Brodie

No Brylcream now?

The difference is there will be a very large crowd at Mot due to it being after Xmas and most people sill not be working snd more relaxed. Rangiora is a week before Xmas when people are busy and the crowd will not be as large. How much are they going to take at the gate and how many will not go to Rangiora cos there is a gate charge, the week before xmas with peoples finances stretched? reality is that people will not go due to the charge and that $20 charge for s couple wouldve gone through the tote many times over!! Many of the decisions being made by people are not in the best interests of harness racing in the future, and that is what has got it to the poor position it finds itself!

Reality is, that it is Xmas time and people are generally busy trying to get things done before Xmas relaxation. Yeah Rangiora is hardly a course with that much going for it! If you feel that you aRe overpaying for what you get, then you do not go back! Having to drive out to Rangiora, then having people at the gate taking money off you for nothing, does not really feel like it is beneficial for harness racing in the future, when it is really struggling! I do believe that harness racing is definitely shooting itself in the foot continuously with some poor decisions. It needs to be looking to the future, or the future is dire.

Yeah I appreciate the Clubs need to operate profitably and the gate charge helps on the day to make things work. There will be some that go out for the day for a picnic etc. and may nave the odd bet. The $20 from a couple would be spent either thru food or the tote anyway and that is what harness needs, people attending oncourse. The gate charge I believe is detrimental in enticing people oncourse!!! Chances are the people that do not go because of the charge will not be wagering off course . i personally believe that we should be enticing people oncourse by offering patrons bonus things, rather than taking money off them before they are even in the gate! surely We need large crowds so that at least we have a chance of retaining some?

I note from an advertisement that Rangiora has a Xmas at the races on December the 18th. They are charging $10 to get in, so I imagine this is per person rather than per car? What do you actually get for this $10? I appreciate that people decades ago were charged to get into the races, but in this day and age I question this at the moment! So we are charged a $10 fee for the right to bet on horses? With it difficult to get people oncourse is it a great idea to charge people to get in when many peoples finances are going to be very strained. I would think that the Rangiora club would get more money out of the punting than by charging people. Surely best to get people oncourse and to keep people coming back to harness racing . Some will say if they can not afford the $20 for a couple then they won’t bet anyway but personally believe we should be doing everything we can to get people interested. Rangiora’s decision to charge and they will do ok out of the admission charge, but really what is it that the people actually getting for their money?

To be fair Kane, you are part of the reason harness is in trouble. Stick your head in the sand and make the most of it while it is still going! Can you honestly say why you think things are promising for harness for the ones that are not plundering the major stake money?

A lot of very good points Galah. Without people attending races on course the future of harness is limited! Not allowing people on course during to the total over reaction for this Covid-19 thing has wiped out a lot of the small number of regulars that attended Addington. Addington crowds now are generally pretty poor and no sign of increasing. Even the Premier meeting the other day appeared extremely poor. Personally do not go to Addington very often now and prior to Covid was a regular attended. Unfortunately I believe it is going to be extremely difficult to get the people back on course and entice new ones as well. The recession that this incompetent bunch want us to get into, is also going to be another nail.

What many of us do not understand Gamma is just how one stable is so much better than all the others. Yes professional, plenty of owners with the money but just the performances of their horses is light years ahead of all other trainers apart from Telfers and Dunns. Why hasnt Ken Barron won so much more when Blair Orange went there? He is an intelligent guy and must know how to train from spending years at AllStars?

Mostly correct Gamma. never said too many drug cheats, but there are plenty who are trying things to try and be competitive to keep owners so they do not go broke! Never said people in charge are corrupt either! There are some making decisions that are not in the best interests of harness racing, and are very easily led! Yes the RIU are doing a very poor job on the whole. Some very dumb decisions made from RIU and Stipes. Many have no record of being successful but somehow get appointed. Anyway If they can not see that they are doing damage to the industry then Brodie can not change things, it is up to them. There are plenty of people who read BOAY but do not make comments. People need to speak up and express their opinion as complacency and going through the motions over the past few decades has seen the industry deteriorate, just like NZ has suffered the past few years due to a totally incompetent Labour Party that over 50% voted back in for a second term when they were useless first time around. That decision is going to plague those voters in the next year majorly.

You are correct Blackie. We need punters or there is no stakes so no need for horses! As you know TAB agencies is where people used to gather and wager, now there are next to no agencies. Try going to a pub TAb to get cash or betting vouchers if you have over a measley $1k. The control that the NZ TAB has and wants is plain sickening and certainly not getting better. Personally can not be bothered at the moment, they can keep the remaining punters interested by giving away free bets to them, which is the only thing that maintains turnover figures. Have had a look at the TAB figures for meetings over the last few months and does not read very well! Think there needs to be a total rethink as to how the business is being run currently or it is going to be history here unfortunately.

The problem is that there are several issues at play all to the detriment of racing. Firstly there has been so little effort in attracting new people for decades and this is going to be the thing that kills racIng here. No new punters coming thru and the ones still around are being stymied by the NZ Tab. The ones in Perone are being paid big salaries and not performing, we have a very poor RIB and HRNZ are very poor and not performing satisfactorily with some very poor decision making. It is far too expensive now to race a horse for the benefits and is going to get far worse. Existing owners aren’t going to breed or buy to the same extent in the future and many of us know why this is! As I asked yesterday does anyone actually see a lot of positives for this once great industry?

