TAB For Ever

Oh come on Chief , Iet me be your friend. A fellow South Islander ! I told you I was there noting down the judges time plus I created this thread as I felt such a good race day expeience deserved one. I barely miss both NZ Cup week an Christchurch , Karaka day , Auckland Cup week ...often flying to get there and staying in nice place. Like to see first hand how NZ Racing is travelling. And the odd Australian Group day too....both codes ,I bat for both teams ! Some wag on here suggested I know nothing and a tag team of bullies cheered him on , but I only report on my experiences and I do enjoy giving my opinions to the keyboard warriors and fellow fluff merchants on here. I'd also previously told you I'd spoken to Cameron George and thanked him for his efforts. I usually walk around the course to take in the sights ,and check the fillies , and on Saturday watched two races from Public stand which I think is good at Ellerslie. The new TAB bar is rather nice but NO I wasn't at the Entain table.....I did stand by for a while and hope that some crumbs of knowledge would blow my way. I did hear that Entain is working close with the codes on a lot of exciting initiatives ,many of which are in the Northern region .Sorry to the CD whingers ! And lastly I don't like bragging but I did get into the winners room for an OJ and sushi ! It been done up ! Enjoyed the day....and many stayed on till well after the last race....true race goers , no parasites there !

Had little interest in Foxton cos it ain't been an official 'racetrack' since 2012 ! It's a trials track and training track for a decreasing number of horses and trainers...hoping to be a top Camping ground/Caravan park as well. Kinda disappointing for one of NZ's very first racing Clubs with some famous names thru the place...Paddy Busittin and David Howarth two of my favourite trainers and Chris waller there in early days. But you and your enthusiastic friends on here seem to be joined at the lip....a team of bullies...I suspect you and some others live in the area or are associated with club...I'd bet on it. The bitterness is oh so obvious but the hard working club of volunteers with a very good track surface only have themselves to blame......For many years they had 7 or 8 race meetings a year including summer dates but simply sat back in a daze and pretty much let them slip. To 4 x poor dates with poor turnover. Then , in a repeat of a prior history , some local lunatic lights fire to the grandstand and horse boxes....not once but 5 x times ! Foxton supporters obviously are repeat offenders.......and they suffered some flooding too which put them more in a daze. Once the lunatic was contained they procrastinated and this inaction saw them fail to tidy up the mess they were in. With so many CD tracks/clubs you would think they could get back in business but with many areas in NZ neighbouring clubs don't work together / rather CAN"T work together .RACE was established so some have tried. So the track not mothballed by NZTR or ignored by Messara. ......it wasn't even on the chart of racetracks ! Procrastination and spending too much time talking ,thinking and worrying about things they not responsible for or don't control. Sad ,because it obviously a pretty good surface !

Michael House the master at making the most of these opportunities. He turns up with the horses ,so those structuring the races often need to tweak the conditions to fit em all in....very clever of him when there are small fields and club needs all the horses it can get. It seems weird that a horse can win the main race of day then 2 x days later race lesser horses. Bet on Red !

Can't imagine Motukarara holding Group races or installing lights and going up against Addington on a Friday night. And Entain certainly keen on trying to engage more punters and young people and new owners so with the Northern region having the biggest population they will be trying to weave some magic into the place. It won't be for lack of trying , but they will try so at least a bit of hope for the North !

Well Brodie you will just have to take my word for it ...of course 30 odd years ago a sharp Southland qualifier would be asking $100k and things moved on from then. Once Bitten was a one win Sir Lincoln 3 yr old filly who got good money after a maiden win and Street Hawk by Bettors had 2 from 6 when sold .The Williamson boys sold some pearlers , I'd say it really not uncommon . But not my slow horses .....not into selling battlers but had a few offers of 3 yr old maidens early in careers but in syndicates it had to get OK. Aussies love our horses .

