Brodie

Not sure why Akatea is so short? First start in the South with no trials? Yes it has won 3 races but over sprint distances a d then Hawera grass! hasnt done much at Cambridge left handed, so the Bookies obviously know a lot more than the punters, but yes crazy short on the face of it!

When they were training in partnership at the peak of their powers, their horses could do just about anything, and other stable horses couldnt replicate. Often they would have horses sitting parked and under the bat on the corner and they would come again and win! Was in tight class racing as well, that is not happening now!

Great to have a debate on various topics and BOAY does it so much better than other sites. It is fine to have differing opinions on things and that is what makes a debate. All Stars seem to be more in the North Island now with Mark and Nathan up there and Michael still at Rolleston from what I can see? Personally think that it is far better for racing when one or two stables arent dominating the feature races and it is shared around abit as it ks very hard for the smaller stables to now compete at the highest level. Yes All Stars are competing well and have a good UDR but from where I am sitting in front of Trackside, their horses are no where near as good as what they were overall, when they were winning 6 or 7 races on Cup Day. The way the All Stars horses were going when Mark was training in partnership with Nat Rasmussen was far superior to what they are currently. Yes they had big paying owners and they still do, it was just a golden era for the All stars stable of runners, and may never be repeated again in NZ!

On every race? Why dont they just give better odds on all horses then? If they are trying to attract turnover then retain your existing punters and allow them to increase turnover!

Recipe for disaster surely, Chief?

I see that the TAB is offering Odds Surge on every race at Palmerston North trots today? Maximum wager is $100 per race but why is the TAB needing to do this? Maybe it is due to the extremely low tote turnover that is showing, and this will include the wagering from the extra payouts! They are struggling to get many interested in betting on what they are offering and they really do need to be inviting their loyal punters of many decades to punt away rather than restricting them to pathetic amounts, or they are stuffed!

No point arguing with each other as it achieves nothing. we all need to reflect on what is important in life for us and treasure and appreciate people in our lives and do what we enjoy. We all know life can be a shit sandwich at times and we know that things are not always fair, but we soldier on and need to do the best that we can for ourselves and loved ones.

What it comes down to is how much is being waged on the Fixed markets nowadays, as I have been told that tote betting is only about 30% of the wagering! They certainly are not making enough on the tote now so I suppose it depends on how many are winning on the fixed odds? The pools on the tote now are pathetically small now, it is surprising that anyone actually bets into them? Will be interesting to see the years results from the TAB wagering, with all the extra advertising.

Absolute shocking news for family and the harness industry. Everyone says he was a really genuine bloke. Yes there have so many people dieing before their time or getting crook over the past few years! not good unfortunately.😢

Ii is good to have racing for the better class horses, for good stake money. I just find it far easier and preferable to wager on looser class racing and that is where the money is to be made. Reality is that most of the winners of the bigger stakes races continue to come from Canterbury. Would be interesting to see the betting figures for Auckland as I believe fewer punters are bothering betting up there. The turnover figures are inflated due to the bonus cash being given back. From all the extra advertising that the TAB is doing, is it attracting new punters or extra wagering?

Gamma, think the training establishment at Rolleston wouldnt be compatible with all the residential property owners that will be living there! Good to see the spoils being shared around though. Didnt watch many of the races tonight, Addington had more appeal punting wise! Did look at a few tote pools from time to time, they appeared to be very light for the stake money offered, so pretty sure it will be another unprofitable meeting?

Race 8;Auckland Friday night - HR Fisken Anzac Cup Trot for $100k has 13 starters. Interesting fact is that of the. 13 starters in it, only 3 of the trotters are not from the South Island originally. Matty A, Jasinova and the Ozzie seem to be the only non South Island trotters. North Island not producing enough horses now, so the South Island is providing the starters.

Well done to “ The Box Seat” today that debated about the 2000m stands at Addington! Michael Guerin brought it up and good discussion. Brittany Graham stated that the stands that they actually have in Ozzie, the horses have to STAND!! they discussed that if you draw the few inside spots over 2000m is a major disadvsntage and hard to win from. They discussed the horses on the charge getting a huge advantage. Could Brodie suggest to HRNZ and their starter, that if they card it as a standing starts, then make the horses STAND!! Current situation of how they are being allowed to happen is extremely poor, and if HRNZ thinks it is acceptable then it shows that we are not in good hands!!

