TAB For Ever

All big races and many Clubs are going to be under extra pressure now that the ATR have Ellerslie up and running and the stakes there likely to get away from the bulk of other Clubs. Summer Racing there is going to flourish . In past few days I had a tour of the place and tho it not Flemington or Randwick and still a lot of upgrade possible it going to help future proof racing into the immediate future at least....IMO Owners and connections should be keen to get and stay involved and hopefully punters will take up some slack too. Maybe if Avondale climbed on board it could really become a game changer IMO And some of the riches could overflow down to the Waikato and a fantastic track set up there too for back to back top class racing every weekend. Maybe wont match the big crowds of Kumara or Mot trots , but will be a start !

Thanks ,a 45 mins well spent listening to it twice. My Dad flew me up from South Island for many of those....Midge Didham was our next door neighbour and his Dad [Old Arthur ...Igloo ....] was two blocks away. The Didhams were going to be my next YARN ! They still current ditto the Andertons ! Peter Kelly ...magic , freeflowing but of course no vdeos etc to check his accuracy.He had Il Tempo coming late ! A lot of Southerners there ,I'd forgot Young Arthur Didham had Golden Sam there and one year the South was second third and 4th.Palisade [Skipper Wilson] and two Ted Winsloe horses Red Siren and Cassarook.Of course the great Anderton horses Trelay and Princess Mellay ran places as well. And several of my favourite Northern horses Duty Free , Whakamoa and Monastic[ Wanganui Ace ]. Peter got a few of his phrases from Dave Clarkson ....."putting in an appearance". The most memorable Peter Kelly moment to me was when La Mer put 4 lengths on the NZ Oaks field in 2 or 3 strides !And my favourite race was when Oopik beat Furys Order in the Hawkes Bay Guineas , I could do that race in about 1min 40.In 1980's I was riding my motor scooter overseas and the cops pulled me over for speeding ,chasing me down after they clocked me while hidden behind a bush.They asked me what song I was singing at the top of my lungs .I said 'that wasn't a song it was the Hawkes Bay Guineas ! Recent mentioned Canterbury horse Ribaldo was on that tape...he actually ran second in both Auckland Cup and lead up QE , behind Apollo Eleven. Peter Kelly.......ahhh the memories !

I'm not asking for a name......he wants to know who I am and what I up to.Early on my length in Racing questioned !!! I very ordinary ,and put my pants on the same way as the next guy. I just want to know from what angle he coming from....he could be a trainer , an owner , a club administrator. A regular race attender. Or a woman with hairy arms who smokes clay pipes out of a Catlins cave ! An easybet punter ! Surely you can let that info out of the box yet still remain anonymous . I mean I not a scammer asking for CC details. I add a bit of background to my YARNS by divulging I have horses and trainers which have shaped my views ...then the horses abilities get questioned , ditto the trainers. All three trainers are Group winning trainers, two considered among the best ever in NZ ...legendary.Just like the Aussie ones supporting Synthetic tracks in Australia as recently as yesterday ! Stick to the original thread Chief , and be fair !

My horses all fine. Personally I'd prefer my horses to be stars on the grass but few are that good , most horses are plodders who win ZERO to one race ! But we all dream. You were the one who mentioned the trials being transferred to an earlier date. You clearly didn't know the reasoning. I had heard but chose not to do your work for you !You had had few new threads started so it gave you something to do and something for us to read. Clearly there was a too big a gap between trials... synthetic racing doesnt start till winter months ,plus many folk are hoping to buzz their horses along at this time to get a good sale. And empty the boxes for influx of new young horses to work on . You will have noticed recent trials at Foxton.Several Waikato horses trekked South for a stern test to impress for SALE ! Get with the program Chief !

The Timaru race has been mentioned in my yarns. IMO it well rated as a hack handicap. It has a nice stake , a good date and well positioned between NOV - mid Jan as a good pipe opener for top Southern horses. The top ones rarely do the Coast , maybe sailing home and Titch [ North] excepted. Expecting the race to be promoted IMO , not likely ,not justified. Delusional even !

Interesting you won't even mention why you so negative about things and what your connection is to the conversation topic. Clearly just a 'keyboard warrior' ! And gather your facts ! Two of my 4 horses who raced and trialled on the Synthetic were premier day winners and one a listed big race winner !And for only one has it prolonged a horses career ,tho I did suggest to trainer to send it South where racing is much easier ,stakes are good and it a far cry from the Halcyon days I refer to . And my yarns are in relation to my personal experiences ,as working around stables/stallions you meet a few folk and visit a few behind the scene places .So sorry about that ! With the Wellington Cup around the corner....my favourite race ever.....a lot of YARNS are filling my head , most already recalled in recent YARNS . South Island racing folk really looked forward to Trentham racing.

