cheer Up champ...gonna be a couple of good years , buy some shares and join the fun !

Too true Gamma , my glass half full outlook not really welcome in forums where ' accentuate the negative ' is the desired approach. Racing has been on the downhill slide in NZ for some time ,I've lived in areas where predictably its just died and folk stand by and ask why......NZ racing was technically insolvent in NZ just a few years back and IMO it has been given some life and hope by Aussie outfit Entain who are basically just putting the Australian overlay on to it. I still enjoy racedays tho it can be a long drawn out affair and easy to see why it easier to stay at home...racing in NZ now very much a Television sport. Entain is having a crack , and I wish them well in their attempt to get young people who are the future punters to involve themselves in racing/wagering. Its a huge ask in NZ.....but I sense a real increase in interest in horse ownership and many ,many new owners I know are excitedly getting involved with their 2 - 3 % shares in horses. And last meeting I attended there were several folk I met who are into that or supporting friends/relations who are into that and really enjoying the day out as well. But nothing like the attendance of the good old days when nothing else to do. If I had the 'passion' of many on here toward racing and the 'knowledge' of some I'd be putting it to greater use by joining club committees etc and seeing where it took me . Not thinking ,talking and worrying about things I nothing to do with and don't control, I'd be channeling towards where something can be done. I enjoy my racing involvement ,always have , but mixing it with fellow keyboard warriors not the best use of time but someday I may add something useful and can report on some of the pitfalls and costs of involvement for others. I really concerned about Harness in the North ,looking at the nominations for Cambridge on Thursday make me weep and some top Aussies arriving in town too .But that for another forum . All the best champ !

Thanks for the advice...are you Marcelo Montoya the wingman. In the words of Anne Murray..... Spread your tiny wings and fly away , And take the gloom back with you , Where it came from that day.

Much bigger and much better now ! Can't remember a 'final' with $100k bonus. And it went to 'little guys' ! Hard to knock ,but keep trying !

Not if you keep putting a negative spin on items of interest in the NZ Racing scene.....and twist things to influence us young readers who turn to these forums for some interesting info to stoke up our involvement. The Pearl series is one to be embraced...the cost of registration is trifling compared to many other costs of breeding. It's not outside the scope of a small breeder and many on them register their yearlings......if they don't it little wonder they may be labelled a 'small time ' breeder. Think small , stay small ! There are over 100 Pearl races over most grades during the season. It was great to see Ashburton horse Daphne Dior go north for a crack at the final....in a short 5 start career it had finished 2nd in a Pearl race at Kurow and won in a Pearl series race at Kumara. The races are all over NZ . The Bonus for the winning owner is now $20k as well as a small bonus for trainer and register [ breeder ]. Of course the studs will nominate their horses....like prep fees ,vet fees , food and water and grazing , it part of the presentation of the horse for sale. Most notably some of the winners in past year of Pearl bonus have been horses purchased on Gavelhouse ....for around $3k. A horse with some Harness owners Nobellem won a Pearl race at Gore after earlier racing in North.Another cheap export I know the purchasers of raced 3 x times in Pearl races within a couple of months for placing bonuses. It of interest the background of Grey Haze ,Saturdays winners...small breeder , small owners , possibly Gavelhouse graduate......a few dams back up pops Alynda , a Railway Sprint winner ...Group 1 So you quicksanders on here who believe all you read , delve into things a bit. The Pearl Series is a great initiative and that BS about big expense ,only the big breeders etc , boo hoo no males allowed etc etc can be kicked to touch

Anyone remember this unusual occurrence ?

I'm off to mass to pray for you Chief. I just commenting on a great moment for some 'small' owners.

Be All Assured , back in the day those aged horses hung around racing in NZ for longer. We all long for the good old days ! Interesting that Self Assured and Amazing Dream owned by overseas interests but have done bulk of racing in NZ.Ditto Copy That . I notice the owners of Spankem ,are bringing back South Coast Arden to race in Grins etc . Unsure what that last YARN all about but I read it. And when a trainer has more than one horse in the race he must be hoping to run one and two and maybe three [if got three] so he has knowledge about how they gonna race , which doesn't happen when only a lone hope. If Owners feel let down ,they will and do move their horses on .

Lucky day for the winner of Race 1 at Ellerslie today. It was the Final of the popular Pearl series which has provided for Bonus payments for winning mares/fillies in nominated races for paid-up horses throughout the season. The final was well won today by a ONE win horse that had raced just 6 x times and won $23040. Grey Haze was jasmine Fawcett's only ride of day. The filly takes home $23 k for winning. PLUS the Pearl Series bonus of $70k for the owners , one of whom works on the tote at races ! The runnerup won $20k for its owners , the 3rd horse $10k. Impressive ...well done Entain !

