TAB For Ever

IMO Gamma you can add Harrison Orange to your list of very promising drivers....maybe with the X factor as horses seem to really run for him . Also Wilson House can get them running on well when the others stopping thru impatience ! I see both the above repping NZ , with two others in the upcoming Junior series !

John Muirhead was the Head Stipe for Auckland Harness until he retired about 5 or 6 years ago. Len Butterfield was the legendary Head Stipe in South Island Harness for over 20 years up to 1978. He was much respected by many tho feared by a few. Back then the 'officials' were required to wear hats which added to the mystery. Len when young was a Canterbury cricketer and played one game for NZ...he presided over a great period of NZ Harness and did most of his job without film or video. He used to scribble notes on his pad while watching the race. He managed many controversial incidents eg when Jack Litten and Cecil Devine whipped each other down the Addington straight and champion Lordship's driver whipped all around him to get some racing room. Then in 1969 he disqualified NZ Cup winner Stella Frost....that was a biggie ! He took a strong interest in learning about Drugs which were emerging more and more. One of his successors was a Neil Escott.

My money was on the Colours being located and returned. In my experience most people are honest with a sense of fairness , and people who find things of some value will make an attempt to return or hand them in. Most people in racing are trying to do their best and do a good job , and chip in and help others !

Gee Thomas....two recent posts and you make a lot of sense , the other re JKR view of Wanganui track. Yet your posts seem to contradict the boss.....the guru of free speech ! Tread softly ,these pages don't want to see you banned !

Me thinks you the confused one cos the record is stuck and you on a continual loop ! You start this thread saying this Committee asked to help steer the future is " GOOD TO SEE " and maybe it should have been set up two years ago ! Then when HRNZ boss comments on it being pivotal you do an about turn and revert to the same ole songsheet ! Then you link me with saying that I thought the TAB was operating well.....dunno where I said that .Entain have certainly lifted the profile ,poured millions into promotions and marketing ,brought racing back into most newspapers etc and hammered TV which has the best cut-thru ! Certainly its a great time to be involved in racing ,with extra races , stakes and incentives for owners ,Trainers etc The TAB certainly provides many more betting options than in the past and the racing people I mix with are happy with the options etc. On Friday a punter at the trots showed me a $5 all up place bet which netted him $425 ...I asked 'Is your name Brodie '. Elite punters too seem happy with their relationship with TAB In the past I have encouraged you to at least meet the TAB and HRNZ to ask questions and voice concerns. Either you or Galah said you like to watch from a far......snipers , throw grenades and run. These people are easy to talk to ,easy to recognise and approach. At Alex Park last Friday I was speaking with 2 x of the high-powered folk mentioned.....no big deal ! You are deluded if you think you will meet them for ideas sharing on Social media and/or they will engage in 'negative' nonsense ! Get with the program Brodie and get on the money ! TAB Forever Mentor Memo ...2 June 2025

Exactly , when this happens at Trentham , these Boards go crazy. It doesn't add up......the stipes report confirms many horses were unsuited to the HEAVY conditions !

I think the most well known Racecourse Inspector was an ex-police character JB McKenzie . He was the #1 for many years !

Just passing on some feedback I received , and from observing a few races....the 1200m times seemed quick and the leaders won several races ! I taking my mentoring role seriously !

Of course you have ...no doubt ! But the world is full of educated derelicts ! IMO attitude is everything....is yours worth catching ? You been getting a lot of heat on here recently ,personally I haven't taken a lot of notice cos I do find some of it unnecessary ! IMO basic decency and fairness are non-negotiable ! Mentor memo....2 June 2025

Get with program Doomed ! You old buggers are from a previous era and thru natural attrition , competition [from all sides ]and the realisation among us younger generation that Horse Racing is a dying industry pretty much all round the world but especially in NZ....Horse racing cannot sustain itself ! The younger generation finds racing boring ......very boring , and very expensive too! Why would we bother. You old buggers enjoyed racing ,back in the day , when there was little else to do. It became part of our lifestyle our DNA ! But you went to sleep at the wheel and Clubs and Racing Admin didnt future proof their facilities and build up Reserves or a Trust bank. Most towns were given a Racetrack and facilities but run by volunteers most were only used a few times a year. People then learned to enjoy other things and put their time and money into travel , boats and buying property to protect their future. Raceclubs boxed on , lay mainly dormant , didnt build reserves. Lotto , Casinos ,Pokies came as did on line gambling and Sports betting.....all more fun and better than a few horses running around in a circle. Clubs remained open ,doing their own things...Costs ,health and safety and governance exploded. We all talked about Grey Way , Kiwi and Cardigan Bay ....great times ! Recently Sports Betting has subsidised Racing , the Govt has given handouts galore and OWNERS have existed on meagre returns but on the verge of INSOLVENCY more recently an Independent Aussie Messara was asked to present some home truths. Still inertia prevailed ...a fire sale [Kind of] saw Entain handed the reins with the promise of a huge Cash injection. Reading Messara They saw racing stuffed without Owners and Wagering. They started advertising ,like crazy and giving huge rewards to owners compared to previous. They saw that looking ahead...not your generation.....they needed to attract young people , not only to attend racedays but to wager more and into the future. So its music ,lollipops and candy and ballbits on course ,free horse ownership interests and plenty of wagering promotions. Its called BETCHA , to distinguish young people from the others...the old stale pale males ! But its not that easy.....racing doesnt stack up beside the music ,entertainment ,fashion ,travel alternatives . So now a group of 'high profile ' folk including Chris Waller and some knights and breeders are being brought together for a rap session to see if they can think up something that hasn't already tried....some thought starters ! Gotta give them points for trying ! Mentor memo ...2 June 2025

Not a good aftermath.......don't try to be a clever dick Chief......you not suited , MBA and all. MBA.....Major Bullshit Artist !

