TAB For Ever

Good on ya......you can't have walked over the hill....LOL.....if you had it looks right down on the reservoir ! Near the 600m hark! ps..for those who missed my last joke re Newmarket , the hill is no longer ! Hold the phone !

And what Cyril do you like to have a bit of a yarn about ? You posted less than me !😊

It mentioned into todays Herald ,there will be wake on Friday [ racenight ] at Alexandra Park , 9th February , 5.30 -8pm in Presidents Room. A chance to remember and farewell Neil Brady . RIP

Looks like a lot of peat , moss and plastic squares ! Was this off the extreme outside or closer to inside rail ! There is a lot of sand in the make up......a matter of a few weeks ago it looked all sand.The grass seemed to take off very quick once sun came out. But still many thought that it was being rushed into use prematurely. Many were somewhat nervous !

I'm impressed Chief that you took the time to check this out ! What an amazing looking track / surface. Just give it time to settle in .

Well spotted ...typo.....they quoted 1.65 m !

Well Huey ,it is social media and it is Bit of A Yarn ! It's not the lets be cynical , critical and anti-everything column for old stale pale males ! Or is it ? Again and again ...... What your area of interest in NZ Racing ?

The Leo Molloy issue , which allegedly happened after an All BlackTest in July 2023 ,has had a lot of publicity as real news is short at present ...other than Waitangi Day antics. The latest articles have a photo of Leo dressed in black with a black hat and horn-rim specs. Looking very much the mafia boss or Hospitality magnate which some articles describe him as. All stories mention the fact that he is a 1.75m ex-jockey charged with assaulting a 1.95 cm Team policing male cop and obstructing a female cop. You couldn't make this shit up !

Yes Doomed I an fascinated by your posts as you have the ability to analyse on-course crowds, field size , stakes payment ,betting, programmes , horse ratings etc Your analysis is deep and thoughtful with a very strong South Island and small club bias, but then you throw us all out by declaring you have virtually lost interest in racing .Bit like Collins Dictionary losing interest in words ! So when I see a negative thread about Wingatui and its lack of crowd and high stakes etc I know you will be soon talking up the likes of Waikouaiti , Timaru and Reefton. I assume this must be in your neck of the woods and right up your alley. ! Some folks on here talk up the good old days of Southern Racing , and the versatile tracks they have which on a good day provide a better surface to the higher-rated , more favoured ones. My theory is that Wingatui has been rusting away for many decades , along with others like Timaru etc but Otago was well represented at the head table of NZ Racing and held its status earned 140 years ago. Plus the course actually looks OK on TV..a good size in rural setting etc Plus it is the most central course between Southland and Canterbury . Otago used to have a stack of horses ,not now. They still have the Andertons of course , legendary family of NZ racing and have managed to hold on to some group/Listed races better than many.And cos they have some nice dates their turnover edges ahead of most other Southern clubs. So Doomed and Wingatui has a ring to it. Of course Forbury Park , just over the hill has recently rusted away completely and that demise started about 1985. One of two trot tracks in South Island with night lights and often had great crowds and hosted Interdoms. Dunedin is a University city...it dominates ...with Scottish Heritage. The people make omelettes without breaking any eggs !They are mean ,they bet little and the students mainly spend on beer.Plus it is bitterly cold in winter so allocation of Winter nights not good.And few horses trained there ! But , somehow Wingatui still gets plenty of dates........but very easy to see why Waikouaiti moved away from New Years Day..twice I went there and it called off cos turns were a skating rink. In year 2019 [chosen at random] Waikouaiti only had 6 xraces ,46 x horses and did $790k turnover and $385k Export TO Stakes paid were $67k [maybe a postponment ?] ,while NZTR paid them $119,k. .In 2019 Wingatui had 13 meetings and did $14mil Turnover and $13 mil Export. Stakes paid $2.03 mill and NZTR paid them $2.654 . In 2023 season Waikouaiti in February did $1.875 mill t/0 and $1.653m Export. But youll love the stakes paid.....$294 k Otago had 11 x meetings for $12.544m TO and $7.987 mil Export . Wingatui also has a Beaumont meeting which I think is a dual code with harness. So Doomed , keep up the observations...I noted on Saturday at main Melbourne meeting that the Caulfield track looked like a ploughed paddock ,and there was at least 1 x Group 3 with 5 x starters and on TV there was very little in the way of people in camera shot . I thought Doomed will be on to this ! Should be good crowd at Wairarapa tomorrow...their big day ! Bet responsibly !