No real crux....just a bit of a YARN. When I see or hear certain names or things mentioned I immediately are reminded of word association games I played when young. For years I have read these racing sites and the constant reference to 'stuff of little consequence' actually wore me down and as its something I enjoy cos I do it in both codes I thought i'd tell a few yarns about my experiences and try to keep the personal bias , out of it. I want the future of NZ racing and breeding to be secure and prefer to talk about the bright future because a lot of Kiwis are employed in it for starters. The 'good old days ' really were the 'bad old days' but many look on the 1960's thru 1980's as the halcyon days of NZ racing and I can handle that era quite well...I say modestly. Certainly the South Island racing back then was often very memorable ,with some great horses and personalities. But its a nonsense to keep trying to build up the Southern's performance of late....for various reasons. I try to YARN about my experiences.I used to love going to heading Washdyke , both codes too . Then the thread turned to Mister Pompous who I know a little about , ditto LJ Molloy who I see around time to time . Mister Pompous [by Rapanni] was bred by Sir Henry Kelliher ,a prominent beer baron who provided a retirement home for Cardigan Bay on his Island in Auckland harbour. Washdyke had some great horses associated with it..of course Phar Lap and Grey Way were two of the best. From memory I remember 2 x good stayers Fieldmaster [NZ Cup] and good performer Royal Dell . Trainers included MJones,BT Jones , A Cowan , E Corboy , JacK Daly [Gay Doctor a favourite] K Hampton .Harness personalities included GD Shand , Paul Gallaher and many more .Plus at nearby Geraldine ,Orari there were many others both codes. Brosnans [Kerrytown] Sam Henderson [a good man at forbury] and the Pratts who I think had the good sprinter Flying View. Makikihi was close to and Clem Scott produced great trotters Le Chant and Stylish Major. S Edge [ NZ Cup] Washdyke used to have a lot of things it seemed to drift away from ..it had 2 x meetings between Xmas and New Year and it held some very early Grand National steeples .Its current Timaru Cup has a nice stake and usually attracts a couple of the Souths best horses and a fairly average field ,so often these good horses win as topweights and a few 10 year olds have won recently eg William Wallace and Gallant boy [topweight]. Other recent topweights been Who Dares Wins, Tommy Tucker ,El Chico .Final Touch [class mare] The Meista Tittsgittin., Eel Win . This year the race had more depth ...half [ 7 of 14] were horses trained in North Island or imports from North. One Co-winner had won 4 x races on Synthetic [ 3x Cambridge, 1 x Riccarton] and the otherwas a horse that has progressed thru grades quickly. Not surprisingly the topweights couldnt hack it but as top horses they won last week ! And you Special Agent seem to want to trip me up on Syntheic track facts...they have little history other than there are more going in as training tracks especially in big Aussie venues plus Cheltenham and Newmarket in UK.Yesterday Warwick Farm ran 7 of its 20 trials on syntheitic. All top trainers [ and jockeys] participating incl Chris Waller. So Cambridge has NO FACTS re its longevity os only opened less than 3 years.I've had 4 x horses trial and race on them , 2x horses have won ,the trainers like em. I really like the consistency of them. My young mates like betting on them .I really like the fact trainers arent charging hefty transport costs carting my horses all over to find variable traks. I think they part of the future ,a big part especially for training and trials. I'd support higher track fees to future proof them. Just my experiences ....and a bit of a Yarn ! Tell me ... what is your connection to racing, should you really even be concerned about the improvements , plans and upkeep of racing infrastructure ? PS I usully slip in a couple of small errors....in a recent YARN you may have noticed I associated Eiffel Tower with the sire Bellborough...of course it was Kurdistan, who stood in Riverton initially as private to Hazlett /Hillis Stable.Another one of the champ horseswas Loch Linnhe who was by Lomond who also did well in South.

