mikeynz

Personally I dont think we should be subject to all this Maori stuff like you get on radio and tv and I'm not anti Maori, it's no different to being subject to religious rhetoric, lots of this stuff is part of the woke society, so is this shit with the rugby union having to have a certain number of fems on the board.

It came to my attention that it's on South Canterbury anniversary day,( the one off holiday) Why not a Raceday at Washdyke ? use to be Orari, a lot of those one day holidays, lots have not much to do ,on a slightly different tangent, I dont even think there is a gallop meeting on labour day, most of the public holidays seem to be becoming non events ,racing wise.

I say no, what does it achieve?

I think Saturday nights, and Saturdays as a rule are a gone burger for harness racing, once it was the main night but , things have changed, Aussie racing late in the day has become the main focus, outside racing there is other sports on tv that capture people's attention, Invercargill have it seems a twilight meeting on a Saturday before Xmas with the Cup race, will be interesting to see how that goes,. I don't care what people say losing radio coverage is a backward step, racing was always freely available but only people who will follow racing now online are diehards who as they die off will not be replaced, kind of similar to putting all sport on pay tv, you don't get the new followers. Totally agree about the TAB telling about 200 dollars here and 300 there, no one cares, don't matter if you spend 2 bucks or 2000, it's not relevant to watchers, listeners, only relevant to the person taking the bet, unless it a major punt like the guy who put 140 grand or whatever on the ABs not to win the World Cup, that's kind of newsworthy or some of the big multi winners A lot of harness meetings these days ain't really captivating me no more, only noting the small fields or meetings like Invers being scrubbed , that is catching my attention., very interesting times indeed.

Getting back to being serious again,another shield match on saturday, would you believe a 7 05 start, why not last weekend ?, sure Southland are not the biggest draw card but nonetheless it's just the lack of cohesion that looks ameturish.

Just to add there seem to be some anomalies in the calandar, whether they are getting the right days, seems Canterbury get sundays, thursdays may not be the best date yet for some reason now and then they, Southland end up being the third NZ meeting on Saturdays. Personally I think it gets pushed into the background competing with the aussie gallops, maybe switching some of those non event sunday meetings from Canterbury around with Southland might work better, maybe just the grass meetings in Canterbury like Methven and Banks Peninsula. Maybe and here is another thought, trainers might prefer a weekday so their weekend is free for other things, fucked if I know really.

The only special handshake at my end is when I'm finished having a fucking piss😂

The general living cost is definatly going to have a impact on everything in life, but if racing puts on poor meetings that produces poor turnover which ultimately halts stakes rises and possibly a drop,(who knows) then naturally the decline will continue. Probably there is too much racing, but it is early enough for Southland to improve but it is a first to see a meeting scrubbed through lack of numbers. Next week is Gore gallops, going to be very interesting to see how numbers stack up, I noticed the two friday meetings at Oamaru and Wingatui recently had very small late quaddie pools indicating limited interest but the fields were poor so what does on expect? Challenging times indeed.

Story didn't state how it was a successful day,certainly wasn't for Southland rugby supporters, just coming up a bit short, in the shield game, , back to the racing the fact they actually got a full day in could be judged a milestone. Seriously though it would be good to see the betting figures, for everyday, apparently I believe that if you bet on your phone on course then that is deemed a bet on course, can anyone confirm that, the TAB know your location at time of placing a bet or something., seeing the tote figures or the fixed odds take is always interesting, why the secrecy ?

43 noms for invers on friday, this has to be a new low.

94 they ran a early meet at Riccarton, before shield match, Otago v Canterbury, October 1 so no problem of a frost, I was at that game, Otago supporters took in the races early then off to the rugby, one figure who was part of the Otago clan was Rex Cochrane who had just retired from training 2 weeks earlier, must have been a odd feeling, being at Riccarton , no horses, just a spectator, shield fever was certainly alive and well those days.

TAB website have the matches, no commentary but that's no problem, it's actually on spark , I don't have spark, plenty of highlights, after match on you tube though. In some ways Sky are rather smart, they don't need every sport, if they have the rugby, league, premier league, and some cricket they can cut cost, increase profits not dishing out massively for rights, still leaves enough for spark as well.

2 perfectly fine womens players in the US tennis final, that Jabuer girl will create history if she wins, an Arab female, she got beat at Wimbledon, will she go one better, game survives perfectly without William's. Mens final could see history too, a Norwegian has never won a slam other young fella from Spain is the player on the up probably above the rest of the youngins, history is always being created, interesting.

Gone are the days when you can leave the house or car unlocked, New Zealand ain't the country it once was.

Did anybody see the crowds that flocked in the past to see the royals in the past,(Tv1 last night) and the whopping crowd at the royal show, in Southland, shows, racing,rugby all a shadow of the past,

Sign of the times, I noted the lack of people at rugby last night, a far cry from old Waikato Auckland match, Ranfurly Shield in Napier today, probably be a few there, TV has been good and bad for sport/racing.