Thanks for reply. But seems bit of a simplification .....the future of the Industry overall would appear to depend on Owners....they need stakes that justify the investment in horses .....AND Wagering and the punter wants consistent tracks etc as wellas good horses and jockeys to bet on ! Group races and the Iconic racedays like Karaka day clearly attract more betting and more likely to attract young punters with money ,introduce new people to Racing and recusitate lapsed punters . Clearly Karaka did that . The BGP room of 850 did more on course turnover than what is considered from a good crowd at a holiday picnic crowd of several thousand. And that not includes the BGP TAB betting fund which exceeded total T/O of many Country meetings ! So the money spent on Karaka Day was very well spent IMO, got racing back on main TV news and start of a new future. Replicate that 4 or 5 more times in next 12 months and things on the improve. Melbourne Cup does it every year and no stakes paid out for that ! My work colleagues point out that the TAB doesn't directly pay the Karaka day stakes..... it pays thru NZTR and codes who pay the Clubs based on their type of raceday and races. As above Group races and Iconic races receive higher amounts and the Club can boost this should they require. Some do ,including Ellerslie ,who collect thru nomination/acceptance fees. The Karaka races have the sweepstake factor which comes in a NZB sponsorship. These sweepstake fees and acceptance fees are not peanuts ...I believe it was $25 k to accept for the new 4 yr old million dollar race last week.Paying back to 10th gives most owners a bit back .

Just another one of those 'never mentioned costs' that is ignored when talking about how servicing some of the goat tracks around the country in places few people live in or want to go to ! My work colleagues tell of the time the TAB truck overshot a little known town with nothing in it ...got 30 min up road before turning around ! More trucks could mean more race days but does current NZ betting trends and horse numbers justify them ?

Reading it again...there are a lot of gaps in the Article and most likely in the whole issue which typical of employment situations looks very complicated.Odd that a formal complaint came from a fellow employee who is actually named. So bad blood between two employees ,the complainer thinks she on to 'a certainty'. Using company credit card/ equipment and services for personal use , often quite serious. The accused fights back , and when this happens it becomes very messy. Bernard possibly not too involved but when he gets involved thinks he on to 'a certainty' weilds the axe.Probably never gathered all the facts. If all the timely steps and processes not followed to the letter then a Court/Tribunal decision likely to go against the Employer. Back in a day I used to get involved or assist in many such cases , with claims and counter claims making things messy. One lawyer advertised 'no success ,no fee' so nothing to lose .Employers soon learned it was costly even to 'win' particularly if they decided to fight to bitter end.

Don't most meetings lose money ? Have you the individual figure for any meetings on any particular day ? Can you give us a peep at some ? Do you add anything for any intangibles and any future benefits that arise from the days with the big stakes ? Thanks in advance .

Why aren't you there to tell us ? Isn't it your neck of the woods ? Come in Doomed....he will have the info !

With all the Public holidays around of late it a very good time to allow a couple of days breather , certainly a big week coming up. Plus the TAB will have a full menu of options available for Kiwis to bet on . The amazing TAB staff who drag themselves from meeting to meeting in all weather deserve a few days off . The$9 mill bet on Karaka day certainly will cover a few of the Waikouaiti , Wairoa and Tapanui days you continually pine over ! Less could be better at end of day. The good old days we yearn for had racing on Saturdays and Public holidays only with the odd week day !

I often surprised there not more employment issues in the Racing industry , particularly with the long hours many people expected to work or be on duty etc. This case looks like one where the correct 'legal disciplinary process' wasn't followed exactly. It looks open and shut ...but t's not crossed and I's not dotted ! Hurt a few feelings too !

But it gave those in NZ racing the courage and confidence to trigger some CHANGE ! Few people like change and with all the personal bias in NZ Racing it was unlikely to happen. Now reaping some benefits from the changes ! Basically NZ RAcing was insolvent and going nowhere !

Come on Chief , in your willingness to discredit me you are going out of your way sending mixed messages and trying to appear as if you know life's secrets and are eager to impart your knowledge which is hardly expert knowledge. You tell me to watch a Weigh-in show for an hour featuring key player in this saga CEO Paul W ,but dont give me the key time to tune in , I hardly ever would watch any of this...I sometimes watch a little of the Harness show. Then you tell me to read the Stipes report which I told you I already had ,plus I was there on the day and during most of the earlier trials,jump outs and track gallops on 19 January where 2 x horses galloped wide out on course proper. Stipes report....weather overcast becoming showery. Little of note until R3...Tevere briefly lost footing @ 600m After R4 it noted Holmanz briefly lost footing at 600m, so Tevere film revisited. It also noted that some riders mounts were shifting in ground...they looked at footage . The Stipes met with riders who agreed to carry on riding. FOOTNOTE...normally in cases on concern there would be considerable debate among the jockeys and as the two above cases of loose footing were at the 600m a group would go out on track and investigate. The show went on....ALL top jockeys and trainers happy to race......and with a great deal of urgency I might add. Times were fast etc. After race 5 and/or next day Legarto's trainer KKelso said he disappointed in shift track etc...he had been very pleased the previous day on the track. His mare was outridden , had her chance and ran a good second behind a very good horse ! Then in R6 Pendragon lost footing entering the straight.....again ran a good second behind a very good horse. Being there I able to make my own observations. To me the rider contributed to its movement back toward the rail after drifting wide ! During and after the day I spoke to a few jockeys and trainers, including one who had briefly lost its footing and it never mentioned. Our syndicate horse ran OK ,could have done better but no excuses ! The track played out exactly as I thought it would before hand so hence I not surprised that when drizzle came there were a couple of mentions of unsure footing...riding was very competitive with fast times. First day of any NEW house,building ,business ,sportsground ,always has some teething problems........the chance of the new track having a perfect opening was very slim. But a great crowd and betting records smashed......great racing , no one or horse injured. One day- to- day propisition lame ! Ask yourself will this matter in a year from now ? ps have you read the Messara report in its entirety yet ?