Exactly Ravioli.....Ravioli wasn't even a known word in NZ back then ,tho there was a good Harness horse called Giuseppe ! It would have been a Coup to have Ray around back in the day...he has been a fantastic part of Southern racing with ownership,sponsorship etc and runs a good business.Those square race course pies with the solid sludge passing off as meat filling was special out of those wafer thin heating cabinets which lost heat as the day progressed. At least the soy sauce was free. Ray's pies would have been welcome with lashings of Watties Tomato Sauce. Remember Jim Wattie....fed NZ from his Hawkes Bay base .....but moreso remember his horse Even Stevens. Went to Aussie at Cup time and thrashed the field in the Caulfield Cup and then easily won the Melbourne Cup then returned to NZ and fought out the finish of the Auckland Cup. Amazing. Jim kept most of NZ going with his Baked Beans and Sliced Peaches and Frozen Peas. The other business/racing man who I admired in Dunedin was George Barton , prolific owner ,firstly in Harness where he Number 1 and then after a squabble moved to gallopers and soon he raced Ark Royal ,who featured in big Cup races as well as Desert Chief ,Astra etc top Otago stayers. He often had RJ Skelton in saddle or RNMarsh or Deni Hadfield. That stable also had AJ Tweedie and AK Robinson as apprentices and both of these I have seen at the races in recent weeks so this yarn has some current interest ! Directly over the road from them on a sharp corner was Bob Heasley who in 1970 with businessman Stewart Falconer who drove a Rolls Royce and smoked huge cigars took their grey Kurdistan gelding over to Melbourne and snared the Melbourne Cup. In July BN had been slogging thru the Trentham mud , winning but gaining a reputation of being a mudder..That a story for another day ,cos it will lead on to Kumai [ owner TKS Sidey ,rider BJ Anderton of current day ] and that yarn takes a while. George Barton ,and his son Reg , were one of Dunedins top Butchers and their big store in CBD Dunedin famous for the illuminated pigs which raced around the facade of the building. They fed my family our meat , more like mince for us tripe for Mum. Another Dunedin butcher Wattie Latimer stunned many when his 10yr old Watallan [ Brian Anderton trainer] won the NZ Cup. His 21 st win for horse...its other owner was Allan ! its sire was Bellborough the Invercargill stallion who sired winners of 650 races. Watallans dam was a half sister to Baghdad Note ! Very close , a few paddocks along road there was the supplier of the excellent fast-food caravan at Forbury Park trots and other events in Otago...the best hot chips in town. Hot was needed as Forbury built on the windy beach only one sandhill north of the South Pole. Jim Brown trained many horses but in 1965 he sent one north to jockey WD Skelton in Levin and after picking up 3 x wins in CD towns they slipped up to Ellerslie and won the Auckland Cup .WD was a top jockey ,didnt train but he won with Lucky Son anyway.Thats what the Southern men did to the Northern folk back then...not only men cos Miss Edgar Jones did similar with Sailing home ! Jims other lucky son was Sydney who helped Jim sell hot chips , furniture during the day and played on wing for Otago. Jims brother Joe , who ran Miss NZ show , John Hore, Howard Morrison and Eddie Low also trained a bit in between his weekly town hall dance slipped up to Wellington and won the Cup with Reformed plus 3rd in Melbourne Cup. They no relation to Mick Brown who lived nearby andwon 3 x Wellington Cups with Great Sensation ! That another yarn for another time. Sydney still current in harness breeding from top mare Foreal and family and racing stars like Field Marshall in recent years ! Phew...this yarn gone too long.......when I typed the word Bellborough the Eiffel Tower flashed before my eyes.Now that Southern steed and his Hillis ,Hazlett whanau caused a lot of pain to the Northern wannabees.. Those really were the days of Southern racing !

Haha...not enough pennies for that place ,but got to play on their sports field a bit. Christ' s preferred fathers in tweed jackets who drove BMW's and kids keen to be Doctors and Lawyers not Cost Accountants ! A correction to my yarn.....It appears Mister Pompous did not win Tulloch Stakes but Asgard [PCook] did that year . Possibly got second then won elsewhere. A google search mentions DAPeake in the Tulloch Stakes photo. As a side yarn my TAB friend saw 5 x times champion jockey DA Peake looking very fit and dapper at Ellerslie on Sunday then a little later one Leo Molloy who has been mentioned earlier. Leo once told me he was the only unbeaten jockey on Showgate , but he hadn't allowed for one Nick Harnett Also one for one ! Watch this space on Inca !

Mr Ballin owned some good horses ,the ones mentioned were extra. When his horses won he used to give me and my family some of his softe drinks from Ballins Breweries. Yes Gary Lee trained every Every Post and took Mister Pompous to Australia , along with himself and did well over there too ,from memory winning a race called Tulloch Stakes. Mister Pompous twice beat Fury's Order at Wellington ,once over 1600m in Wellington Stakes when FO resuming after winning GN Derby. Then maybe more of a surprise to beat the top dog FO in the Wellington Derby. The soft drinks really flowed...Fury's Order was a special horse. But at that time South Islands top horses really did race ,challenge and beat the top Northern horses....as did our jockeys , jumpers , owners and even Stallions like Kurdistan and Bellborough while Gatekeeper and Mellay were emerging. Unlike now where an enthusiastic bunch of Southerners try to talk up the scene and grasp to any smidgeon of fantasy to exhort the achievements of the South. Very optimistic considering many of the horses in South are Northern rejects seeking an easy kill or too slow to compete in North. Of course the odd exception. But that for another post , but I surprised the past /breeding of two top trainers , Lisa Latta and Peter Didham not linked back to the South , not to mention Jamie Richards ,Jelly Williams etc .And of course the Colletts ! Jim Collet won a Southern Classic on Little Brown Jug standing in for Pablo. LBJ cleaned up in the South , the soft drinks flowed , and went north to clean up so my family went north too to enjoy the show...sadly LBJ could not do it up North but still won NZ Horse of the Year l, which Southern Queen Showgate won twice from memory. Showgate came about because GBT his owner/trainer went to Trentham Sales and paid good money for well bred fillies .Minglow herself won at Trentham , my family had followed her there as well. GBT's other inspired purchase was a filly called Subtrist who was dam of Middy [ NZ Cup] and several other winners. Minglow produced several horses with talent incl Showkeeper , Going Some , Troilus . Ultimately the breed was 'halted' by a dud stallion Honey Crepe [ by Crepello who had several good sires in NZ incl Crest Of The Wave] When Showgate won her races ,GBT gave my family free eggs ,as he had a lot of hens as he the only 'chicken sexer' in South. Plenty of Eggs and Ballins soft drinks ..the days when the South racing was great !