The Womens game is more interesting now lard arse is gone but seeing her getting dumped out at the last hurdle bought joy to my eyes lol, good player no doubt, best player, no, best performance was against Carlos Ramos, umpire, summed her up, it's all about me, the media didnt help, spose it made good reading. Now that shes finished and is well off financially she will probably be investing in a 5 star sty, it dont matter what you got that counts in life, it's what you are. Novak not being there does water down the men's side but life goes, the madman from oz missed a golden opportunity to win a slam. Sky, dont have sky but there is a real surge in womens sport coverage, I dont mind but I dont watch it, I find it more irritating if you go on say for instance the BBC sports site, you click on a cricket story or rugby or something and every second one is womens sport, calling batsmen batters,(wtf) , do women deserve to be paid same if less people watching, old lard arse prattled on for equal prize money but didnt front against Novak or Rafa, just beat up on real women. Horse racing is one sport where males and females compete on equal footing, and I'm full of praise for any top female rider,driver. Sky shift some live sport to prime, but why they bother screening AB matches delayed next day is pointless.

Caroline Garcia who I posted about earlier here has made the semis at New York, playing her best career tennis, Nick Kyrgios is well placed to win the men's title, it's his to lose. Angie Kerber is pregnant and William's is gone, (hopefully for good) Last night Australia farewelled Judith Durham and tennis said goodbye(hopefully) to William's last weekend, couldn't get a greater difference between class and trash, chalk and cheese. The All Blacks win well but did Argentina turn up, had they celebrated too much from creating history last week, are the ABs really any better? Warriers have a exodus of 15 players, a new coach next year but no change of the CEO, Mr George, everything starts at the top how does one expect change under same management. Hopefully this thread hasn't died, plenty of things to chat about🙂

Once again the racing show knocks of at 4 58 and listeners get the Warriers yet the best racing is just getting going, yet after the match they have a hour or two of reruns, the racing coverage on this site is shit, I dont care if they run a punters club or even waffle on in between races but getting decent coverage that actually informs the people who keep this industry going (punters) cant be that hard. One wonders when the next time they broadcast a harness race, maybe the 2nd tuesday in November it's been discussed enough in recent times, will things ever change ? It dont bother me these days but still seems a bit mindless by the programmers.

I've said often my thoughts on senz racing coverage, none of it positive coz its shit, what gets me is the saturday show which is rubbish anyway sometimes knocks off early for something else yet often they can split stations for different programmes. Right now as I write they have the rural roundup on some stations and Mark Stafford on others so it can be done, racing needs a good racing show on Saturdays that runs through to about the last race from Adelaide or Brisbane that actually informs punters outside that just simulcast Trackside 1 and 2 online. Why people in the South Island get subjected to the Warriers or any NRL game over racing seems odd, it's not that hard, just my thoughts. Senz buying a slot thinking they are promoting harness racing is shit, imagine advertisers paying good money only to see them spending it on a raffle ticket, I'd be seeking a better deal or give them the flick I dont think the TAB advertise there now but I only listen now and then so not sure.

Younger people probably bet on other things,(sport) but I honestly can't understand why racing has nothing like lotto as in a big pool,(million dollars) maybe at the weekend which captures the publics attention, I've often thought maybe pick 15 winners or something from say 20 races, similar to the football pools it has to be hard to win so it builds up if not struck, not only would it attract people to support the big prize but the xtra interest in each individual race would increase interest too but you have to have quality racing and quality fields, not always easy to present with the standard of racing in NZ at present, Back to harness maybe the rating 35 to 45s race for less those over race for more, more incentive to try and clear maiden ranks faster.

Looks like the media are still fawning over Serina Williams, only going to take a half decent player to send her to the history books, second best is probably a bit of a overestimation, remember Steffi Graff retired at 30 with one title less, could have won plenty more if not for injury.

Even the NZ cup , having rating 120 horses racing against rating 70 or 80 off the same starting point seems odd, the old system was simple, open class was 10 penalty wins, if you won you got handicap, the cup is still a handicap if you look logically, the lower rated horses are handicapped by racing better horses, maybe the cup should be for rated 100 and over it would certainly add impetus to lead up races, horses needing to win to qualify. Or maybe the ratings should be tighter, instead of a 85 rating variance.

And that would be betting ? Riccarton grass track a heavy 10, can't be good to keep hammering the shit out of it all the time, share the load with some other clubs or does that make too much sense.

Its gunna be interesting to see how the gallops go in Southland this year, with Tyler scaling back, Taplins gone, Blair Edie, who knows what will happen there, it is actually the one or two horse trainers who keep things going but is there enough? 6 races at Ascot Park on friday, I spose for the few still turning up with small fields they probably do ok short term, problem being though how long can you sustain meetings with small fields and poor turnover ? I thought Manawatu were the only ones running mini meetings, seem to becoming more prevalent across the board.