Weigh in starts off very positively....what is the KEY portion I need to listen to ! You twist words in your replies to suit your cynicism...It was a first time use of track with rain during day. And yes the forecast was pretty much bang on ! The track, the irrigation and track management in the unique Auckland climate [30% less sunshine hours in 2023 ] was / is something new to the Club. Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first ! Give em a chance to get up to speed .... their nervousness prior to the new track opening was very obvious ,they hadn't done it before. The grass was never going to be 100% once the rain came on day !

Come on Chief...more like $55 million for the new track ! FYI I have merely shown a close interest in the entire build , and was amazed in the progress of it in view of the hurdles faced especially atrocious weather . The grass has not been completely covering the track for terribly long and comments from Club officials ,both official and casual it was going to be a very tight timeframe to have it rigourously tested before January. All the testing went well with the main worry possibly being too hard.... there was nerves about it having to be watered shortly prior to races commencing on raceday as they do some football fields etc. The jockeys in trial gallops were very impressed and complimentary. Rain during the day was the one 'unknown' ...it happened and the jockeys who are the main decision makers thought it OK to continue. So don't make things up ,don't guess ,and gather your facts ! And like MG I read all reports ,so please don't fib ! $55mill.

What your beef Chief ? Pukekohe is part of the ATR and ...wait for it ....was rated the second best track in NZ in season ending July 2023 ! The Board and officials at Auckland were not unaminous in starting back so early before the new track had bedded in sufficiently....light rain during the day was their worst nightmare. But I think I read where ALL betting records in NZ were smashed with only 6 races , the world class jockeys were OK to ride on it and most who attended thoroughly enjoyed the day. Seems like mainly the keyboard warriors suffered the most ,sad they cant find more to complain about. Ken Kelso's horse just got out-ridden on day by a Group 1 rival who has beat him previous. MGuerin summed it up in todays Herald very well indeed. Feb 17 is Avondale Cup and Avondale Guineas day ..no surprise if they transfer that day tho the main sponsor Eagle Technology won't enjoy the trek to Puke which they have done previous. Avondale a cot case...... Chief.....when last did you go to Pukekohe on race day.? When last at Ellerslie raceday , when last at Avondale ? And ditto question to Doomed !

Look a bit closer and you will see BGP much more than a big punting pool......don't 95% of people lose on the punt anyway so what chance when a small group of guys get together to try and find some success with other peoples money. A huge ask! I believe Ted was a regular contributor to sites such as this with opinion ,form and trial updates. His passion also spread to Club administration and also as an owner and jockey manager too ! And of course he represents the older generation. BGP is not solely about the betting wins and losses , and I know for a fact that people who put money into the pool aren't necessarily expecting to win....The average investment is $60 I read. Personally I used to invest $100 and was never disappointed. Some wins and the odd free bet from TAB. Look at the positives Chief...IMO certainly making a useful contribution to NZ Racing. They even invested in the odd horse , I doubt this is something that an online site of grumpy old stale male cynics could organise . I doubt folk would cross the road to attend a function organised by online site....so to close the doors at 850 people , with visitors from all over NZ is very impressive. Get amongst it Chief , you'd love it....I'll send you my red sox too ! Get out of the quicksand ! Numbers and facts don't lie...BGP is an impressive group !

😁 Nah ,my face and vocab didn't pass the entry test . They found out I had 3 x years in the third form , at Christs College as well.

Haha....I think Ted was one of the key BGP selectors !

Fantastic Chief that you enjoying yourself , anything else you see as good and worth commenting on ? I see there is $200k bonus for any new owner who buys out of Book 2 sale.....ie the first horse home from this Group of buyer in next years 2 yr old race. And...there's more , in 2026 3 yr old race , repeat chance.....$200 k bonus for first horse home from this NEW owner group ! Brilliant !