Quite possibly Chief but should you or I be worried about this, does this concern us. I assume Chief that you 'love' racing and want it to continue and flourish. As Taxpayers we should be happy to pay for things that we really need to enjoy life.Like water ,power , health education ,roading ...all infrastructure. Think of the chaos if we contacted Government and Councils on every thing our taxes used for. Wasn't it the Government/Taxes who bailed out the TAB when it couldn't pay its monthly creditors and gifted us the Synthetic tracks to help future proof the Industry.Winston saw how desperate racing was .Historically NZRacing has paid a lot of taxes over the years , when I trained as a Cost Accountant with free tax-payers Education ,Taxes from NZ Racing always mentioned as a good source of funds for Government along with PAYE , Sales Tax , Income tax and then GST etc If we gonna get all woke and morally concerned we should have been refusing to live off the pokies ,like racing did for years . The poor folk of South Auckland were funding many of our biggest races and racedays like the Harness Jewels.Earlier it was the booze and tobaco industries.Non racing must be getting pissed with the new barrage of Ads during sports events and ads on Facebook etc . Bet responsibly ! Dunno why horse racing lovers so averse to selling up the excess racecourses and land if they deemed to own them ! As for Accounting and Financial results...often just smoke and mirrors .Easy to manipulate ! Revalue , accrue , timing decisions etc The odd poster must be reading my contribution , I'm actually surprised a few more aren't attacking my 'over positive views' but I guess they want to just give their oxygen to the negative posts toward NZ racing , or trying to convince us their racing district of interest [ South Island ] is actually doing pretty well. Which is nonsense of course....but thank the Lord for NZCup week. It is without question the top week for betting and attendance in NZ and nicely placed a week [ usually] after the Melbourne Cup. Many post comments on on-course attendance.It fell away years ago , various attempts like Summer Holiday promotions,Xmas at races picked numbers up but generally meetings between Feb and November have been dwindling in attendance.Today is example of this..for years only Wellington Cup day has mirrored Trenthams halcyon days .15 years ago I flew up from South for Monday Anniversary day , I was only person in Public stand and the place resembled Chenobyl. I had been going to Trentham since I was a foetus ! Repeat....racing is now a TV sport/business. Folks encouraged /paid to bet on phones and folk prefer the TV courage , even tho they moan their arse about it. I enjoyed today, interesting to see a few all-weather tracks to bet on..USA racing most of morning , Darwin , Glen Inness ,Korea during NZ racing . And Telegraph winner a previous Synthetic winner as was 4th horse ,and Times Ticking used Ricc Syn Trial to fit itself for Trentham stakes . Reading the other Channel geez they moaning their arse off about Trentham ...racing was good [ Telegraph a little rough] so why worry about the other stuff. They let it rust away before their eyes. Its an all-in moanathon...Misery loves company !

Well thanks, that much better a comment than your previous one ....it was very flippant and contained no FACTS at all. Sarcasm....a person of racing significance , no way . After years of reading this site I decided to post of my racing experiences with a little bit of opinion. Never been to the synthetic track at Awapuni so what would that prove if I ran on it.....I am an gelding of declining pace so certainly wouldn't run on it ....rarely do you see people running on horse tracks. But at least some horses I have an interest in have run on them ...all 3 ....in both trials and races ! Plus these horses have had a couple of wins and possibly extended one horses career. So far none of these horses have suffered injuries and the trainers are supportive of the tracks. Actually very supportive ,and one trainer still rides work on them. Yes I have walked on the Cambridge one and very impressed. In my opinion the Cambridge one , probably Riccarton too was a much needed addition to NZ racing especially for training and especially when weather is bad. As a small time owner....not a person of significance.....I also pleased my horses don't have to be carted all around our vast country to get a race on OK track eg Ruakaka . Cambridge ideally situated among horse population , and Riccarton heading that way too in South IMO. As for running at a loss..no real surprise...most businesses run at a loss first few years. Again I know this from personal experience , and in early years can't spend your time worrying about how you gonna replace your main assets before both you and them have started earning their keep. A quick check of a couple of my accounts from Cambridge show the most recent track fee was $150 plus GST a month per horse I note 5 years ago it was $135 plus GST. In the scheme of overall cost this is a very low charge IMO. The reason so many clubs rusted away has been the lack of investment in infrastructure. And to date Cambridge is chipping away at improving their facility .I've watched as too many Clubs /courses have put unnecessary strain on the industry.Many should have been closed and more regionalisation happened years ago...they been talking about the need for this since 1970's. And if the axed clubs wanted to maintain their status they should have done more to attract members , and connected more with their local communities and not become irrelevant. I used to live in a place that must have had 50 x trainers made up of full-timers ,part-timers and O/T.Most gone.And another place that lost their meetings thru lack of local interest ,but thats another topic.And JMO. I read a bit about NZ racing , but again why would I get my knickers in a twist about the hardness of a training track or whose going to replace it in 20 years. It doesn't concern me ....and I guess it shouldn't concern you. Why not concentrate on things you are responsible for and can do something about. If I was involved in the decision making , I certainly wouldn't be pounding out rubbish on an anonymous internet site thinking I was making a difference ! I watched a few races today ,had a horse run second , one a pleasing 5th .Will watch a few tomorrow on TV and most likely attend one meeting live over the next week.Have a few bets . Enjoy racing. Reading chosen and known negative stuff about racing is a waste of time. All above is my experience with a little bit of Opinion. I actually like the Cambridge Synthetic track .I guess that obvious by now ! And remember ,we all put our trousers on the same way. Just watched a race from Pau...like many of the overseas races on TV ...they run on clay ,dirt , synthetic all-weather...some of best racing in World , someone must know something !

