Brodie

I can’t even get on anything! Currently overseas and so can not get TAB webbsite to punt, which seems crazy! Anyway havent even looked at the fields on HRNZ so bit of a break for Brodie.

Geez most people will think we are doom and gloomers in regards to the future of harness racing in NZ! I believe just realists, the way things are definitely going, so things need changing. We now know just how in the crap Harness Racing Victoria is financially insolvent! HRNZ and Entain seriously need to look at their current performance and what they are doing to it! There have been several really stupid decisions being made currently, they just dont seem to have anyone with business acumen?

Entain I very much doubt are going to be throwing money into racetracks or training centres! They are not that type of business, they are a gambling business solely. They promised to put a certain amount of money into racing stskes for 5 years and that is what they will do. After that it will sink or swim, they got what they wanted and pretty cheaply as well! How many tracks or training centres have they put in overseas???

Something has to be done as there us no way nowadays that young ones can purchase their own training property, handing down to family would be the only way! The thing is that as we all know, there has to be new owners and trainers coming thru for the industry to continue. You only need to watch Westview’s interviews to see that most of the winning owners are older, unless it is a syndicate. As Galah has already stated there are next to no new trainers going out on their own, as so hard to attract paying owners.

“The Reidman” is meant to be heading South!

Auckland harness is clearly just a shadow of its former glory days and can not see how it can possibly survive! The fact that stake money is still good up there and yet reducing numbers of owners, trainers, horses and punters, just shows what a flawed business plan Entain is adopting! Reality is that they dont really care if it sinks or swims, they have got what they were after, the control of all sports wagering for 25 years. The amount they guaranteed to put into racing is chicken feed to them and they will not be putting more in when the five years us up. It was a dumb idea to allow Entain in by McAnulty and co. Despite the media BS from them.

Have just been reading on Harnesslink, that Harness Victoria are basically insolvent and totally in the shite financially! They have been making massive losses over the past few years and losing in excess of $20m last year and are up the creek for in excess of $60million. Think they have been given plenty of $ from the government in recent years as well, so a lot of mismanagement going on over there as well! Reality is that it is not easy to turn a profit from racing now with the stakes and costs, and punter turnover isnt growing enough to support this!

The jury is well and truly out on the new CEO Brad Steele! Personally haven’t seen much from him that gives much confidence in him. They seem to think that by bringing out an Ozzie to interview trainers and tell us just how great Entain is by throwing money at the harness industry is the answer! Well I can tell you that it will take far more than that for things to improve and where is the Entain CEO Dean Shannon? Havent heard from him for months! At the end of the day Entain are calling all the shots and the shots will slowly kill the industry the way they are going. The North Island harness is in the throes of being wiped out by putting meetings on a Tuesday. News flash, most punters won’t be betting on a Tuesday with 4 horse fields. Thursdays would’ve been far better and Friday and Saturday nights for Canterbury. Hope I am wrong but I firmly believe that Entain have one intention in mind all along and that was the sports betting! If it wasn’t they seriously are a very poor business model.

Yes good for the owner as he will always get money in a 4 horse field. The thing is Gamma, it is going to just turn the Punter off as not worth the effort when every horse that places is less than $2 top 3! This arrangement of racing on a Tuesday night is really not going to work, and it never was going to! The betting figures are going to continue to be disastrous week in and week out unfortunately. Can not fathom a lot of Entain decisions they have made if they were serious about increasing turnover?

I am sure Brad Steele the new CEO is still encouraged by the size no. of the fields at Cambridge this week! Fields with great numbers of 4, 5 and 6 starters is really going to get the turnover going? Can they really be serious and afford to run these meetings for very big financial losses week in and week out? Things are not looking like Entain were hoping!

Who on earth is this Peter Profit? Seriously needs to be taken down a peg or two for writing slanderous BS! You only need to look at the conditioning on any Dunn horse out on the track and they look magnificent anytime of year! Peter Profit give yourself an uppercut, you are an absolute Dickhead if you think the horses are treated poorly. pull your head in and you only need to watch Harness Racing Unhinged weekly videos to see how the Dunn stable horses are treated!

