curious

What a great initiative. And a great job for some very experienced ex racehorses.

It was a masterclass. Watch him balance the horse up, wait till he gets him organised and it changes legs and gets balanced up, give him one to say lets go now and 2 or 3 more the last 100. Classic ride.

Quite agree. Would be well within today's NZ rules. I remember that ride at Belmont. All apprentices should watch it. Lester in his twilight years and master trainer Vincent O'Brien at work with a very good horse. Only hit the horse 3 or 4 times before the 100. Travelled 3 wide the whole way too for those who think that makes a difference.

These are them https://loveracing.nz/OnHorseFiles/Whip Rules October 2019 V3.pdf

Yeahh ... years of research on this. E.g., https://thehorse.com/110865/study-evaluates-banned-controlled-substances-in-horse-feed/ But trainers still need to remain and be held responsible.

According to the NZTR "Plan B" message this morning, Ellerslie on Sunday is the preferred option if alert levels are lifted. Hastings seems to be Plan C but there is no mention of when. Communications are very poor on this matter imo.

Are you suggesting that mental training and blinkers are the same or similar?

Used to have that there too ...https://www.facebook.com/NZTrainersAssociation/posts/wairoa-racing-club-trainers-newsletter-we-invite-trainers-to-take-a-racing-holid/370182793078478/

Track always perfect. Lovely shady yards for the horses. Seafood galore and really good times had by all. Subsidised travel and accommodation and an individualised hand written thank you letter from the president afterwards. They knew how to do it and looked after the people putting on the show.

Nothing to do with the abilities of the horses then? The team and the blinkers?

I'd travel and have (horse in tow) 330kms to race and spend a few days at Wairoa and was looking forward to a chance to do that again after a decade on the sidelines. Wouldn't do that again now, even at 130kms.

I was going to try turquoise and gold? Close enough?

I don't think I want to scare the others in case they bolt. Someone just told me that the orange ones were the go?

Also, I'm trying to find out whether white ones work better than black ones. Thommo?

Correct. What is the issue in practice? I know it is a breach of the rules which is an issue but don't really see why it shouldn't be allowed.

AI reinforcement has been going on globally for decades. I've seen it happen in at least 3 jurisdictions. Embryo transplants are another story. Not allowed but what is the harm or big deal?

Trainer H Wynyard admitted a charge of misconduct in that she spoke to a Stipendiary Steward in an inappropriate manner with the Judicial Committee imposing a fine in the amount of $1,200.

What kind of conversation do you have to have with the stipes to cop a $1200 fine? I heard she might have told them to go forth and multiply themselves but even so, $1200?

Nearly a litre???

Are you serious? Shows how much you know or don't know perhaps. I am sure she was also trained in how to use a whip on racehorses.

I'm afraid the whole idea of "scaring" horses or any animal into performing does not sit well with me, whether you do that by noise or pain.

Think that might have been a tongue in cheek comment DB if I'm reading it correctly.

They contradict Thommo's claims. To summarise, the results of this study show that jockeys in more advanced placings at the 400 and 200 m positions before the post in races whip their horses more frequently. To gain the advantageous placings at 400 m positions, no horses were whipped while between the 400 and 200 m positions only half were whipped. On average, they achieved highest speeds when there was no whip use, and the increased whip use was most frequent in fatigued horses. That increased whip use was not associated with significant maintenance of velocity as a predictor of superior race placing at the finish of the race. Further studies with on-board sensors of gait characteristics are required to study responses to whipping in individual horses. The authors conclude that, under an ethical framework that considers costs paid by horses against benefits accrued by humans [11], these data make whipping tired horses in the name of sport very difficult to justify. However, it is worth noting that other ethical frameworks would not condone the practice even if it did, contrary to the findings of this study, cause horses to run faster.

Have you read the papers?

https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/11/12/first-conclusive-evidence-horses-hurt-by-whips--whips-don-t-aid-.html