Special Agent Mr Smart , I'm surprised you would see fit to contribute this to this forum. Clearly you don't know shit from clay on the topic.....truckloads is not an amount than can be quantified ,it could be a Tonka Truck of Venezuelan bolivar ! I have reviewed Cambridge financials...the only one that have completed a couple of years trading. Any Cost Accountant cold tell you that even tho they may had had a $million loss for year ,about $1.4 mill was Depreciation and this is a non cash item. I'd guess you are one of those who had pre-conceived ideas about the track before it was even introduced therefore seriously biased . And not good with numbers !

And a few more dabblers......Mike Stormont of Delightful Lady fame , legendary Cantab horseman Marty Larter and 'newish Harness trainer 'Sheryl Wigg.

Agreed , yes Acker Cowan was in my next list if I challenged for a few more names. Brian Gliddon ditto and one of well known Beckett family too !

For a bonus point I'll add Alex Hastie !

I'll try..... Of course MHouse , Kevin James won races on Tuesday and MJones and RHolmes on Coast as well. Other active Cantabs are Trent Yesberg and Lyn Prendergast . Around Auckland there has been Barry Purdon , Michelle Wallis and Steven Reid [ his horse Firoden done quite well in Southland since he sent it and his mate down a couple of years back. Up north.....Sue Martin. In Waikato there currently is Todd Mitchell and Jo Stevens ,the new breed. And the master of them all GRogerson. You mention 3 x of the most prominent .....Mrs L Nolan ,DDwyer and J.Parsons. Waimate had one back in the day...Dick Langford and Central Otago MHamilton. Plenty other whose Families involved in both so likely some very close cross overs...eg Beck,Stapleton , Sid Brown ,Ballyntine , Courts....all Southern families ,then others who need closer analysis. eg Diane Kennedy , KFoley in North. You a bit tough on Mark Purdon, only had a handful of starters and had at least 3 x placings including a couple on premier days . I'm sure a lot more will pop up if MHouse and DMcCarthy join in ....they will know a lot that have batted for both sides ! And wouldn't be surprised if Mikie from Blenheim gave it a crack !

I can give you about 15 off top of my head but if I post you may start smelling rats as you have done previous with me !

Well Chief have you gathered your facts about why they were moved 7 days early or have you just made it up and put a negative slant on it ,counting on other readers to be swayed by your negative views on the Synthetics. Scroll thru the recent winners at most meetings and you will see that a vast majority of winners have in recent months as part of their summer preps either raced /trialled or both on the Synthetics. My young mates , new to the sport/industry actually enjoy betting on the Synthetics ,fields a little smaller , form holds up and there is more like v like racing. As Racing now mainly a TV Sport/business an on-course experience is less relevant. And when I last looked less than 3% turnover is on-course. Even before they opened there was a very strong negative perception of them .....the early ones I attended I was told by officials/workers ...." I cant believe how good this racing is ,I was told by many naysayers they were disastrous." In NZ we dream our horse is gonna be a Champion ,and grace Group 1 racing on glitzy days and race Cup week etc then on to Melbourne ,Brisbane etc. We don't want to think our horse will be on the Synthetic on mainly Industry days for minimum stakes.A few trainers have told me they have had pushback from Owners when they told their horse racing on the Synthetic. They risk their reputation and income by suggesting. So are guarded. Yet the elite trainers regularly use them with some pretty useful horses. Synthetic tracks in NZ are associated with slow or quite slow horses...we don't want to hear that the majority of horses win either ZERO or ONE win. Personally I've had a few of our synd horses race on them ,most have trialled on them...no issues....even had a couple of wins ,looking forward to them in 2024. Great for winter trackwork so very much needed for future...in the main training centres so cost savings for owners with trucking to trials and trekking to low key races all over NZ. They came free ,maintenance expense still hazy cos early days. So the negaholics toward them are the older keyboard warriors who revere NZ racing from good ole days when many tracks were goat tracks , but the show went on. Weather more extreme now too , so once they settle in and can adapt/react quicker to postponed meetings they will be invaluable. Looking at racing around World , bar Australia , and they still have some sand , dirt,all weather tracks etc most other countries on Trackside dominated by them......DOMINATED......Japan ,Singapore ,Hong Kong, England , France , South Africa , Korea , USA , Saudi , Turkey. Younger and newer punters are growing up on Allweather / Synthetic tracks . Some countries have both. It's a big part of the future....even in NZ. And I see some already criticising the new Ellerslie surface...the odd horse may not like it when too firm but there will be a trial and error period. How will the folk from the good old days react when they see the track being watered shortly before the first race....horror !!

