curious

Oh no, not transferred. They were closed and refunded.

That's long since happened.

Gosh, that's a bit alarmist! I doubt that will happen. Likely the same as the Entain bookies in Oz, they will notify NZ based account holders, close the accounts and refund balances, blocking betting on those accounts in the interim. The bookies all have phone numbers anyway in the worst case. It will be interesting to see how most of them do handle it though. They've had plenty of time to prepare. Other than those already paying POC charges, I wonder how they will notify the countless other providers around the world that are taking bets from NZers about this law change?

Racing to receive major boost from NZ betting law changes Entain Australia and New Zealand 25 June 2025 Changes to New Zealand betting laws which passed in Parliament today will provide a vital boost to New Zealand sporting and racing codes and to the safety of New Zealand bettors when the bill becomes law later this month. Alongside the strengthened harm minimisation protections for New Zealand customers as a result of these law changes, a NZ$100 million payment from Entain Group, which will be made after the changes to the Racing Industry Act take effect, will further deepen Entain’s commitment to the New Zealand industry and will boost the fortunes for Kiwi racing participants and national sporting organisations. Entain’s suite of brands in New Zealand include TAB and betcha, offering Kiwis a choice of bookmaker and betting preferences. Entain’s 25-year strategic partnership with statutory body TAB NZ was established in June 2023 to provide an immediate financial uplift to the New Zealand racing codes and 38 National Sporting Organisations, committing more than $360 million to boost the fortunes of racing and sports in the first two years of the partnership, and almost $1 billion in the first five years. The payment to racing and sporting codes and ongoing benefits from the law changes plays a crucial role in supporting communities and teams across New Zealand, sitting alongside efforts from government, member participation and sponsorship, Entain Australia and New Zealand’s Managing Director – New Zealand, Sam Moncur said. “Entain is proud to be building on TAB NZ's legacy of backing Kiwi racing and sport,” Moncur said. “We are also very aware of the privilege we have to provide a world-class betting experience to Kiwis. Entain, through TAB and betcha, will deliver odds as fair and competitive as a customer would find in the highly competitive Australian market. “Kiwis love a fair go, and we’re committed to providing fair odds for our racing and sports fans into the future.” Entain Australia and New Zealand has been relentlessly focused on improving both the betting experience through investment in technology and the TAB retail network, as well as harm minimisation measures for customers since the strategic partnership began. The TAB platform refresh in April 2024 brought with it a world leading suite of safer betting tools available to all customers. These best-in-class tools offer comprehensive choices to help customers tailor the way they manage their betting. These tools also became available to betcha customers upon its launch in August 2024. These include: the ability to set deposit limits, an individual bet limit, curfews, controlling the markets a customer can choose to see, blocking out days of the week, deposit options, self[1]exclusion and account closure. More harm minimisation options will be introduced to the New Zealand market to add to Entain’s world-class support in this area. “We're honoured to contribute to the future of the racing codes and play a part in keeping Kiwi sport alive and thriving,” Moncur said.

Yes, but I don't think Thommo is trying to appease anyone here, though probably not to dupe them either.

Every day and every event? And I assume you mean cully not curry?

According to Chatgpt: Summary For young adults in New Zealand: Horse racing is no longer a top-tier interest, though it remains a niche entertainment option. Interest is mostly event-driven and social rather than sustained sporting passion. Sports like basketball, football, and social lifestyle events are significantly more popular among this demographic.

And remember these are only 2yos. I imagine we'll see a few more performing next season.

I'm not quite clear about your post on this. Did Dan conclude that the difference between whipped and not whipped was in fact significant, despite the study concluding it was not?

Yeah, sorry to hear that. Probably a poorly written rule

I'm surprised @Chief Stipe didn't pull you up for this post. Did you not see this? By Chief Stipe 22/06/25 Snapshots of TV Replays alledgedly depicting breaches of the whip rules will be allowed only at BOAY's administrator's discretion. The minimum threshold for publication is the picture must be accompanied by details of the date, race meeting, race number and horse number/name.

I wasn't aware that any policy based on it was being proposed? I was responding to @Special Agent wrt the incidence of epistaxis. There's no evidence to suggest that. What there is suggests the opposite.

Studies comparing different track surfaces have shown: Dirt tracks tend to have higher EIPH incidence and severity. Synthetic tracks (like Polytrack or Tapeta) are associated with lower stress on limbs and reduced concussion, which may reduce internal pressures that contribute to EIPH. Turf tracks often fall somewhere in between. Reducing the speed of the polys for racing as recommended should reduce that further.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2506/S00124/new-analysis-details-government-annual-gift-of-119m-to-multinational-gambling-company.htm

Quite a good article on the issue that was in the Irish Times a couple of months back. https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/racing/2025/03/28/whip-rules-are-blunt-and-convoluted-but-theyre-necessary-for-style-of-the-times/

The BHA have that in their guidelines too. Simple if we want our rules to be of international standard. Veterinary Officers will inspect horses after a race and if a horse is wealed it will be reported to the Stewards.

I don't disagree that the rules could be better written, but that same rule is in use in a number of jurisdictions and I'm not aware that there has been any dispute over it's interpretation. Seems to me it would be hard to strike a horse on the ribcage with hands off the reins without using the reinforced part of the stick rather than just the flap. The simple solution would be to change the rule so it is simple and enforceable. i.e., No use for encouragement with hands off the reins.

As with most of the words in the rules I'd think noscitur a sociios would apply, wouldn't it? If you don't know yourself, any kid who has passed the C level pony club test should be able to help you.

I see they've managed to stuff this up in at least one place. Without limiting the generality of subrule 638(3)(e), in a Flat Race or Jumping Race, a Trial (including jump-outs and/or tests for certification purposes) a Rider must not use their or her whip:

Those aren't rules. They are notice of a change to them. What definitions are missing?

Think that would be OTT based on the current info, especially when horses are working on it regularly. Just be an added cost for owners and a hassle for trainers?

What I posted above was the result of direct communication with NZTR. What else do you suggest I do that might get a response?

No. I didn't play in slow motion, nor zoom in. I'm sure they can see the snap shots themselves. They read this site don't they? This is the response from NZTR on the matter. We are comfortable with the current Whip Rules and where they sit on an international scale. Minor amendments were processed last week following the Asian Racing Conference’s Rules Harmonisation meeting. We will continue to work the Racing Integrity Board to ensure that any breaches of the Whip Rules are dealt with appropriately under the Penalty Guidelines

I've said this before, it's not the RIU's responsibility. It's NZTR's to fix the rules and penalties and ensure they are enforced and neither NZTR, nor their welfare team think there is a problem. I have that in writing. The RIU is only their contractor for the enforcement part of that. If they are not doing their job then it's up to NZTR to sort them out which it seems the won't. Aside from that. NZTR and the RIU already have those pics. That's who I got them from.

This is one of the worse examples today where the horse is not only struck on the flank but by the reinforced part of the stick before the flap hits. This would be largely avoided if the whip was used correctly on the hindquarters where mostly the flap would be applied and with less force because the direct up and down force is not able to be applied with the reaching back motion. https://loveracing.nz/RaceInfo/53389/4/Race-Detail.aspx