Brodie

Just Holla won two years ago at Nelson, Gamma. It had been going very poor if you watched all of its races over the past year or so. The start of any race is very important especially the standing starts and they are an absolute joke a lot of the time. If HRNZ think that it is acceptable to consistently dish up poor starts then they need to get rid of them or employ someone that can do the job. The thing is that the drivers know that the stand starts are a farce and they get away with anything.

Harness racing is going to struggle if it is going to continue to accept such mediocrity! We thought the previous starter was not flash well things have not improved at all! Just pathetic and why should punters have to accept this Amateur behaviour and nothing is said!!

Yes Just Holla won. Who is the starter up there today, is it Donnelly? Seriously needs to learn what a standing start actually is! If harness racing wants to have credibility they need to be employing people who actually give a damn! Very poor, standing starts should not be moving starts and all horses need to be in a line not all over the place! Very amateur performance these stands and should be abolished if that is the best they can do.

I see Just Holla in race 5 at Nelson today is into $3.40 fixed to win! I acknowledge it is trained by Ken Baron and Blair is in the cart and in an 8 horse race but surely $3.40 is too short? It has not gone a decent race for ages as the run on the second day at Westport didnt seem that good as they only went a 2.11 mile rate and last half in over 66. Even a trial run before the Coast circuit was not great either. There are several picking it to win but I do not know why really and do not believe it warrants being so short even with Blair giving it every chance! Anyway maybe Brodie is missing something as there appears to be winning chances in that field at better odds!

What is wrong with being a horny beast?

TAB, so much to respond to and hope that things do come right for the sake of harness racing! Yes they have chucked money into stakes and breeders bonuses just as they promised they would do in order to take over the NZ TAB. Hope I am wrong and things are going to improve and make harness racing a viable business for so many again. I unfortunately do not hold your confidence that what they are doing is going to be enough to ensure Entain continues to back harness racing past the next 3 years. Personally believe that the communication from the TAB/Entain is very poor. Yes they have made changes many that are just stupid but then again that is right due to what McAnulty signed away. At the end of the day time will tell whether your confidence in the current lot running the Racing industry is justified, and I hope you are right. TAB, great that you are fully behind them but I say that these large gambling agencies are known to flog them off and Dean Shannon's past will tend to suggest this will happen at some stage. Happy New Year!

So effectively what Gamma is saying is that the NZ TAB will be getting sold going by the track record! This is what I believe is going to occur and harness will suffer!

Excellent at setting up betting agencies but how did this improve harness in Australia? The TAB website and accuracy since they took over is crap compared to before! Personally waiting to see results which hopefully occur. Wouldnt be taking evens on it though!

Gamma, it is always good to have peoples perspective on things. At the end of the day, hopefully everything being done has a positive influence on harness racing, as it was once a great industry. We are effectively at crossroads and the decisions being made currently is of massive importance. What Galah and myself and many people I know are very disappointed in many of the decisions being made and the lack of communication to the public. What we would like to see is the ones making the decisions, fronting the ones paying their salaries. Apart from money being chucked into stakes and promises of breeding bonuses, what do others see that have been improved for everyone?

Aye?

TAB, firstly not sure what you mean by tag teaming? We both are individuals that generally think along the same lines, and express our thoughts which is what more should be doing. The truth of the matter is that I want harness to continue and thrive but I have my doubts as I firmly believe that Entain are only luke warm about harness racing! There have been many decisions that just do not appear to be very well thought out! You say that some have only been in the jobs 5 minutes, which is not correct! Personally do not have much confidence in what is happening that will ensure harness racing flourishes in the future. You say that it is their job to increase field sizes, well doesnt seem to be happening? Nelson fields this week have dramatically less numbers than there used to be, with many races just not profitable for anyone! TAB, can you unequivocally state that Entain are not just playing the 5 year game and are not going to pull the plug when their 5 year guarantee is up?

