Brodie

HRNZ are talking it up and they just need to or things will deteriorate further. Anyone with any business acumen are well aware that breeding bonuses are not going to make much of a difference to increasing breeding numbers in the next few years ahead. The amounts offered are not insignificant but really is not worth breeders changing their minds about whether they breed a horse or not! They spent far too long asleep and let the industry drift for too long, and now face a major uphill battle. They needed to continue to have people go on-course rather than watch Trackside as it is too easy. The TAB have stuffed up majorly over the past decade or so with their policies in regard to punter restrictions and the pathetic $1k AML limit! This has deterred heaps of punters that used to enjoy going on course and wagering and has ultimately lowered the amount being wagered . These punters now dont turn up on course as they can not get their desired bets on and also ensures that other associates dont turn up and wager . This needs to be addressed for the good of the industry.

Share market investors buying at the moment are gambling more so than on harness racing at the TAB. Shares in my humble opinion are mostly overpriced big time snd there is going to be a big correction in the future. Prices have increased significantly on the back of all the money pumped in from peoples superannuation investors like KiwiSaver. So much money goes in and the sharemarket is where most of it goes as most money managers havent really got anywhere else to pump it into. The current values are well out compared to the profitability of these companies but if people are happy with this then it will continue to happen. What happens with Entain share price going forward is going to be very interesting indeed!

Good informative post, Galah. Personally do not think that bringing Entain into the NZ TAB for 25 years was the best fit for it. Entain are a gambling agency worldwide mainly sports and racing has never been its forte, and it is definitely showing isnt it? They keep throwing money into stakes where many of the meetings and mostly all of them in the North are losing money. Yes we know they promised all this money in-stakes etc. for 5 years. Now if they had any business acumen snd cared about racing in NZ they would push that 5 years out to say 7 years and reduce the current stakes supplementing by say $3or $4k and use this money saved for years 6 and 7. I do not believe they will do this as they are wanting the 5 years to come up sooner rather than later. Once the 5 years is up then highly doubt they will be boosting stakes, it just wouldn't make business sense to continue doing this for its shareholders! Does anyone else believe that the NZ TAB will be sold off at that stage, if it is not returning a good return on investment?

a lot of people thought he did a good job for harness in NZ. Not sure why they thought this? On his performance in his interview with Morragh, the people involved with Greyhounds will be finding a different career. Nothing he said suggested he has the necessities to save the greyhound breed from extinction in NZ.

I note that Star, that own the Casino’s in Sydney, Brisbane and Surfers Paradise appears to be in major financial trouble and may well end up under administration by Friday. No one seems to be wanting to refinance their large debt and if this happens then they are going to be under administration which is not ideal for them or gamblers. Who wouldve thought that this would be possible, but it appears to be caused by mismanagement from the management going back several years. They have also been done for assisting money laundering going back many years, who wouldve thought people would launder thru a casino? And yet they think that people will money laundering here for amounts as little as 1k thru the TAB! Victoria harness is also in the shite as well thru mismanagement over several years despite being financially assisted by the state. Hopefully Entain and the NZ TAB are making good decisions or the racing industry is going to be in trouble, if poor decisions are made. What it does show is that in some cases the appointment of people to senior roles in business are poorly made. We have had 2 of the Entain management stand down at the same time and you would have to question WHY? Very serious for the gambling industry as Entain have also been done for aiding money laundering overseas as well!

I believe that if they went back to tote only on racing, they would lose a massive number of punters. I certainly could not bet into tote pools as just not worth the risk of not knowing your return for putting fair amount of $ on. It would be a backward step for racing! Not surebif the number if restricted punters but I am sure there are plenty that wager on harness, not many on gallops.

The TAB do let losing punters on for large amounts. The friend may have placed $5k on a shorty to win, which is what the TAB likes.

TAB, MikeyNZ was quoting the tote pool! Your friend had a 5k bet you say! It would have been on the fixed odds and not the tote, as totr pools could not handle any 5k bet. If you have these friends who are able to get $5K on with the TAB Bookies, how about you having a word to them, and get them to let ALL PUNTERS on for $5k??

Personally do not think that there current CEO was and is much chop at both the posts he held at HRNZ and the Greyhounds. Since Winnies statement that Greyhound racing was to be canned, where has he been? He has pretty much been absent! They needed someone that can actually stand up for what he is representing, and not someone easily walked over! When at HRNZ he spoke out about wanting to have the whip banned, which was just a pathetically bad look for the industry. Greyhounds will probably take it to Court, but are they going to leave it too late, and they need someone with more oomph! The interview this morning showed that!

Was not as close to the bend as I thought it might have been! Not sure what the reason is that they programmed this shorter distance trot as a one off? Does anyone know? If it was so that more people could actually see the start, then they couldve started further back than what they did surely? Plenty of room for anyone that wants to see the start, without killing the punting aspect!

