curious

error

Don't think Savaglee is going there. Tackle the older horses here then off to OZ. Sensibly imo. Certainly wouldn't risk him in a ordinary Listed -R race myself.

YEAR: 1957 http://www.hof.co.nz/images/History/57Dominion.JPG 1957 DOMINION HANDICAP Only a five-year-old, Durban Chief returned a fine effort to win the Dominion Handicap, the premier event for trotters in New Zealand. His performance was marred to some extent however by two breaks during the running, but when balanced he showed his usual brilliance. Bred at Westport by Mr W A Craddock, he is raced in partnership by Mrs M F Collins, Mr E Walsh and J R Woodcock, who trains him at Westport. Durban Chief was driven by W P Walsh, who has been associated with him in all his races. One of the most brilliant displays of trotting seen at Addington for some time was returned by Recruit in the Dominion Handicap, and it was nothing short of a tragedy that he broke just short of the post when he had the race won. From 84yards Recruit began safely but soon became badly placed. He received a shocking run to the half mile and then had to race wide to make his run. His exhibition deserved a much better fate as he did not put a foot wrong until his lapse at the end. PHOTO - There was an exciting finish to the Dominion Trotting Handicap when the brilliant Recruit(M Holmes) outer, came home in sensational style to cross the line narrowly ahead of Durban Chief(W Walsh) and Barravey(J Litten). Unfortunately for his supporters Recruit broke just short of the post and was relegated to third place for galloping across the line. This was one of the finest performances ever put up by Recruit and it was unfortunate that he lost the decision through breaking Credit: 'Irvington' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 20Nov57

Not according to the stipes. Track: Soft 5, upgraded to Good 4 following Race 2

They had to put it up a few years back I think to cover the cost of extra security the council required for the BYO licence.

Hardly Good4 times all day. I'm surprised it hasn't been downgraded.

Yep. Me.

If it wasn't for the fact that horses and racing and the people involved have given me and my family a life time of enjoyment, I wouldn't be bothered. However, that's what drives me to continue making informed critical comment where I can, and interacting at all levels of the game to encourage positive change which will keep the game around for future generations to enjoy. Had it not been for Peters' taxpayer bailout and the subsequent Entain deal, it might well be gone already, at least as we knew and know it, and we'd be having a very different conversation here. The creeping loss of transparency wrt key metrics, data and reports is certainly not inspiring my confidence that won't happen anyway by the time the Entain guarantee period ends.

I'm not talking about one day's wagering. I'm talking about overall wagering revenue to costs including stakes. You ignore it when it's the primary metric for industry self-sufficiency and long term survival. I said that the one race day maybe a positive but that doesn't mean it goes anyway to addressing the issues which remain ignored after two decades of decline. It also doesn't mean that I can't enjoy what is left even though I hate to see the continued decline of something I have been involved in and passionate about for over half a century.

Have you heard of optimism bias TAB?

Not at all. It's more of the same. Perhaps a positive along with other things you have mentioned. I note that you make no mention of the wagering revenue geerated amongst those things. Yes, there's a plan but it's more of the same with no strategy to significantly address the things that have seen TR go from being essentially self-sufficient two decades ago to where it is today.

Just the one.

10,000 people don't hurt either!

I don't think doing more of what's already not working at an elevated level is likely to solve that problem, do you?

I wonder which will perform best business wise. Turnover to stakes ratio?

Do the TA reps not circulate these programming committee minutes to all regional trainers? Otherwise, how do the TA get representative trainer feedback?

Looked like about 20 people in the open stands at Trentham before Race 2 on a big G1 day. Probably close to 10 thousand at Kumara. Does a BYO licence make a difference?

Timaru has to appeal as a training base given the above mentioned programming issues in that it's equidistant from both Riccarton and Mosgiel, so mitigates the overnight travel requirement from one centre to the other.

That's not what the programming committee is supposed to be doing and have agreed to adhere to. For programming purposes, the pattern is supposed to divide the SI in half with the Waitaki river as the divider. This is from their minutes: PROGRAMMING PRINCIPLES: It was agreed that the following principles which were established in May 2012, then updated in August, December 2017, August 2020, and May 2024 be adhered to. ... A pattern was prepared for each ‘half of the island’ – north of and south of the Waitaki River. Programmes were determined and confirmed in date order. Certain types of races must be programmed as ‘one island’ (Open Handicap Races, and age group) and others as ‘half Island’ races. This creates some clashes when the two ‘half island’ charts are merged.

Agree, though I don't see much sign of any decline in numbers just yet.

“Attached to the monopoly proposal (geo-blocking), but not part of the agreement, in exchange for expanding the monopoly from onshore to online I negotiated with the TAB and they agreed they would relinquish their class 4 gaming licence and stick just to wagering, and so that would be a 500 poker machine drop to our country’s total – there would not be machines in TAB outlets anymore, and that means the TAB can focus just on wagering as it was intended to do right from the start."

TABNZ said they would relinquish the licences if they got the satisfactory geonet legislation through. It was nothing to do with the original Entain deal but a voluntary undertaking by TABNZ.

I'm sure it will be a Good 4 by Wednesday morning. Did they eventually get the new grass growing?

There's no irrigation reported in the track posting.

Nomination Morning Weather: Fine Track: Heavy 8 Moisture Meter: 49.6% Rail: TBC Rain: No Rain Last 24 Hours | 14mm Rain Last 7 Days Irrigation: Weather and Track updated at 8.55am Friday 10 January