The reality is that the TAB wasn't going that well a few years ago due to very poor decisions! McAnulty should never have signed away the NZ TAB for 25 years, simple as that! Entain are not the White Knight that many think they are, and we will see that in 3 years or so. We will see in 3 years time whether there is a future for harness racing in NZ with Entain pulling the strings. as I say great that there is more money being out into stake money from Entain, which is what they promised to do as part of the deal with the TAB. They also guaranteed that the current employee’s would retain their jobs for 2 years, which Entsin did not honour! At the end of the day they are a big corporate gambling agency that have got what they wanted and we are now forced to just wait and see! Just do not hold your breath thinking or believing that they actually care about the NZ racing industry.

Galah, some of your very best work! All of your questions are fully justified, but I would doubt that we will be getting too much out of HRNZ because they do not appear to have an answer to too much. We have had this extra money from Entain chucked into stake money and bonuses that was promised but I personally do not believe that they really have much of an idea with racing! They have made many poor decisions since they took over to my mind, however hopefully things will improve. Has Entain actually got a good record with racing anywhere, as they are a sports betting and gambling agency and do not appear to have had much success with racing! Like to be proven wrong though?

Wasnt there but do you reckon the crowd was bigger than what the normal Motukarara post Xmas meetings were on a warm day?

Seriously if Entain want to retain and attract Punters they need to get rid if the Clowns that are operating their TAB website, this Sports and Racing Australia, Trusted for 20+ years!! They are clearly not up to the task of providing accurate or up to date information! So poorly performing it is laughable what they provide, they have to be very very cheap or why would anyone actually be using them? They are just so inaccurate they actually think that Omakau raced on a grass track and the stats that they use also account for this! How can this outfit actually think that they are TRUSTED FOR 20+ YEARS???? Hopeless compared to what our previous TAB offered!

At Roxburgh trots tomorrow, apparently Craig Thornley is very comfortable in the saddle? This is according to the comments coming from Sports and Racing, Trusted for 20+ years,! This is the comment even though Craig Thornley isnt driving Amaretto Franco! Is the race down there a Saddle Trot?

I can go into HRNZ website no problrmd. But often when I want to watch a replay they are thinking I am a Bot and require me to sign in! Even when I do it still doesnt allow viewing and then after several goes it randomly lets me watch? Bit of a pain really.

Over the past couple of months off and on they want Brodie to sign into, as they think he could be a BOT! I am sure the BOT stands for something with Brodie. I sign in and still often I can not see the replays, then after a few goes they reappear! Interesting really I have to be a BOT in their eyes?

Brodie is not a BOT, and never has been! Does anyone else have trouble with getting race replays on HRNZ after signing into it? Not sure why they introduced this signing into HRNZ thinking that we are BOTS??? Doesnt always happen but can be quite challenging at times!

On boxing day the track was never good. It had a good amount of grass on it and thry had had rain and most horses struggled to get through it. Yesterday it was totally different, it had dried out a bit snd they had rolled it so the grass was not as long and there were form reversals from the first day. A lot of the time the weather snd track conditions are at odds with the true weather conditions. HRNZ can say rain and yet no rain predicted at all on the metro weather report?

Nowornever, the point being is that with all of the money that Entain are chucking at racing including breeding bonuses, stake money etc. you would think that they could provide a semi half decent TAB web site, wouldnt you? They say that the Sport and Racing Australia who are providing the info has been trusted by the Australians for 20 plus years? Bollacks, It would have to be the most inaccurate betting platform in the world surely or maybe we were actually spoilt by the TAB before Entain?

I am sure he has got his phone number! Does anyone think that Entain is the White Knight that will be the saviour of harness racing in NZ outside of the 5 years? If so, can you kindly explain why you believe they will be successful?

Of course Ranga. Why do you think the bonus that was just announced is for 3 years? It is when the 5 year Entain guarantee of this funding expires! Would be great to be hearing from Dean Shannon CEO of Entain as to their plans for harness that he will guarantee for NZ. We are hearing nothing from them at all?

The fields are up on the TAB website for tomorrow provided by the Ozzie outfit which appatently has been trusted fir over 20 years lol! The site is useless fir information, it can not even have yesterdays form up which is absolutely USELESS!!! Bring back the old TAB site, but they eont because they do not care about racing punters!

They do not care about harness! Sam Ottley gets the 100 wins for the season and they whip over to a pointless gallops race in Oz!