curious

Never was to my knowledge but the class 4 gaming operations were not part of the Entain deal. That stayed with NZTAB. Entain operate racing and sports betting and trackside.

I don't see what that has to do with anything. Any club can do that but Ellerslie is obviously in a better financial situation than most to do so. The NZTR contribution from their stakes distribution is the same. This however seems to be an additional race, not part of the original programme committee approval, with funding beyond what is standard for such a race. It would be unseemly if that extra funding is coming from the NZTR stakes funding pool in preference to other uses.

So they can find 100k for another race at Ellerslie but not enough to upgrade a couple of summer meetings in the SI from industry to feature? Or, where is the 100 grand coming from. If you really want to piss off owners this is a good way to do it.

EXCLUSIVE: Cup-winning trainers dudded in $464,000 prizemoney payment bungle By Trenton Akers 02:18pm • 10 January 2025 An administrative bungle has soured Knight's Choice's fairytale victory in the $8.5m Melbourne Cup, with trainers John Symons and Sheila Laxon still chasing their share of prizemoney from the famous victory. Racenet can exclusively reveal racing officials, along with Symons and Laxon, are desperately scrambling to rectify the situation after their $464,000 cut for the race that stops the nation was paid into an old bank account that they no longer use. It is understood the bank account is held in the name of a former associate.

Unfortunately it's not up to Pitty and Mills. They (the programming committee) have tried to get additional Canterbury feature meetings during the 10 week hiatus. NZTR won't fund them. They clearly prefer to fund 4 horse 65k races at Ellerslie. Not many trainers down here have an Orchestral either to sway anybody to do so. If they leave noms open, trainers will toss in a few extra to make it a goer even if most of them are then scratched. However, often the races are deleted at nom time if only 4.

Yes. It's their race and their decision given NZTR funding approval.

A few have had jumpouts at Rangiora too and maybe the same further south.

By NZTR and the club concerned. I said acceptors, not starters. There were 8 for the Reefton Cup.

Don't know that I can either but I guess the apparent difference is that any race in the SI with only 4 acceptors or less has been deleted.

Why would you trial them, if there's no races for them?

NZTAB distributed $12m of pokie generated funding to the racing industry in FY24. Not sure what you mean by it being lost.

Agree. Hard to split them and most in or close to their best form. Possibly the best open class race in the SI this season?

Gold Coast track gets tick for Millions day: ‘We could have raced today' https://www.racenet.com.au/news/gold-coast-track-gets-green-light-for-magic-millions-day-20250108 Watch the crucial track gallop that gave the course the tick of approval. By Trenton Akers 06:17pm • 09 January 2025 One of the most respected stewards in the world says the repair job at the controversial Gold Coast track worked so well, they could have raced the Magic Millions on Thursday if it was required. After almost a week of mixed messaging and uncertainty, it took less than half an hour for Kim Kelly to give $14.5m meeting the green light on Thursday morning after senior jockeys Vlad Duric, Chad Schofield, Jimmy Orman, Michael Cahill, Andrew Mallyon and Martin Harley tested the new turf. "We looked at it yesterday (Wednesday) and I was confident that if, at a pinch, the races were on today (Thursday), we could have done it," Kelly, the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission's deputy commissioner said. "The time between Wednesday and Saturday is just a bonus." While officials have managed to dodge a bullet with the track, they are facing a new potential issue, with up to 30mm of rain forecast to fall at the Gold Coast on Saturday's race day. The meeting was famously washed out in 2023 with just 14mm of rain overnight, however the new sand-based Gold Coast track is much more resilient to downpours, should they arrive. With grass guru's Evergreen Turf replacing the entire affected patch of killed off grass earlier in the week, racing officials are confident the new slab will race consistently with the rest of the course proper. "The contractors, Racing Queensland and the club have done a great job in getting the affected area back to where it is now," Kelly said. "It was all very positive. "The rain on Wednesday night could have only helped it, natural irrigation is better than any other irrigation. "I am very confident, the feedback from the riders was positive, as I expected it would be after looking at the track. "We are very happy with the outcome so far, there are no issues with the meeting on Saturday at this stage at all." The six jockeys who rode on the track on Thursday were not permitted to make public comments about their gallops earlier in the day. Additional track staff will be on hand to inspect the area at the 500m mark on Saturday after each race

It's the handicapping system. She's rated 102 so she gets 62 less the 2kg female allowance. Shamus rated 98 gets 2kgs less, but not the allowance.