I hear you Gamma ! Over half the jumpers at recent iconic Bool jumping meet were Kiwis , and some of my interests are in Aussie. From memory ,A Good Fight , Leaderboard ,Lincoln ???? all featured in the big Aussie Jumps features last year and of course JWheeler and KMyers among others have dominated Aussie jumps over the years ! Currently MWalker must have 5 or 6 jumpers in his Victorian stable ,while BScott has a couple too.Maybe the Harnetts too ! The jumps over the Hill were memorable ...indeed ..... but they estimated each time over it cost over $1 mill bucks so thinking ahead the Club could see the writing on the Hill so sold out to future proof the clubs finances. It wasn't the Club who stuffed racing it was the participants...they became too hard for trainers ,too hard for owners , too hard for jockeys and too hard for most Clubs.There are still many ,many Hunt clubs around NZ ,point-to-points etc . Several ex-jumps trainers post on social media and bemoan the demise of jumps racing but it was their lot that killed it !

809 posts must be the cut off ? Makes sense ?😃 At my school , Thesaurus taught me a mentor was an advisor , a coach , a teacher ,tutor , instructor ,a counsellor , a guru even. Nothing about 809 repetitions ....that not mentoring ! You a funny man ! Not funny are some of those South Island posters with limited schooling.....they need some mentoring and I know a guru who can assist !

Clearly you jest Chief ! The jumping was very inaccurate and a number of jockeys either tipped from their seats or catapulted into the air. Watching Sandown ,Victoria feature jumps day yesterday and toward end of main chase a horse obviously bust a hind leg which was not pleasant viewing....it deleted from replay. Interesting that Sandown watered the jumps course only to get it to slow 7 and seemed to do it evenly and effectively. Jumps racing certainly adds interest to Winter viewing and most of us remember some great races in past but surely its days are numbered. Kiwis enjoy watching them but very few bet on them and though some trainers are dedicated to the cause , the horse numbers dropping for various reasons not the least the fact that they take extra time /patience and cost to own and participate .Then there is the jockey shortage ! If KMyers packed it in it would most likely be finished even sooner ! And finally , the good spectacle from Te Aroha shows how smooth the transition from Ellerslie has been managed ,and a good thing for most concerned ! And yes ,I have shares/interests in a couple of jumpers so I do my bit plus I'll bet a few $$$ on em !

Thanks Chief , I just been notified I am now a MENTOR on here ! Well earned ,I might add , and about time ! Many thanks and I hope I can live up to my growing reputation ! Unable to post much of late but been out around the tracks 'participating with a lot of enthusiasm'. Promotion to MENTOR is a great honour !

My feedback from a couple of senior jockeys was that the track was 'shocking' and certainly turned some horses off completely. The times seemed slick for 1200m on a heavy track. The margins between the back half of field and front lot seemed further than usual. And leading seemed to be the place to be.......if it was a Northern track the critics on here would be claiming a 'leaders bias'.

On the subject of On course tellers there has been an upgrade of Equipment in the past few meetings in North , the new machines being much different for the tote-staff to operate and staff catching on at different speeds. .And the insertion of betting slips needing to be a bit more precise. At one Ellerslie meeting the operators instructed us bet-slip customers to read out all bets ,no cards wanted ,then last week they seemed more comfortable with the slips. And make a mistake on the slip ,which has changed a little ,and there can be more confusion to correct it.

The much maligned Northern Racing 'Group' could help out. Following on the initiatives in recent years around Ellerslie , Puke and the ATR and talk of the Waikato Greenfields proposal the Northern 'division ' could sort it . Sell Avondale and divert ALL the funds back to racing .........start on purpose built Waikato Greenfields [ and the current facilities sales in the plan ] and produce two purpose built International Racecourses with Training centres . This includes one in CD in a flood free area that can grow grass ! Make CD racing 'worthwhile' again ...it ain't in good shape ,lets face it !

Who IYO are the country clubs who could step up and enhance the industry , and would be keen to rollup their sleeves more than they do now ??

Final Orders won a double at Trentham one year. Shudup was out of Natter [ a Riccarton horse from Tutton barn ] who won the NZ Oaks. Of course Bill rode a lot of Syd's horses and Syd had some very good ones. Daryl's Joy was stand out and trail blazer , along with Weenell ,Woodcourt Inn etc etc as the article states. The lack of people in photo would suggest the ride had not been a successful one and a post mortem in progress. 3 x piece suit ,maybe not the heat of summer, but around the early sixties when several of those CD meetings like Marton raced on their own track . I'd m\lead to one of the 'lesser' CD tracks tho dividend board looks substantial.

Don't worry champs.....plenty of good stuff happening out there in the NZ Racing scene. I still got plenty of great stuff to share with you when the occasion arises ! I'll cheer you all up....please no despair .

Seen two movies this week....oh the lifestyle of a Jaffa ! The Promised Land [Denmark] and Il Postino [The Postman] ...Italian Film Festival. Enjoyed both ......The Postman been around over 40 years ,nearly as long as many NZ racecourse facilities !

It doesn't seem to matter to NZ Post ! I'm looking at March results....will give the quicksand mob something to chew on !

And quite easily too ! Despite Betting being up in all 3 codes in March , Sports Betting is dong a La Mer and in a couple of strides putting lengths on em ! Sports Betting up + 17 % to $89 mil. Gallops up 21% to $45 mil, Harness up 6% to $18mil and Dogs up 7% to <$10 ...Total $73 mil. MHouse says betting up 6% but race numbers up 11% ??? But look at the posssitivvvvity here , not other stuff. A step in the right direction , gottacount for something ! Hopefully the Margins up too !!

What will happen in March 2025 ??