Galah, so what you are saying is that the trainers nowadays are not as good at disciplining their horses compared to decades ago? The reality is that the drivers know that they can get away with having their horses on the move, when the tapes are released by the starter! Lets watch over the next few weeks as to how these so called standing starts are performed! The starter has no respect from the drivers, it clearly can be seen. Will not worry the TAB but I am going to boycott the sprint so called stands as it is just pure gambling and you can not predict who gets the advantage. Would you not think that someone from HRNZ would come out and say something, but highly doubt they will because they are aware that they are not stands, and poorly executed.

Galah, not sure about this racing on time thing? It is more about the starter having the control and not the drivers!!! Just watched a race on Trackside 1, a standing start for trotters, with several lines of horses. We need this starter over here as he ensured that every horse was standing totally still before he let them go! Was a great standing start, he wouldnt be putting up with the crap that we have here, with nothing like standing starts at all! Most of the execs at Entain and the CEO Brad Steele are all Ozzies, and they need to get an Ozzie over to get these stands being properly executed. Reality is Galah,that not all horses do get the same treatment in every standing start in the South Island! Just pathetic the way they think horses getting a flier cos it is in a run up is a fair standing start! Watch the replay of race 2 at Albion Park today and you will see that the starters here and Australia are chalk and cheese with the stands

They were not standing starts! They were rolling starts at best, with horses well and truly jogging up to the tape there were horses that are often not great beginners get into full gait very early on, and it is just a lucky dip. Westview commented it was a timing issue with having to get the races run on exact time by the sound of of it! Surely it is not that hard to get them organised earlier by a few seconds prior to releasing the tapes Why is it really only the South Island clubs that have standing starts, as Ozzie and the North Island do not really? At the end of the day if HRNZ think they are fine and punters think they are good to punt into, then so be it I suppose. Just shows really where harness racing is currently at, that running to time is far more important than producing a fair product to punt on! Anything goes with non mobile starts apparently! The industry will continue to be in trouble if mediocrity is accepted as being fine!

Gamma, lol This Sam O’Reilly did he marry Sarah and took her name instead of remaining a Thornley? Hate to say it but officialdom from HRNZ is very amateurish and very poor. Punters should not be putting up with these pathetic so called standing starts, snd blhcott wagering on them until such time as they get someone who knows what standing still means . Otherwise call them something else, like anything GOES! Where on earth is Brad Steele advising us what HRNZ policy is in regards to the stands? Seriously anyone could do what the starters are currently getting away with! Watch, nothing will come out from HRNZ!

Lol lol lol lol You just have to shake your head and just wonder. Very questionable today once again. Major Hipster got no advantage from galloping lol Are they SERIOUS?????? Delusion!

Yes they love Casinos because if the speed of betting I would suggest. ChCh Casino now inundated with Indian young makes now but you never see them On course or TAB’s. Just not their thing for some reason, or are we not doing enough to attract their $?

As I keep saying if this is what we are be treated to with standing starts, then they need to be got rid of and just have mobiles. Does HRNZ have confidence in its starters, if so they have very low standards indeed! Why on earth the starter let the tapes go when he did, is very hard to understand? Think they need to have major training sessions, as seriously it is NOT GREAT!! Ben Hope may have been found st fault and fined but I do not see it that way! He was not the one that ,et the tape go and said that it was a fair start by doing so? Yet the starter gets nothing, and the blame goes on Ben and the punters that win get LESS!!

To be fair it wasnt just Colleen Negus who didnt move. It was a very poor example of Amateur races, but that is what we often get ! They are normally unpredictable and you can never guess how they are going to be run.

Unfortunately it is going to take a lot more than that to make it worth the while, throwing money at it! There is just very little interest in harness racing in the North and we are going to continue to see this. There were several races in the age group races on Saturday night with 5 or 6 horses in them racing for good stake money. If it wasnt for South Island horses flying up then those races would not have been run. Harness in Auckland is in far bigger trouble than they are willing to admit. I will be very happy to be proven wrong!

In Auckland/ Waikato apart from Luk, has there been any other Asian harness trainers or drivers? i can not think of any others! In the whole of NZ has there ever been an Indian/Pakistani harness trainer or driver? Can not think if a single one, so there is one of harness racing problem, that this sizeable amount of people who have immigrated to NZ and increased our population, do not participate at any level in the sport!

The thing about Auckland is that the population has spiralled out of control due to immigration from countries that do not generally have racing! Countries such as India and China, and from what I see, these immigrants just are not interested in harness racing. They are known to be very active gamblers at Casino’s but they just do not bother with harness racing for some reason? Plenty around but not at racetracks or the TAB!

Thats the normal for Addington track. They are running with the front line as if it was being run at the Mot. Rest assured it is only 8 across the front for the stands.