Anyone seen comparable figures for TR? Interesting that this notes the crowds at the country venues of Central Otago and Motukarara and furthermore that "The highest turnover meeting of the holiday break was at Motukarara on December 29, with total turnover of $1.62m." Holiday season turnovers up 3.4 per cent January 8, 2025 NZHarnessNews Harness racing turnovers for the busy Christmas – New Year period have seen a more than three per cent rise on last year. Latest figures from Entain show that turnover on the 10 meetings between Cambridge on Christmas Eve and Omakau on January 2 was 3.4 per cent up on the corresponding time the previous year, with the number of individuals betting on harness racing up 5 per cent. “It’s been a good time for our sport, we’ve seen some huge crowds at places like Central Otago and Motukarara and turnovers have been strong right across the board,” says HRNZ’s Head of Racing and Wagering Matthew Peden. Auckland’s New Year’s Eve meeting at Alexandra Park was a particular success. Total turnover on the meeting was $1.48m compared to $822K last year. “In terms of averages, that equates to $148,000 per race, compared to $103,000 last year so that is a great result for the ATC (Auckland Trotting Club),” says Peden Gore’s meeting on December 27 was also up, turning over $1.36m, as was Cambridge up from $687K to $904K (but with three extra races) while Omakau, the opening meeting on the Central Otago circuit, was up marginally from $1.39m to $1.43m. The highest turnover meeting of the holiday break was at Motukarara on December 29, with total turnover of $1.62m. “One observation about The Mot though was there are challenges with cellphone coverage that impacts people putting bets on, so getting a solution to that is a priority.” Overall turnover from December 24 – January 2 was $11,668,682 in 2024-25, compared to $11,288,232 in 2023-24. “Generally speaking it’s a good solid start to 2025 and as always we will be looking at what improvements in all areas, including wagering and the race day experience for everyone,” says Peden

Yes.....but what were they thinking is the question for me. Hopefully one of our esteemed racing journalists can get to the bottom of it.

Last I knew there was a 30 day pre-export quarantine for the US and 2 weeks post-arrival quarantine which if that's right would make it unfeasible aside from being highly unlikely in the first place. I don't see the point, let alone the rationale for the commitment to costs. Hopefully someone from NZTR will explain soon.

I suppose the question is now whether the patch is consistent enough with the rest of the track to be safe to race on.

GC track works completed Ryan Reynolds @Reynolds_R 8:34am The affected section of the track at Gold Coast (Image: Gold Coast Turf Club) With Ben Sporle Key works on the Gold Coast Turf Club track have been completed as the clock ticks down to Saturday's feature Magic Millions Raceday. The club announced on Tuesday night that the new grass had been laid and key works completed after a significant portion of the track was damaged last week. That damage forced last Saturday's key lead-up meeting to be moved to the Sunshine Coast, allowing the club time to fix the track ahead of this weekend's $14.5m meeting. Evergreen Turf and VRC track manager Liam O'Keeffe were called in to assist to project, while Eagle Farm is on standby to host the meeting if required. Horses are set to gallop over the impacted section of track on Thursday morning with a call made shortly after on whether the meeting will proceed. Meanwhile, on Tuesday afternoon the Gold Coast Turf Club released a statement in relation to the investigation surrounding the damaged course proper. Spray nozzles, mixing equipment and footprints were found in the area were the damage occurred. Police are continuing their investigation in relation to the incident. “We’re awaiting an independent report from leading agronomist company Easton Turf, who has been up to take samples of the damaged turf, but it’s looking more and more a case of vandalism,” said GCTC Chairman Brett Cook. “We know the spray nozzles aren’t ours because they’re plastic and we use brass. “Easton Turf has seen a number of similar cases in the past and has spoken with the investigating police. “If it does turn out to be a deliberate act, which is looking increasingly likely, we’re very disappointed with a narrative that has come out suggesting it was some sort of mistake on our part.”

For me, most of the time, I'm not there to see that and the bet has long been on so I don't generally account for any visual observations like that.

I don't really see why you wouldn't back test when you have years of data to do that with. Forward or prospective testing takes years to get reliable results.

I meant what is the tradeoff?

No. I bet with about 10.

Have to assume these are still held up in the post Christmas post?