As Doomed told us there would be an 'excellent' standard of 'horsemanship' on display on the Coast. IMO they all showed a lot of guts and commitment the way they pushed so hard into those tight bends. And at least 3 x Harness trainers there with their horses today ,with some success as well. Pretty obvious that many ex-North Island horses featured as well.....over 50% of horses and several of the winners either started trialling in North or moved there for a better lifestyle and less expensive hay ! To me King Cougar , can now be termed an 'iron horse' , 101 starts ,11 wins ,great form of late.

A connection to the matters being discussed ........for example why would someone living in a cave in Nightcaps continually be posting about the pending sale/closure of Avondale or the financial struggles of the ATC ,or why there are more races in the Northern region with smaller field sizes etc. Sometimes these may be of general interest but its continual ,its pointless and its boring. Of course some already finding my waffly posts to be 'rubbish'.....these sites really make you feel welcome and we must remember it is the internet and anything goes. I've been reading the racing sites and social media for some years before posting and learned early on to be careful .I notice that as Owner of site you like to come across as the strong man ,the grumpy old bastard ,take no nonsense and get into tit-for-tat debate over racing matters to show you know more than your combatee ! In the main two threads I been on I note that a couple of your regulars are now going toe to toe with you. Maybe your combative style of debate is good for 'clicks' but I would suggest it prevents others from participating. I note you been in a few debates with Mikie or Michael from Blenheim a vastly knowlegable and experienced race person...owner/trainer/ breeder/administrator . You seem to have worn him down ! Bring back people like Mikie ,and Tomas ,even tho Mikie another with extremely strong personal interest and bias. At least we know he had runs on the board ! Recently when the debate over the importance of turnover arose you switched to the word yield or margin. I was shamed from the debate by being tagged a Cost Accountant. Do you bank %'s or $$$ ? Also Interesting how you will convince readers that a big picnic crowd watching a few races closeup once a year in an area with no horse industry introduce new devotees.......you are being challenged Chief , strongly ! And my thread on some hidden , expensive and IMO unnecessary costs of horse ownership does not seem to interest you....you think it OK to burden owners with a $7000 charge to merely nominate a horse 3 weeks prior to a race. You think Horse ownership affordable into the future ? I first learned about Racing sites in NZ about 18 years ago...an enthusiastic friend who bet regularly , bred and raced with 3 partners the odd horse and they had raced a Group 1 winner , took me into his house and introduced me to the main channel , explaining how interesting /informative he found it . There were big Owners ,Punters , Breeders , trainers the odd jockey/driver etc etc . The environment has definitely changed to one of negativity , skepticism and general criticism. Even the main channel now just Competitions and same few posting and NO sports etc. I'd think it was a great opportunity for you to improve but maybe you don't want to....the Ads for sexy women seemed to have increased. I think it would be great to concentrate on things that can be changed and improved ...be different ,concentrate on things you can do something about. And more of the future. I love the good old days more than everybody...I doubt if few on here have my longevity in racing ,yet my very first posts were met with the....."how long has this TAB person been around".Then my next posts were examined for mistakes...I slip the odd one in for a laugh .Now they are guessing my identity..Mick Guerin good for a laugh haha ! Back to connections....IMO some of the most 'interesting' posts are...... eg As an owner I went to the races recently NOT I raced a horse 45 years ago , OR I tried to place a $500 win bet and NOT my neighbours mate bet on a horse and.....OR the Coast was ,and still is a great place to advance in racing OR I hate NZ racing , Aussie is better but I know best... OR this young 17 yr old jockey/driver is a disgrace and shit ! Is anything good happening out there ?? Reefton tomorrow.....weather forecast good........something sure to happen to impress local enthusiasts that it one of the greatest days on the NZ Turf.....is there a gate charge ? Can't wait !