Agreed guys , very hard to get more horses quickly and ready to run in North. A few of the regular starters eg Simply Sam and a couple of stablemates have been sold of late. Happening every week. The smaller guys who race regularly like Dr Luk Chin are worth weight in gold. Hard to win at Auckland so less are trying to, plus more Northen horses going to places like Manawatu to try and grab a win. Its not an easy problem to solve because cost of training higher in North. Realisation of that became apparent about 10 years ago thats why the cursed Building Development happened in order to have higher stakes and build a nest egg to sustain them. That dream gone. The smaller guy can't attract owners to invest in horses. As soon as a horse shows ability , the offers flood in ...too high to turn down eg $140k for maiden winner or $300-$400k if a 3 yr old wins a couple. But even poorer horses being sold...Nz owner can take a price to stop the bleeding ,knowing the horse will probably cost $30-$45k and earn $10-$15k annually.

Chief ,I surprised you asking me questions now ,generally you stick it to me. Cost Accountant , Christ College Old Boy , Fluff merchant. You hurt my feelings. To be honest I have driven past Foxton course a lot and looked at it from fence....so can't talk from direct experience. Just spent 10 minutes looking into it and notice it hasn't been raced on for some years .I looked at a few Annual reports and see it run mainly by volunteers , uses trials as main income earner these days etc etc , and had a good number of members ,trainer etc working some 100 horses. Hard to find a mention of it with Messara other than it Opaki and Levin recommended as training only. Foxton on lease land I believe. Randomly chose year 2011 to delve further....I remember it had some dodgy Fires...like 5 in 2 x weeks. That season it had 4 x meetings so its reputation probably at level reflected in Betting numbers. The August meeting[ Heavy10], September [Soft 9] October [H10] and June 2012 [Heavy 10 @ Waverly]. You need to fill in the gaps ! I can't quite see how it mentioned with the way forward in NZ racing. But if it for real , a save Foxton group should get together and put a case for it ......many CD tracks seem dodgy. I'll watch with interest but not tonight as after Cricket today I off to therapy followed by an AA meeting.

Page 51.... Messara states......Not ONE track has a high quality racing surface Page 51 ..... But reading that in isolation does not give the overall vibe of the Report. I would guess most dismissed many parts of the report , and once they found a minor error ,or found out he didn't visit every single venue they thought that enough to dismiss most of the proven facts. Like , No club in NZ makes money.....this skim reading by fluff merchants with a biased mind influences the negaholics ! I dresay he made the odd error with some of the sizzle , but the sausage was on the mark !

I used to have a WATCH like that ! I had 4 under 34 secs.......but well spotted . The times on the website are also different to what the judge announced on course cos I wrote them down He said Velocious ran 33.61 not 34.07 He said El Vencedor ran 33.65 not 34.16 Provence time went the other way. But well spotted Chief.....you more than a grumpy old banger-on ! But then , since when have times been of such consequence ?

Good idea to keep the tracks contours.....iconic ,unique special and it gonna be great.....but keep banging on about it and please keep putting up your handful of sand picture up ! That was great ! What decent tracks have been moth-balled ? Plleeeeeze not Avondale ! Messara report noted there was not one decent track surface in NZ......... No savings of $4 mill ...$13m over budget. . Build a bridge ....Ellerslie gonna be great !

Any thing worth doing is worth doing poorly at first ! New ideas and changes in technique and attitude come come hard to many . That course will go from strength to strength. In the meantime ,a few on here want to be be very negative re new track. What they achieved ,in the time given and the weather , at that location was outstanding. Get the next 100 million $ into the purpose built Waikato greenfields development and racing will be flying. Or do you have a better idea ?

Little comment to date , maybe this suggests things went pretty well . I certainly enjoyed the day at the Races and I sat among many folk who also had a great day out in comfortable surroundings , some at Ellerslie for pretty much the first time being 'new' owners or there as friends of Owners. Of course many there had experienced a very slow trip up from the South with the motorway holdups....not ideal , amazing so many keen to get to Ellerslie. Ellerslie an outstanding venue but the quicker we can get a new track built in the Waikato the better......get racings money out of Avondale and start building NOW ! Any excess ,get a decent facility with a good track in the CD too. Foxton seems to have the best surface so get that cracking too ! Racing at Ellerslie was good....the switched on jockeys got the jump on the others , riding for position early in race and pretty much dictating pace with last 600's under 34 secs in main. El Vencedor stole the Group 1 in a slow 2 min 6 sec but Legarto clipping heels and stumbling may have upset her rhythm. Didn't discount her $500 k bonus for consistency in few Group 1's , surely a boost to attract potential owners. The final race was well won by a very good horse in Major Major...this horse changed hands for $1......ONE dollar ! A 6yr old Pins gelding with a troubled history having his 10th start and 3rd win. Many new owners and from small stable. Small stables had a good day ,tho Cambridge stables to fore. Punters brought home some good Bets , but two winners paid over $20 bucks. Something for everyone . The place looked a picture ,Sponsors well catered for in what was a nice comfortable crowd which I estimated to be over 6,000 TBC. Great to have the 3 x Majestic clerk of courses on white horses ...one of them [ Ross] I believe started job 1965 Cup day ! Social Racing syndicate had 2 x horses in for a First and 3rd. Velocious capped a brilliant juvenile season and not finished yet ! The Club contributed over $400 k toward the big stakes on offer ,tho some of that Nom fees. Overall an excellent days racing !