The EasterCup back in it's day was a significant race on the calendar , hence it's Group 1 status. But times change and NZ Harness has tried to adapt. When Self Assured won in 2021 a very disappointing field of only 7 x horses lined up ! Other races were dropping off as well so decisions were made to try and herd the Cup horses into particular areas throughout the year. April was clearly going to be concentrated on the North Island.... the Group 1 Taylor Mile and NZ Messenger were losing their attractiveness so the 4 yr old only tag was removed for All aged older horses to enter and they were moved into a slot before the first Grins race . 4 year olds now don't have a lot for their separate age group. That TrottingFree For All today was a Group 1 and attracted most of NZ's current top trotters. The winner Muscle Mountain has won 32 races from 50 starts and is amongst the very best ever in NZ. Todays Pacing free-for-all catered for the the second tier of Open class pacers and tho stake a modest $40k it was run in 1.55 m/r and a worthy standar.d. It replaces the 2600m Allan Matson FFA which used to run on final night of Cup week. So a lot of history in that race...at least 14 of its past winners also won NZ Cup. But like many modern races today now it was a mobile sprint..1980mobile.......Harness doesn't seem to have the appetite for 3200m stand start with handicaps like the good old days. You all probably all know the above YARN...change can be difficult. Tonight I watched a game of Rugby from my beloved , at one time Otago ,when the Otago team played in the day on a muddy Carisbrook. Tonights game was played indoors and the team called Highlanders..geez..and they allowed replacements when players not even injured. Earlier I watched Phoenix women football ..geez...prior to 1970 women weren't even allowed to play Soccer ! Then yesterday I watched 20/20 Cricket ..geez ..that ain't Cricket , but the crowds now enjoy it better than 'normal' cricket. And on Good Friday...unthinkable back in the day ! At races today a group was chatting about the good old days of climbing on roof with tranny to hear commentaries with a special type of arial sold by journalist Lex Nicholls. One memory was when the wag with the big tranny listening to a race from another track with dozens if not hundreds of onlookers crowded around at the races would turn his big tranny off if his horse out of contention and walk away !

Dunno if financial contribution is the key criteria for immigrants. Many are needed for basic jobs that Kiwis won't do or qualified roles where Kiwis have gone on their OE or left for higher salary overseas. Not so long ago I was admitted to Public Hospital after an accident . Basically every single person who treated me so brilliantly in Public at short notice was an immigrant. Only the Surgeon was a Kiwi.The admitting Doctor , the Porter ,the Xray/Scan folk ,the night nurses ,the Food workers , the Cleaners , then the anaesthesist ,....all immigrants. Then a week in Hospital ditto every staff member every day. A lot of Asian and European , Phillipino nurses....NO Kiwis at all. Every single one....after the Op all follow up visits to young Asian doctors. The Hospital could not have operated or kept open if not for Immigrants. Then last week I went to a wedding...filled car with petrol ,guess who served me , the hard working Motel leasee from South America , all the waiters /servers at Eateries then again at wedding. All food prep and serving staff , the photographer , the celebrant etc etc . Everyone an immigrant. We need these immigrants.....many of these jobs seem to be below Kiwis and they not highly paid jobs. And I doubt South Island gallops would find the jockeys without immigrants who also number many in strappers and track work riders across NZ. Most are ordinary ,hard working ,very good people !

Just watching the Beach Report from the Dunn stable and they have 18 runners entered at Addington on Saturday. There are 11 races but they not represented in every race and have the 4 x backmarkers in one stand start race. Gee thats a lot of organising as every horses has its own gear and harness etc The Telfer stable has a smaller but in form team entered. I'm picking that these top two stables combined will pick up a Total of 5 winners of the 11 races. What you reckon ?

Correct , the subsidies advertised were for 2 x day meeting 10th and 12th May down in deep south. Good incentive . Riverton trying hard to attract good numbers !

Riverton offered travel subsidies which a good idea.......folk remember the good old days , back then Riverton raced Sat,Mon and Tuesday and included jumps racing too which the locals slowly abandoned and it was left to North Island raiders. It was Harness's day in the sun with a rare day meeting at Addington. No Derby or Easter Cup now but they have 11 races and Group 1 Trot race and good betting fields. Canterbury have grass track harness on Monday and Timaru Wednesday. Riccarton used to race on Easter Monday but maybe Cantabs prefer Harness more ! Ellerslie has pretty good fields in what was Te Aroha's big Group 1 mares meeting. Really just the CD that down on action.....does that area actually care , they still have a lot of good horses, trainers and too many Clubs / tracks !! But all the sport on around the world and some great Australian Racing including the Australian Cup and several Kiwis in action. The NZTAB expecting a boomer Easter. Get amongst it !