The question just needs to be asked! Can Harness Racing afford to be running these Premiere meetings with such stakes currently? We now know that the distribution from The NZ TAB is going to be less for next season and therefore stakes will need to drop! There is absolutely no point in dipping into any reserves to keep the stakes next season the same as this one! Most know that there are just so many meetings that are a total drain on the coffers of harness racing, Auckland being probably the main culprit and it is not going to improve!!!! Yesterdays Premiere meeting would be a helluva big loss financially for harness racing, as there is no way on earth the turnover would enable those stakes to be paid!! The fact is that we all know that the majority of the big stake money is going to the same owners from the blue and Silver barn, which is must not beneficial to keeping the industry healthy. There is no way that the Invercargill Cup should be $100k, as it is going to have a small field of AllStars, Telfer and Dunn horses and stuff the rest! The ones who are currently in charge of the decision making at the TAB and HRNZ need to WAKE UP and make correct decisions now, or there just will not be a viable harness racing business in NZ in 5 years time!!! Many live in LaLa land and need to open their eyes and start earning their large remunerations!!!!!! There needs to be accountability but all we see is same old same old, and unfortunately this is going to be the downfall of harness racing . We need to entice new people into the industry, but this is just not happening unfortunately! TAB is trying to dissuade punters from wagering and would rather give away free bets to certain punters, where this is not making them anything! Some they give away free bets to and others they wont let them bet, GO FIGURE!!!!

Unbelievable performance from Bolt For Brilliance in his races over there, carrying that injury.

To be fair, there are a lot of overweight people dog handlers at the Greyhounds on Trackside! Clearly the dogs are walked on walkers nowadays rather than the trainers! Don’t shoot the messenger!

Good days racing if you are into stable dominated races. There were some unbelievable runs today by some horses! You can just wonder how some of these horses are just so much better than the others? What I do know is that the export market is not going to be stopping anytime soon, and really you can not blame it! Horses at least can be placed where they are competitive in both Oz and the U.S.A Yes harness racing has been a great industry for many decades but certainly has its issues now. Does anyone see things as going well at the moment?

Thanks Gammalite for your efforts! I am sure it is appreciated.👍

You are correct Galah, seems like not too many apart from the normal owners who always seem to plunder the major stakes. Tou are correct you are pushing the proverbial uphill if you are wanting to win major stake money unless you are in the blue and silver. But then what has it cost you to win it? Punting wise, these meetings are such a waste of time unless you are the favoured Boys Get Paid! The industry is not improving under the current guidance. The person who is actually trying to promote harness racing, Nigel Armstrong of Harness Racing Unhinged and putting in the most effort is TOTALLY UNPAID, so shows you how things are going! As for stable domination it just is not healthy for harness racing and you will find that owners are getting the stitch.

Not that I am aware of Gamma. There has to be a reduction in stakes next season or there is going to be major issues. The government will not be bailing out NZ racing again. The figures that I am seeing just do not add up to being able to afford the current stakes. Brodie is on the money. Watch this space!

Gammalite, the big problem is that Invercargill has not got the money to finance a 100k race, in fact harness racing has not got the money to finance a 100k race!! Watch this space as the true picture in regards to the overpayment of stake money in NZ comes out! Harness stakes are going to be reduced next season or things are going to become dire!! There is no way on earth that most clubs can be paying the current stakes with the amount of money the NZ Tab is going go be paying out next season. You only need go look at the betting pools to see that things are far from rosey!

Gamma tough fields put me down for no. 7 cheers Brodie

Down to 41 starters at Auckland Friday night! Tragic for racing in the North Island! The tote pools for Cambridge tonight are pathetic with very little in the pools! Can things get any worse for the North Island? Probably unfortunately.

Harness needs to get people back on course to enjoy the racing to entice them to wager on harness! Without new people being attracted to harness racing it will certainly disappear. Without the wagering there will not be any money to pay stake money and therefore there will be no owners as existing owners move on to greener pastures. Reality is that harness administrators and the NZ TAB are just going through their paces at the moment and hoping things will improve. Unfortunately I can not see things improving while so many have their heads in the sand and collect their remuneration for doing very little!

Harness racing is in a dire situation in most parts NEW ZEALAND! It is due to many decisions being made by HRNZ and the NZ TAB! However, I do not believe we have seen anything yet as the true cost to the economy shows up in 2023 from the shocking performance from the current Communist Labour Party that over 50% of the population surprisingly voted for! Many People that currently own horses will just not be able to afford to to race the horses , due to the cost of living increases that havent hit us fully yet. Auckland will continue to provide small numbers of horses and some meetings will be abandoned. Training costs are just far too high to justify racing horses if you want any reasonable return on your investment!! Auckland continues to be a drain on the coffers and just can not continue the way it is currently going!

You what? He turned up what???

The drive was very poor, no thought went into it, as the lead was never going to be there for Hurrell, with Nathan Williamson in front with a hot favourite! MArk Hurrell can drive, but that drive was very poorly thought out. They went a 1.58 mile rate on a slushy track and you deliberately put your maiden 2 year old filly parked as being in its best interests???