mikeynz

Some of the ideas of the Messara report would best be printed into nice little squares of paper and hung up in the wee room.

Switching everything online isn't the be all of everything, I was reading a article on David White from Cricket when it signed to stream Cricket with Spark, it's the way of the future he said, look what happened there. No different to racing, streaming is OK as a option but jamming two trackside channel's into 1 for audio don't work, still important to have racing on radio just as it is for Cricket, not everyone has access to good internet or is working, driving etc etc. I note tomorrow's racing show on Senz starts at 3 o clock from Ellerslie, does that mean Riccarton don't matter . I should add that Cricket left Radio Sport because NZME offered Cricket a lot less to broadcast rights for radio, I suspect Sky will do same when negotiating tv rights in a year or two.

I think Entain/TAB takeover operations on Feb 1, Senz had potential but didn't reach it.

And The Wizard, seems all the good drivers are in Auckland lol.

Saturday arvo for gallops, Friday night for trots, Sunday one of each, not sure about Entain wanting Mondays and Tuesday mini meets but I did notice in draft calander for next year hardly any Saturday meetings and mostly Thursdays for Southern harness. Be nice if they could find a Friday and Sunday in June maybe to reinstate the Nelson meeting, gee maybe even follow up with a day in Blenhiem too just to add variety.

For what's it worth I do think the idea of 2 friday night meetings would produce a better tv viewing experience, cut out all the crap in between races.

No.if there are no horses there are no horses but nice for the few left I guess, but who's paying for it, maybe Entain.

I guess Tony Lee is happy he didn't drive there for nothing, probably knows the road like the back of his hand.

Norton, wasn't he owned by people in Southland ,?

1976, Forbury festival meeting, raced twice after a 3 or 4 year break. Chief Walk.

Chief Walk, maybe.

So what's bothering you man.

NZ Trackside 1 and 2 are broadcast through the NZ Harness website in N Z, maybe you can't see that in OZ, as for the Albion Park race taking out Nelson, that can happen, many times they just have a delayed coverage but sometimes they can't be bothered perhaps, never easy though when they don't stick to time.

Can you not access nz racing on Harness Racing site, they screen trackside, it's not a betting site or is it blocked.

I must have missed something , R4 Packing Rockstar has already had 3 starts for 3 wins according to TAB website.

Team C plz.

$20000 plus 7 carried over for the late quaddie at the Mot, nothing like last week but still not too bad. Quaddie at Cambridge just over 4500, that's poor, don't matter when Cambridge run, not much interest, won't be long and Northern Harness will be passed by some of the Greyhound meetings.

If you look at the calander for next year, West Coast could have 2 Saturdays next year. Can't see Kumara racing on the 4th, probably the 11th, who knows what the experts will be thinking.

And remember those who wanted Omakau to stay where it was, it would have raced today, but as no one went there latterly they canned it, if you go back many years Vincent raced same time as West Coast circuit, not all the changes made have been bad, Riverton on Jan 1 seems a good date, Kurow has no southern horses, Riverton basically none North of the Waitaki, the way the days fall sometime don't help with some dates.

One wonders if Pitmans had those 15 runners at Waikouiti if they had of raced on Jan 1 , if they would have turned up at Greymouth, they didn't go to Riverton, sure no Meyers horses this year but fields are fine, no four horse races as yet.

Just a correction, one trainer from Timaru at Riverton.

There actually hasn't been a open class race as such for a long time, looking over this seasons results the closest there has been to one was on Nov 3 at Addington, rating 80 to 120 and that was a handicap, the Hannon, Kaikouras Cup, Ashburton Stakes, the Canterbury Classic early on, NZ Cup, NZ FFA are all races under the race conditions are for all pacers, anyone can nominate but the field is selected from the highest down or you would think it would be. Invercargill may have been a stuff up being programmed as a rating 70 plus, it ended up being a rating 60 plus but where are some of those higher rated horses that raced in the Cup, there are a few more but they seem to have vanished, I see He's A Sport raced in a discretionary race at Rangiora on Dec 17 a rating 55 plus, technically there was nothing stopping Beach Ball or Self Assured or He's a Sport racing today at Westport, as it's a rating 51 and faster especially as it seems you only get penalized no more than 30m these days and you don't even get handicapped in the N Z Cup anymore, I remember Joy Boy racing at Westport off 80m, probably today 40m would be the maximum, tomorrow's Gore Cup has cut off of rating 100, don't see that often either. Getting back to Auckland sad as it the only time they will get the best pacers converging there is for the Cup in May, the days of the Xmas, new year circuit as it was is over, at least by racing in May the focus is on their race, just as it was last Friday as Ascot Park, outside that they will have to accept that rating 60 plus like the Franklin Cup is as good as its going to get or Free For All pacers races now and then and the South Island will support the Invercargill race with a few other races now and then, bearing in mind that after Xmas there is plenty of racing for the best in Aussie and that's not uncommon either. It aint ideal but it is what is.

There is another opportunity for the top rated pacers in the South, 17th January, Northern Southland Cup, rating 65 and faster, they can create opportunities, top horses though probably have to accept a handicap, many of the so called open FFA races attract so few entries, as they they get chased off by a couple who dominate. Invercargill last week, Omakau, Jan 2, Ascot Park Jan 17th, its not all doom and gloom.

8 noms for rating 60 Frankljn Cup 5 for the feature trot 4 for the mares race

Not one horse trained from Otago and Southland nominated for Kurow, not one from Canterbury nominated for Riverton, only 2 from Wingatui and one from Winton at Timaru (Cup), seems enough horses to go around, mostly.