Morning keyboard warriors.....had to post early today cos things bothering me . Sunday is Harness day so an observation on them first.Big fields on the grasstrack at Motukarara , but overall the day at less of an attraction than last week especially after yesterdays rain .But the TAB will be pushing hard with their $10k guaranteed First 4's minimums plus other Advertising/promotion. Will phone reception be any better . 12 races mainly of minimum stakes, and less than the low key Cambridge meet, except for Race 8 which is for $20k but only 7 horses , and a race for those rated 51 or higher. Horses racing around this level are mediocre with about 4 x wins each. If this race in the North Dr Luc Chin would have a few starters including one horse who has won 14 races ,and has done a great job up north having 40 starts in a season. The Doc also has a 8 x win horse who is rated 35. The non winners racing today are rated between 40 and 49 ! Go figure ! Gallops stakes......some on here repeatedly compare Stakes , Field size , Programs, turnovers , yields and other topics which it is hard to work out their connection to other than the chip on shoulder re South Island racing , closed tracks etc etc But one thing that pisses me , cos I've had to PAY more than a few time are the Nomination fees a few clubs charge for selected races ....some then puff their chest out and say the Club is contributing toward stakes when it is actually the OWNERS ! Recently second late noms went in for The Wellington Cup [ and WRC Group races] to be run in late January......$7,200 Then should the horse decide to line up ,it is another $3450 to accept.Any horse who nominated 2 x months earlier has paid $173 , $390 and $600 before they get to the $3450 payment. I guess horses at least get $4500 back for 6th to 10th ! For Thorndon it a little simpler.... $6 k late nome , $4,600 accept Early noms have paid $738 before the $4,600. At least 6 - 10th earn $6k The Nz Derby at ARC is $1mil Stake so charges are more...$30k for late nom , $8k for final field . If trainers are responsible for the original noms they need to be aware of the cost to the owner if early noms missed thru tardiness ! But overall Owners seem very happy with recent Stakes increases from their codes via Entain /TAB. TAB For ever ...some good sport to bet on today if you like Sports . Locally there is the ASB Tennis and the Breakers at 4pm. Sure to be plenty of Cricket and Football as well !

Don't be a dickhead Newmarket ...is that the Newmarket mall or Newmarket the horse nursery in Scotland.......sad I have to waste my daily post on you being immature trying to catch me out. My posts are solely about my personal experiences with a little bit of opinion based on those experiences. I said I got involved in the TAB survey ,I was assisting some newcomers with the survey and gave them a prompt by talking about the facilities and they mentioned the things I mentioned. So no rat to smell. Well today was a great day for Iconic day at Kumara...one of the finest examples of Holiday picnic racing. This day has had its challenges over the years and have had to work hard to remain on Calendar .Back in the 19700's !980's it was rumoured even Prime Minister Rob Muldoon had to step in to save West Coast racing. And tho not given credit ,it great the TAB/NZTR/Messara have recognised the uniqueness of the day and allowed it to continue. Could they run two days ,close together ?.Obviously TOTE staff are shipped in for day and North Island guests often flown down ,George Simon ,the odd Northern jockey etc can remember Gary Grylls flying down with a bunch some years ago. NZTR/TAB have advertised it widely and already there have been plenty of interviews /videos on line etc. IMO the crowd looked smaller than prevoius years , not so packed around birdcage /stand area.. I saw 6000 mentioned ...seems a lot ,maybe a lot of kids. $15 to get in ,Doomed praises this ,normally this is resented ! Gate-takings should be good then. Past two years the Gate got $33k and $24 k...possibly went from $10 to $15 entry to cover extra security needed. Maybe bit of leakage...@ $15 about 2300 paid lasy ear..lot of kids and vendors ! I note less races , this year 8 ,previous 9 and 10.And horses 69 raced compared with 86 and 94. But 3 and 4 horse races would have the same attendance...its ICONIC day ....Well done Kumara. I see those with a chip on shoulder and maybe a complex are comparing numbers with Hawkes Bay and Auckland.....good for a giggle , even Reefton beat Ellerslie in recent times with on-course turnover and attendance...true they did. But both bigger meetings , average higher over all average turnover ......If Kumara Turnover is Amazing the other two miust be bloody amazing...Hawkes bay averages more than Kumara's one magical day over 11 or 12 meetings ,while ARC averages more over 20 to 25 meetings. [15 last year] But of course Kumara has ZERO horse population and population of about 180 people Auckland has about !.5 million. When Auckland has a huge day at races we tisk about the crowd who just goes for the piss-up ,girls and posing like at the tennis/polo or the Fashion parade. Great to see Kumara have Fashions in the Field , games for Children and Band/music.....But the people go for the HORSES...yay ! And Mick Guerin reminded everybody about the racing legends to come out of the Coast...HIMSELF of course ,Leo , Skelton Bros , Pongia boys... I could add the Lalors , Kevin Bell and Mrs Wildbore and Phil Jones ! A great day for the Coast !