Personally like the format as we are used to it for so long. Aa for the Tab site coming in from Sport and Racing trusted for 20plus years, that is just an absolute waste of time with its inaccuracies and comments that are just laughable.

No I dont touch gallops or dogs, form too hard to follow! Used to go to Riccarton many a long year ago but before fixed odds was introduced in NZ. Saturday nights would be far more popular to attract new people on course, however they arent willing to apart from Easter!

Not crying at all Gamma, just telling it the way it is! The thing is by putting on Cambridge on a Tuesday is lunacy and not in the best interests at all for Cambridge, the harness industry or the Punters! Why not put it on a Thursday as well as some Friday nights? Tuesday was never going to work and the betting figures show how unpopular it is going to be! The new CEO is encouraged??

Brilliant and very encouraging Cambridge. Seven races and so 21 fixed odds placing odds. Only 2 gorses paid over $2.00 and they were only just over $2. 19 of the 21 fixed odds place odds paid under $2!!!!! What a dismal failure for Cambridge and harness racing.

Brad Steele obvious has very low expectations for NZ harness! Happy with the numbers lol! tote pools are the lowest ever I would say? Place pools under $2k, yeah good idea to race Cambridge on a Tuesday night! Lunacy!

Just had a look at the fixed odds for the Cambridge meeting! As a meeting to bet into, what an absolute waste of time! Place Odds are just not worth any effort with the pathetically small fields. This Tuesday Cambridge idea is going to be a massive failure.😞

No the high rollers are nit basically paying for the Slot races now in harness! The Dickheads decided to chuck hundred if thousands into the pot unnecessarily! I firmly believe that harness racing is in serious trouble in the future with many of the decisions that are bring made. They fly someone over from Oz at expense to promote how great Etain are and how rosey the future is with all this extra dollars in stakes going in! Unfortunately it is going to take a lot more than increased stakes for four years when Entain then pull their $! Do they really believe that is enough to entice owners to shell out $3,000 per month to race a horse?

Of course it is good that there is racing at Cambridge giving horses a chance to race, however there are big issues at play. Putting on low class racing st Cambridge on a Tuesday nite is just crucifying them, as turnover will be shite as fields will be pathetically small. Why didnt they at least put them on a Thursday? going to be very interesting to see what the Friday night betting figures are when Auckland is competing with Addington? I do not believe that Entain is going to continue to prop up racing in NZ, they only wanted control of the Sports betting and the smount of money they have put into racing is chicken feed for them!

So they are all financially wealthy, will be the same in NZ slot races! So why on earth is HRNZ putting heaps in when it is not required, as they would run the race anyway as it wont affect the slot holders wealth, but cost the industry?

The fields for Cambridge on Tuesday are not flash and is not going to ptofitable as betting revenue is going to be very low! You can not run a profitable meeting with 7 races and very small fields! Entain/ TAB are delusional if they think that it is a great idea to run these meetings on a Tuesday night as well. the Ozzie will probably clean up and take the NZ dollars back to Ozzie, which is hardly helping the NZ based owners and trainers?

Last race at Cambridge tonight was win by Red Rackham in a 6 horse field. Very interesting that it paid so much more to place than to win? I am not sure of how much wagering went on this meeting but by the look of it there was very little in the win and place pools! I know on Ozzie harness there have been occasions when the place div was more than the win but havent seen it ever on NZ harness! Will be interesting to see just how popular these Tuesday night meetings at Cambridge are going to be?

Bruce Negus improving horses dramatically continued today st Addington. First race Waterholes Road bolted in even when Bruce wasn’t at all confident! Second race a horse that Bruce I don't believe has had for very long, sprints home like a class act and bolts in! Great to see a long time trainer still putting in the hard yards and getting success, when many his age have put their feet up! Need plenty more Bruce Negus’s to keep the industry going.

Carter Dalgety winning races in the United States surely is confirming that Carter Dalgety is the best Junior since Dexter, if not better? Good on him and clearly he will probably end up living snd driving there for awhile.

Obviously he is going to be a top driver and will get plenty of drives in the North due to a shortage of drivers. Next to no Junior drivers races in the North so he no doubt will come down to Canterbury at times to drive.