Ellerslie's racebook on Saturday had a page with all previous winners of Auckland Cup . The list began in 1972 with South Island mare Sailing Home. The previous year Southern bred Artifice ridden by EJ Didham[Otago] had won. Can't Southerners run 3200m now ? Or do they just don't try..that for other folk . In 1965 a horse called Lucky Son had won the Cup....At end of 3yr old season his Otago owner/trainer sent him North to be trained by top jockey WD Skelton [Levin] Bustling Bill at that stage trained just the one horse , Lucky Son. His Owner Jim Brown was a brother of Joe Brown who had O/T the Wellington Cup winner and 3rd in Melbourne Cup Reformed ,a few years earlier. Joe ran the Dunedin Town Hall Dance , Miss NZ and managed musicians like John Hore, Eddie Low , Howard Morrison etc. Jim's son Syd , preferred Harness having some top liners like Fieldmaster and Foreal. Syd's horse won the first race at Auckland on Friday night with a horse called Skipper.

Of course...well known in Basketball circles or are you talking about the Minister/Mentor / Celebrant ! I familiar with two Tony B's.

Yes , Salvi....his last job was up North as head of Manurewa High !

John Goodman remained a stalwart of Nelson sport particularly with Nelson College. Prior to that association I think he was a Primary school teacher. He only passed away in last couple of years.....I spoke several times to his sons Andrew and Chris. Andrew was a very good Nelson and Makos Rugby player ,Captain and goal kicker and in recent years has been and is a Coach in Pro Rugby. RIP John .

There was traffic for miles ....people just parked their car wherever they could and walked on foot. The buildings were shaking with the squash of people ,and some with not so steady foundations moved. And when people had to go , they tended not to move far ! The Ashhurst meeting also attracted 30,000 people and that meeting clashed with Trentham on Anniversary Day .....back in the days when CD and Wellington people enjoyed and supported Horse racing ! Meanwhile the Aussie cricketers are reeling at 34-4. When racing jackpots run the Aussie cricket team would rarely if ever play NZ....they would send over a B team !

Like many I too was surprised when Cameron George was thrust into TWO very difficult roles that had a history of mistakes , turmoil and under-performing ! Particularly when he was often out of the country trying to assist the Warriors thru Covid etc. Most predicted he had little chance of success. Well last year the Warriors lifted both their performance and profile considerably. While NZTR now has 'new' hope for the immediate future at least .......the crucial participants in Industry ,the Owners and punters seem to be giving others a quite positive feeling. Obviously one man can't take all the credit or blame for the work/direction of the Board but I think CG has stepped up and kept things afloat , so credit where credit is due ! Don't know him personally but watched his efforts as a Stipe and his progress since. Saw him at Ellerslie yesterday and said to hi.....Great work with the Warriors [ sadly they had lost !] and thanks for your work with Racing ! About then someone walked past with Legarto's oversize cheque for $500 k.

