curious

It's actually the least of my worries that they can't spell, use a spell checker or get someone who can to edit their press and news releases, though that would at least give the impression of some professionalism which is hard to see anywhere else in the operation.

That sounds a bit defamatory?

Heavy 9, Heavy 8 retrospective to R1, Soft 7 following R3

Very hard to prove though that an infringement more than 100m out cost a horse a win.

Of course. As with interference related relegations, stewards must be certain that the rule breach affected the result. Much easier when that was a deadheat and this is the first time such a protest has been upheld since 2016 but rightly so in my view.

Just needs the bit about "good income earning opportunities available"!

Rooms Available Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 10:40 am | Back to The Friday Cartoon

https://www.news.com.au/sport/superracing/stewards-uphold-whip-protest-after-dead-heat-at-flemington/news-story/e1c10fac62dac1f10388facca9e4137e

Haha. Brilliant. When I've used a treadmill if we want them to go faster we speed up the treadmill. What a stupid remark from an "expert" witness. Be pretty easy to measure the speeds off the video. Did they bother?

Yeahh well they should put the judge on one of those horses carrying something that the horse thinks is a battery and turn him loose.

And NZTR in their usual sympathetic and transparent fashion still have provided no update that I can see on the well-being of the other injured riders.

It's a big responsibility that you shoulder Reefton. Some other clubs don't seem to grasp the gravity of that.

Can't think of a case where that has occurred but if it has or did and best practice preparation has been followed, then it's probably due circumstances beyond anyone's control and I would see neither the club nor NZTR responsible.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2022/12/horse-racing-rider-reportedly-dies-two-others-injured-as-ashburton-race-meeting-abandoned.html

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2022/12/horse-racing-rider-reportedly-dies-two-others-injured-as-ashburton-race-meeting-abandoned.html

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2022/12/horse-racing-rider-reportedly-dies-two-others-injured-as-ashburton-race-meeting-abandoned.html

It was probably me Mark. The responsibility lies clearly with the clubs to prepare suitable tracks. NZTR can provide policy, guidelines, advice, whatever but if clubs choose to ignore it, essentially telling NZTR to stick it, there is little they can do beyond what they are in not funding the abandoned days and removing other racedays until they can present suitable tracks.

That was meant to say than if run at Awapuni.

Peculiar to me. Don't see why moving to Otaki would make any difference to servicing requirements than if the meeting had been run at Otaki. On the other hand, I think 8 races is plenty for any raceday.

Where would NZTR get the money to throw?

Maybe because they now appear to be a lot more stuffed than they were then or anyone imagined possible.

Yes. For 14 years.

Yes. And the report suggests that various failures by the club have contributed despite the track being stuffed in the first place. It indicates a lack of an effective and well maintained irrigation system, a lack of other appropriate equipment and a lack of adequate education for the course management staff. This is a board and management resourcing issue.

What I totally agree with is that the NZTR penalties go nowhere near far enough. As I understand it, withdrawing funding only applies to abandonments. If you take the CJC case though, aside from the massive costs and disruption that the Cup day abandonment caused, their total ineptitude and flagrant disregard of NZTR guidelines and advice has already led to further disruption, cost to owners, interference with horses' campaigns etc. for at least 2 other meetings to date; the 2/12 meeting which was shifted to the AWT and now the Jan 19 meeting shifted to Ashburton. I don't see why the same penalties should not apply for those meetings as well. They are a direct result of the same incompetence. Maybe then the board would wake up and take some action.

May be a matter of semantics. Clubs do have to be registered with the codes but have to do something very bad to be de-registered. Betting licences and dates are issued by NZTAB though no doubt NZTR has an influence on those.