Brodie

Firstly, I do want to help out with wagering turnover. The TAB needs punters more than I need the TAB Brad Steele knows how things are really going financially but is paid to perform So that is why he is painting a rosey position. Anyway we will wait and see what happens.

At the end of the day, if the CEO’s think things are heading in the right direction then so Be it! The call from Winnie to form this Committee quickly with unpaid people like Chris Waller, Peter Vella etc. is not for forward planning when the 5 years is up! It is a vote if no confidence in what is being done NOW! Carry on the way they are currently and things are going to be dire. You can not continue to run meetings each week at a loss snd think that is a recipe for success!

Is anyone else confused by this Committee being formed????? Why is there a need for this committee when Brad Steele CEO of HRNZ was telling us all on Trackside last night, that everything was positive for harness?? Everything is so good that Mr Steele recently stated that this Committee being formed “marks a pivotal moment for the NZ racing industry “ Why is it pivotal if everything was fine and going well? Secondly the current Entain CEO, Dean Shannon is finishing up at the end of the month! He stated that “ it was the right time for change”? If things were going fine why were they looking to change things?? Just does not add up, does it? Anyway, hope things are going well for the sake of the harness business. Good punting!

Reality is that the Rolleston training team is a helluva lot more capable than the North Island stable. Amanda and Tim have many very capable horse people alongside them, and when Steve sends horses down from the North, Tim and Amanda clearly improve them heaps! Yes there are wins out of the North Island stable, but they are racing horses of less ability generally!

Wonder if Forbury thought $12k on a Josh Dickie drive at $2.20 was good punting? I am actually surprised with many of these so called big bet win bets! With respect There are some very poor punters out there, that really should be putting their money on something other than punting. I can see why they are able to get more on than others

The biggest question Forbury is who in their right mind would put 12k to win on Debrief? 1700metres drawn six and you want to back it to win at $2.20 with Josh on it at Auckland? TAB lets people net over 14k and yet other punters to win pathetically low amounts?

Na, no point Ranga! Everything is rosey for harness racing Brad Steele has told us all. I need to get my head out of the sand and look at the positivity in the future,

Great to see Brad Steele being interviewed by Greg O’Connor. Great to hear that everything is positive with harness racing, so we do not need to worry about its future ever again!

At the end of the day, there is nothing we can do about how it is going to pan out! I have had plenty to say, and hopefully the new CEO from Entain can step up and be more hands on with the way the cash splash is handled. Not being personal but It appears that the ones that have been making the decisions for harness are struggling with the task? No media BS is going to change things, it needs someone prepared to look at it as a business and operate it as such, as the money is going to run out.

Spending other peoples money when you havent done anything yourself to earn it, is vey easy to do! Yes it is 5 years and then BANG! They should be not blowing it the way they are doing it, shockingly bad financisl mismanagement. There is going to be a major upheaval when the funding is stopped and Entain then get 50% of the profit annually! I highly doubt there would be a single person in NZ that would be prepared to put nega millions into NZ racing just to keep it going. The occasional slot race is not going to keep NZ harnessing afloat unfortunately Gamma lol. Do love your positivity Gamma, but Brodie just telling it the way it is, and hopefully they wake up before it is too late?

Gamma, Propping up stake money for 5 years from the Entain money is a temporary band aid. Running races for big money when there are only a few starters is a recipe for disaster. Brad Steele stated that this new committee being formed is PIVOTAL for harness racing going forward? So what he is saying is what they have done over the last couple of years with Entain. money is not working! Dean Shannon stated that he was stepping down “to allow Entain Australia and NZ the chance to enter a new phase, declaring it was the right time for change”. So clearly Entain sees things as being done badly over the past couple of years! We have Auckland Trotting haemorrhaging big time financially each and every week and yet they continue to pay out good stake money to often very small fields. Many meetings are losing money every week but they think that chucking increased stake money is the answer? Gamma you state that Queensland harness was saved by Dean Shannon and Kevin Seymour! Thing is Entain funding is going go stop and then what? The funding shouldve bought the Franklin training at least!

The TAB is operating as a gambling agency, and as such they can not be treating punters in different ways, just because some punters do okz, There is no legal excuse for their ethically abhorrent ways that they try to shut down some punters and yet they get away with encouraging others to wager with bonus money in their accounts! Hopefully things will come to a head where they see the error of their ways or things will continue to deteriorate for them and the racing industry!