The rating systemcurrently has had its day. Yes we want to retain horses in NZ but it just not a sensible ratings system when you have horses that have won 10 to 15 races able to fun against horses who have won one race! When you also have such a variance of classes e.g. 35 to 50 stands, it is just not reasonable. High time it was changed to no. Of wins or stake money earnt.

Let’s be real here! Why on earth does anyone that doesnt have any Maori blood in them, feel the desired need to be speaking any Maori at all??? Would this bloke go home and talk Maori words to his family? Of course he wouldnt so why do it on media in NZ????? Just a load of bollacks, this token speaking of Maori in our media! Brodie just telling it the way it is, it adds absolutely nothing to our lives.

The Sunday crowd can very easily walk through the gate that they probably came through and stand there and watch the standing start where the car park is! A lot of the people who are not regular race attendee’s are in the car park close to the start anyway! Seems a very stupid idea for no gain whatsoever, but then again we seem to get them in a lot if areas nowadays.

At the end of the day if Entain and TAB are happy with the way things are going then that is all that really matters, I suppose. I personally am not convinced that what Entain has done has increased the number of punters or $ spent out of punters pockets. They have put up the $ as they said they would but have also made some decisions that I question have been beneficial to the industry. The fact that the 2 very senior employees of Entain are leaving clearly shows that all is not that flash at Entain.

Do they itemise the tote pools and fixed odds pools separately? It is great if the wagering and profit is actually increasing for harness racing, as they need it. However from the tote pools that I see before a race closes, I believe they are actually stretching the truth a tad. They did the harness industry a major disservice when they dropped showing the place dividends on the screen!!!

How is it a novelty? Why dont they start races on the home bend, just as a novelty? Rangiora had a race on the all-weather track that was over something like 1300metres a year or two ago, that was for a novelty as well? Why havent they continued them? What happened to the novelty mile races at Addington, they need more of them surely? Rangiora’s perogative to program what they want to, however it just doesnt seem that intelligent or beneficial for anyone.

Sharper than the front straight! why start close to the bend, a trotters race? They will say they are trying different things but wHY? in front of the crowd? Crowd of very few and if people wanted to watch the start then they can walk down to the normal start? At Addington when they have the 2400metre start near Xmas time, now many people actually watch it? Anyways, if people think it is a great idea then they should start the mobile from the same spot so that the CROWD can see the horses despatched from there as well.

Rangiora grass track racing Sunday has race 3 being a trot over 1810metres???????? They say that it has been approved as a one off race????? Now I am trying to work out what fool asked to run a race for trotters starting practically on the bend? The track is 1764m and so there is a 46metre run to the first bend? It just defies any sort of logic to be running it 140metres shorter than the 1950metre normal starting point being very close to the sharp bend! It has been approved as a “ONE OFF” race so clearly it is not a fit and proper starting point! Some people are trying to paint the industry as being full on positive going forward which is great news if it happens, however when these blatantly stupid decisions are being made within harness, THE JURY MUST OUT!!!

You are allowed to push out from the 1000metre mark, which Wilson House was. It appeared that he was well and truly in the two out running line for a wee bit before the horse that got pushed out 3 wide galloped . Hard to tell from the replay I think as to why that horse galloped. There are some very odd rules in harness racing currently and has been for too long.

Never ever been interested in Ozzie gallopers. Many years ago used to go to Riccarton but dont reckon you can successfully mske money on them long term due to too many variables. Dont enjoy the gallops at all, and harness so much better for wagering on.

Addington had 2 noms for Friday’s meeting and was canned! Going to take a helluva lot more than the Entain bonuses to attract people to be breeding and racing 2 year olds. Going to be a very interesting few seasons ahead for every sector of the industry without any doubt!

Yes great use of the whip if you had backed the horse. The driver wouldve been suspended if he was in NZ!

Dies anyone actually know anyone that is restricted in NZ by the TAB that wager only on gallops? I havent heard of anyone but there must be sone you would think?

Gamma, we all have preference for ways that we gamble or invest. Just back from Oz, and watched plenty of people pointlessly chucking money into pokies for very little return and very few showed any emotion. msny love to wager on the gallops, but I haven’t for for decades as they just do not appeal to me as a way to make a profit, as form is so hard for follow in my opinion. The different state of the tracks and the way horses are ridden etc. sports betting is ok and I am sure msny do very well at it. As for harness racing, I enjoy the racing apart from the miles, as it is constantly changing. Punting wise if you put a bit of time and effort into it, you can be financially rewarded quite nicely.

Gamma, you shouldnt be encouraging any punter to be gambling on gallopers. Harness is where the money is made. You deserve to lose gambling on thoroughbreds