Evening team....I was gonna dedicate my daily post to the decline and further decline of South Island racing but today's Ruakaka meeting stirred up some old memories of racing up North. Even tho a Mainlander I did have some involvement with Racing in Kauri Land , which may surprise those who question my longevity ! Firstly some TAB mates reminded me of some Turnover/ profit numbers which the Cost Accountant in me will need to chew on. One thing I know for sure is that as a small owner the returns in stakes averaged about 25% of Costs tho Entain and recent stake increases hoping to improve it. And my ventures into Breeding have even been worse ! The talk about introducing non-racing folk to picnic racing and growing the industry is misguided .....a myth as Messara explained it. On course betting accounts for less than 3% of turnover , and the TAB is pushing strong for everyone to have an account and do phone/online betting. Melbourne Cup figures show that non-racing folk are quite happy to bet once a year and enjoy the picnic outing with their chilli bins. Karaka Night is approaching....the doomer and gloomers will be getting stuck into that on their keyboards. I hope its a good night and wish the Boys Get Paid group well.Intially I joined that ,thought it excellent and I see their betting pool has reached $300,00 k from some 15,000 people or more...pretty good really ! Fingers crossed the track not too hard , watering it immediately before the race will set the internet buzzing ! Whatever the crowd ,it won't quite match that of the West Coast....who could ever forget the day the Coast picnic races had more on course than Ellerslie ! Phew.....doomers continually are exasperated with the lack of races and ballots for horses in the South Island.....I OWN UP...I'm contributing to this issue. A couple of mates talked me into taking a share in a slow Northern horse to race in the South and I agreed . Sadly this horse is now a slow mainlander. If it gets balloted I'm gonna be upset.So I've checked a few races of late and in many races I have found them full of Northern rejects plus the odd slow one still trained in North...geez ! Folk are aware of the issue but are continuing to make it worse. Re Ruakaka.....Whangarei Racing Club took the amazing move to the surf at Ruakaka on Friday May 27 1977 ,built the new course. First race was a Hurdle race .Winners included Blue Blood , Battle Fury , High Saint while Uncle Remus ,GRogerson, NTiley ,RVance Cattle King ,Heidsieck etc all took part. They budgeted for 3000 cars , got 5000 ! A lot of work in building the course was done by volunteers and materials were carted from Course in City. Also in my memory are the few years after that and at this time of year...January 5 ,Cambridge Trots , then on Saturday Thames , Woodville , Kurow and Southland gallops , and Greymouth night trots. The good old days........that will excite those living in the past ! The 1970's when the South Island decline really took off and those there just stood by !

Yes oncourse turnover is less relevant these days.....all turnover is important but the hundreds & thousands who attend once a year with their chilly bins of food and booze contribute very little. And all the previous posters are stuck in the good old days when there was nothing else to do ....there wasn't even malls to shop at plus retail was closed at the weekends. Many are stuck in the good old days , when there was terrible dissatisfaction about the way racing was run ,how dates were allocated and how funding was distributed. NZ often had too many horses and not enough stakes to support them....and everyone agreed there were too many courses , and those in the know knew courses had to be closed but it had to be OP's...other peoples . From at least 1970 this blinding obvious. Come in Messara ! Read histories by John Costello, Finnigan, Glengarry , Dave McCarthy etc. The good old days were really not so good ,and the poor infrastructure and facilities and lack of Investment and future planning hurts today....take a non-racing person to the races today and see what they think. My young mates hate it....going out for several hours to watch a few horses run around a circular track once every 30 to 40 minutes is boring as hell.The other day I got involved with a survey by the TAB, basically answer 4 questions re raceday experience and get $10 free into TAB account.I was surprised 3 of 8 at table had no TAB account , I prompted them to talk about the facilities...paint chipping off seats ,bird poo on others ,terrible state of toilets etc ......it doesnt really cut the mustard. Average food , shitty coffee etc .The big screen faltered for a while ,most there were lucky if they saw a horse flash past. The TAB obviously pushing for folk to bet on phones to remove staff etc especially with all bonus bets to open Account etc. I've been around NZ racing a while , I doubt many on here would match longevity ,and being a South Islander I've seen how the Clubs and racing people who say they care have sat by a watched it slowly but surely go down the gurgler. I note most of the biggest moaners on here are from the South Island OR have close association/affiliation to it. Remember the South used to have the Derby and Oaks .....very lucky to hang on to the 1000and 2000 guines.Virtually lost all jumping . Wingatui training centre a shadow of former self , Forbury Park closed. Nelson gallops gone since 1980's but people still pine over this. Marlborough mentioned ,the Coast talked about fondly and the Nuggets at Kumara still iconic.Some clubs seem to be run out of another town so hardly pushing local involvement. Mike from Blenheim used to keep a lot of Southern Trotting afloat until they nailed him ! Praise the lord for NZ Cup week ! NZTR HRNZ ,TAB done a great job at keeping these Holiday picnic meetings going...I never missed , Waikouaiti , Omakau [ they had 2-days Gallops ,Roxborugh Cromwell , Nelson , Blenheim Oamaru/Timaru......loved em . But most for a picnic ......like many I favour boating ,fishing and watching on phone or TV and doing other things. And many from the good old days can't afford the petrol now to attend. Inflation and cost of living have finished them...they consider themselves punters...$1 each way and a 50 cent double. Even went yo Tapanui where viewing was on a mound of dirt ,and Beaumont where horses went into a dip where the stipes couldnt see [no stipes then !] The top 2 % of punters do 60 % of turnover in NZ. Field sizes were often tiny back in the day...how many remember when Waikouaiti and Wyndam both had gallops on New Years Day and even Fielding and Wairarapa and possibly Hawkes Bay ! And remember that classic race at Trentham NZ St Leger when it had 4 starters..Guest Star ,Fury's Order , Sobeit and Jackaroo. Well possums ,I hope you enjoyed my one post for the day ....Oh , The Newmarket connection to Scotland [ which has a few course only ] was a JOKE ! Haha...it originally was used for Paris when I in USA......is that Paris in Texas OR Paris , Italy ! FFS