Yes I have been informed that it is HRNZ that is making the decisions in regard to how they are blowing the funding from Entain! However Dean Shannon being the CEO of Entain and also a harness enthusiast is surely well aware with how the Entain money is being used? The CEO of Entain and the CEO of HRNZ are both from Queensland and would know each other extremely well!! Anyway those that are making these poor financial decisions will more than likely be looking over their shoulders now?

It is ethically wrong that the NZ TAB is allowed to treat punters not equally!! The problem is that the ones making decisions for the TAB are on big money and are trying to increase the yield on racing by restricting turnover. Totally wrong format for a gambling agency as it has major consequences and this is why they need people with foresight rather than this tunnel vision they have held for years now! They need to be encouraging wagering rather than giving away money to boost turnover, just so flawed. Increased turnover from bigger wagering will flow on to the whole industry and ensure it can survive, with higher gross profit. The TAB current policy is stifling this by trying to attract the smaller punter with bonus this and that! They should be ensuring that their existing loyal punters are retained rather than turned off. Hopefully the new CEO decides that what they are currently doing is detrimental to the future of racing in NZ.

Yes Friday Night Lights is very good, but have we had better Trackside Coverage on NZ racing? Believe the Trackside website being provided by this Racing and Sports Australia trusted for 20plus years is very poor with just shocking comments that are just laughable. The showing of only win dividends on Trackside is just a very poor innovation. The way the money that Entain has been providing for harness has been extremely poorly used, and hopefully this new Entain CEO actually now pays attention to this wastage and earns his massive salary for the betterment of racing in NZ. You can just not run any single business like they have been and expect success!

Gamma, well aware things were not great with the NZ TAB when Entain bought into it! He may well have had good intentions of making the NZ TAB successful once again. He may well be a great guy, but from where I stand, I have heard nothing from him being the CEO for Entain in NZ. Despite what he may have done in Queensland harness to help them out, from the outside looking in here, it is disappointing what has happened! There is a difference in starting up betting agencies and selling them off, to getting an existing one improved upon! Entain clearly have had enough and want things improved, for their investment in the NZ TAB. Yes they will say he stood down just like the other two executives, but we both know that if you do not perform you can be sent packing. Dean probably is looking forward to stepping down anyway? Very interesting times indeed. Hopefully the new CEO will see that they need to encourage their clients to wager, rather than trying to stop them!

Dont worry, the NZ Cup will be something like 200k in 3 years.

Who wouldve thought that Entain would do that? Well I did, there have been far too many financially stupid decisions made since Entain got involved with the NZ TAB! Dean has been very quiet, in fact you never hear from him! There is going to be some changes being made with this new CEO coming in, and hopefully he is someone that has better financial nous! There are many things that they can do far better but it is certainly going to run by more Australians. Watch this space.

I think I must be only on muelied food nowadays Ranga, now that I am supposedly on the Plant based food!

Why would they be breeding greyhounds now if you wont be able to race them? Reality is that the stupid decision to ban greyhound racing providing it doesn't get overturned, means that greyhounds will become extinct in NZ within 5 years! Highly doubt people will breed greyhounds as pets, even if they do make good oets apparently. Banning The crazy Greens and the dangerous TPM would be a far better idea coming from Winnie and co.

Does the TAB take sleepers now? Where do I dump then?

Personally think it is fine to interview the drivers, but far too late when the race is about to begin! Be far better to do the interviews with the drivers well before the race. Also very little point telling us on Trackside 30 seconds out that a horse has been treated for something since it last raced!

Gamma, most of the decent racing is at Addington! Wouldnt think it a great idea racing over a mile or 1800m on that track lol They generally go much faster mile rates over the 1980m so it would be just as hard on a horse over that distance as 2600m!

Gamma, firstly I have never blamed Entain for any demise if racing in NZ, Great that they have put up money to help the TAB. It is just the way they are using the $900m, wasteful spending and not being used the best way possible. At the end of the 5 years where are they going go be? I believe that I am totally on the money, but if I am not right then that us great fir the industry! Still believe that they should be encouraging wagering from their existing loyal customers as they could increase turnover significantly. They are too risk averse in my humble opinion and trying go buy heaps of smaller punters with bonus bets etc. is only falsifying true turnover. At the end if the day we both hope that things improve as I do not believe things can not continue the ay they are with running so many loss making meetings!

Tab, thanks for reply. all good if you believe I am confused, probably early dementia? No problem with people having differing views, at the end of the day all of us want harness racing to thrive. Hopefully this committee will have ideas that no one has ever thought about, and things will come right! At the end of the day if they don’t then the industry is going to be battling. I still maintain that they have not acted financially responsibly with the cash splash from Entain. Time will tell, TAB For Ever!