No egg Walt , no worries ! This the internet ,never let the facts get in the way of a good story ! Bevan Congdon another useful cricketer from Nelson/Motueka region and they performed well for many years in the Hawke Cup region for Minor Associations .Jeff Rackley played a bit with their regulars Reade, Lowans , Hampton ,Pierce etc then much later Tony Blain among others.One big talent Wayne Hodgson was too good at too many things like golf and Bowls as well plus other distractions !!! He part-owned top galloper Italian Saint with other Nelsonians. I once helped research a document of top NZ sports people from Nelson...Dixon [ x 2 ] ,Toni Hodgkinson , Olympic Sailors etc Phil Jones [Reefton] Jo Edwards.It was quite a small document but since the Makos[ Marlborough] saved Rugby there , the earthquake and sports kids have gone to bigger cities /overseas with professional career offers the next chapter will be much bigger with several All Blacks . Finn Delaney [B/Ball] and the Irish winger James Lowe . Can't recall either a Walt or Clint Eastwood in my study but hey , no body knows everything . Also did research on Cricket in Nz and recall in 1970 Auckland Primary team there names like Jeff Crowe and Martin Sneddon.

Yes sounds right.......its a balance ,like any retail business each product has a different mark up or profit ,as does any outlet /location . There are loss leaders , gimmicks and promotions. Most race meetings lose money but in the wash up the organisation has enough income streams to make a profit which it allocates to certain areas where the future can be sustained. History tells us at TAB what courses can promote the sport/industry best and handle the races with the big races [stakewise] which encourages owners to heavily invest in the horses etc who provide the betting options. Recently these mug owners were receiving about 25% back from what they invested.......without them and if we at TAB had to buy all of the Horses the industry would not last 5 minutes. Keyboard warriors often go to a picnic meeting on a public holiday and bang on about it.....in very early days most towns in NZ had a racetrack , but fortunately many of these closed down and there is more to go......NZ Racing ensures that the ones worth keeping are kept eg Wairarapa ,West Coast , Central Otago . Its kinda suggested that these small jewels who get their day in sun should have considerably more meetings but it wouldn't and couldn't work .Cos it is great to picnic with kids a little bit the novelty would soon wear off . Hence the bigger , better known tracks get more meetings.Even they struggle on many days to attract betting from tough overseas competition [especially Australia ]. So yes Tauherenikau beat Te Rapa in oncourse turnover just like Reefton beat Ellerslie 3 years ago. And they even had an entry gate fee for Reefton and Tauherenikau , none for the big dogs, Impressive. Lets start a movement to get these days rescheduled.Must be a winner if suggested on here !

Cos I object to the clause re 'parasites'.......and the myth about 'kids games and picnic 'days being of use in this modern era. Would better reopening TAB's and offering a a free baby sitting service for day and teaching the kiddies how to fill in a bet slip ! Cheer up Cyril !

Sorry Gamma , bit late, just home from beaut day at Ellerslie. Delayed start and good success in last ! Picks... R5 1 & 4 Go Kiwi ! R6 2 & 3 R7 7 & 9 Enjoy the nights action !

God is good , but why does he create such negative thoughts among his human beings ? It is a maximum size field , with a few hopefuls missing out it has is the biggest of our 3200m Cups as far as money and 'aura' and many connections and jockeys want to win it. The field can only be the best of what is around at present time....No Aussies this year like the past 3 and no Mainlanders tho Kylie Williams is having her first ride at Ellerslie ,having never ridden north of Rotorua. That 's an extra twist..... Over the years it has often been a race lacking in top class highly rated horses hence a drop in status But it still the Auckland Cup ! Peace be with you !

Yep ,haven't been there the past couple of years but suffered thru many editions prior so if thats out of touch ,then I out of touch. But following the betting numbers it has been one of the biggest in turnover. Unsure with Covid years and two years ago it was wet and miserable. But 5000 to me is a nice comfortable crowd and I'd say take the kids out and 5000 is a good crowd. Plus I know of several TAB workers who were flown down to man the selling windows these past few years from Auckland so the point of my post was still relevant IMO. I think you have pointed out they no longer count the attendance , so with the smaller clubs who have few meetings but a gate charge I get a feel by looking at the Clubs accounts !

My Nelson family who have lived there for 50 years often dream of living up Princess Drive with all the rich people ! The dress circle of Nelson ,surrounded by rich Americans and former CEO's of big business and heads of worlds biggest hedge funds. But also just a good stone's throw from the more basic area of Victory where the ordinary people live. PD is my family's short cut to the Tahuna Beach below ! Your excuse not to drive 2 x hours to the Westport trots is one most Nelson harness followers use , hopefully you attend the local meetings or you will lose them. Do you even have a day in June now ?? Million dollar view .....my family used to rent in Rocks road opposite Hualashore Rock.