Big Dean been winning a lot of races in recent years at ATC.His filly BelleOf Montana won several Group races there as well. Throw in Merv Butterworths wins with Copy That etc and June Feiss with several goodies including Self Assured and Aussie owners have been quite dominant. On the reverse several NZ owners do well in Aussie ,apart from the dozens who sell to make a quid. Recently one small Kiwi owner won a race at ATC and announced it was many years since he won at ATC but had chalked up 150 wins in Australia ! And horses like Cash N Flow have been eftpos cards for their Kiwi owners.

Could McKenzie horse be Reign Supreme ? Could a jockey be BHibberd ? Maybe female jockey on outside.... LMumby or TCollis ?

Great racing at Auckland tonight Brodie.... Most of the best drivers there too ! Sadly too few horses up North but when the South sends up its best and either the big stakes up or horses trying to qualify for series finals the racing can be exciting !

You debate too well for me ...especially in matter of Maths ! I said it has improved for many and many now have more hope and the chance to recoup a years training with one win. But as a high % of horses earn very little their maths is still the same . You good at maths+debating and bit of a twister !

Said previously , most folk spend too much time and energy,talking ,thinking and worrying about things they not responsible for. Concentrate on things you are responsible for and can do something about. Some will be earning a higher ROI. Isn't the owners return in Australia, the race land we salivate over , a little under 50% ?

No maths available at this time of night ....attitudes are more important than facts ,it how you accept the facts, its not what happens its how you take it ! But PERCEPTION is reality. Most folk who go into horses are buying a dream , and most go into it with eyes wide open. I the wrong person to research on this as I small time and the cost/losses are manageable......I've always told people not to go into horse ownership unless you could put $50 k in a paper bag and light fire to it and not care about it.Most importantly I avoid the quick sand crowd . But since Entain the positivity has risen considerably. Most stakes have risen and there are far more opportunities to win most of years training costs back with one win ie more races over $50k stakes. 12 months ago the supporting races on Group 1 were worth $50k , now $70, $80, $90k. All group races risen. Some harness stakes miserable with $10k and $12k races common. They still need to rise ...as do the minimum stakes which are still too low....Yes the big races are hard to win ,and overall there are no more races . PLUS training ,and all operating costs are rising . It was very grim and dire ,now there is the hype and the hope ! People are pouring into syndicates or going in to race a horse with mates....a lot of horses available for lease for racing. i believe people who used to take 10% minimum now prefer to take 2% in 5 x horses ,vastly improves the chance for a thrilling win and photo on wall .And these Social Racing syndicates or micro syndicates get many people involved .And the TAB syndicates have 12 x recent purchases to share the experience around. Syndicators have told me that their syndicates are filling faster than ever. The big/rich owners contribute enormously to the overall scene so you can't resent them getting winners. For everyone the Cost of the horse is long forgotten after the thrill of the win ! See you in the winners circle Chief. ps In last 5 yrs my interests have rarely if ever missed out on a run by being balloted.....either Island but I follow a 1 x win horse I bred down south and it often misses out. A lot of Northern horses getting sent South these days and some grades certainly stretched.

Some owners run their racing under a company...many don't. Those registered for GST would no doubt be under close scrutiny of IRD and profits would need to be factored in to their return if they trading. Not up to date these days but the claims/rebates on breeding stock etc not so generous as previous. To get those 'losses' recognised in past you still had to front up with the money to purchase the stock for breeding potential !

Inside.....black & yellow , John Sergent . McKenzie colours ? Lisa Cropp.....Sculptor ? But did PM have striped sleeves " Outside horse...Colours .Yellow sashes , striped sleeves Back on inside Paddy Busuttin ...Six O'Clock News ? N Harris before he took up irons ? Red Cap.....Marsh ? Jockeys swinging whips.....Leith Innes , HTinsley , Riddell , D Walsh. At least 20 yrs ago.....no names on silks ,feet firmly in stirrips. Loos like false rail out . Tough question & Spec savers needed.

No the stakes not only issue but at less than 25% return on investment owners were getting despondent. As some one implied it 'dead cat bounce' but it does give some life to peoples dreams...no owners ,no horses . At least give them a chance and maybe hop on and enjoy the ride...it could be your lucky day !

And overall better fields at Auckland this week with several Southerners chasing the better stakes this week and in coming weeks ahead. Many prefer to fly nowdays so it not cheap to transport ! And the two year olds getting into the Young Gun series !