Brodie

Fair enough now I know it is over 2200m rather than the mile. Hard to see Stylish Memphis competing well against the boys over that distance

Was not aware that it is over 2200 metres!! Thought it mustve been over the mile seem they were going on about the importance of drawing inside!! Seriously it didnt really give the 3 year olds or mares much of an advantage if it is over 2200metres! The older males will win it now that it is over 2200 metres which is a far better idea than mile racing!

Is there a lot of interest in this “The Race by Grins”? Is anyone really excited that this is what is needed to bring new participants into harness racing? Yes it garners a wee bit of interest with the corporate owners choosing who is going to represent them on the track. As for the race itself, it is a mile race around Cambridge, and yes they will go fast and the stake money will be transferred to each other!

The problem is the fact that there are not enough horses in work clearly in the Auckland area. Obviously not enough people wanting to race horses at Alexandra Park even though the stake money is generally better than the south Island! The racing at Alexandra Park is normally very mundane and so the people going oncourse to punt would be normally pretty small and not attracting new owners, so the pool is being whittled away! You would need to be of well above average means to be owning a horse up there and there are easier ways to make a dollar! It is probably not going to get any better up there, with the cost of living increasing due to the stupid decisions being made by the most incompetent Government we have ever had!!!

Probably a cost saving measure! Nlthing personal however, The stewards are not really required as what they do is pretty useless, with so many poor decisions in recent years! They tell us what horses gallop, dont get a run and a driver doesnt use the whip correctly. Buggerall enquiries nowadays just because they dont want the hassle!!! To be fair, many people could do just as well from their armchair!!!!

Unfortunately there are huge headwinds for harness in NZ! You can not under estimate the damage that is currently happening to NZ from both the over reaction to the Covid BS and stupid government policy! The cost of living going forward is going to restrict both punting dollar and owners spending money racing horses for a likely loss! The discretionary dollar for many is going to be reduced significantly due to higher housing cost, food, letrol and everything else! The fact is that the government over reaction and the blatant wasting of the citizens money has put the country back decades and someone has to pay for this! The racing industry needs to get their heads out of the sand and support the current participants as there is little chance of attracting new ones into the industry. Transparency needs to come from the NZ TAB but I doubt this will happen as there has not been a y happening over previous years! Encouraging wagering is the only way the industry can stay relevant!

Gamma, South Island maidens arent racing for $5k bow! More around the $8k plus! Somehow Palmerston North today raced for a minimum of $12k fkr maidens etc. up to $20k and still had small fields. Without Michael House campaigning large no.s then The course is finished surely?

Probably best Jason! He wouldnt want to be catching the deadly Covid, so probably best that he did it under lock and key away from people ! We appreciate that you would love some meetings but it is their loss that you arent getting the gigs!

Yes there is a need for racing in the Central Districts at Palmerston North but it is only still going due to Michael House campaigning horses there! Once he decides to stop, you would think it would be all over Rover! Yesterday showed just how weak the class of most of the horses that race there! Taliesin, a horse unplaced in over 30 starts in the South Island bolted in at its first start for Michael House, winning like a champion, untouched! Robbie Holmes had it for plenty of starts, think Trent Yesberg and then Matthew Williamson trained it for no dividend bearing places! Went poor at its last start fir Williamson although they went hard in front with it! A short time later it bolts in untouched at Palmerston North yesterday! Either Michael House is a genius trainer or the standard of horse is so low! I suggest the later!

Personally doesnt worry me if the commentator is on course or not, as long as the call is clear and accurate. It is very clear from tote pools that punters are just not betting into the tote like they used to and we do not know how much is being bet on FIXED ODDS per race. Why doesnt the TAB advise us a s to the amount wagered on fixed each race? They bring out early the fixed odds for the bigger stakes races when they really are not worth having a go on! We are lucky they do bring out Fixed Odds the day before the meeting! To encourage punters to offload earlier and increase turnover They would be better to start with more attractive odds and adjust from there! The way they currently do it seems odd and they lengthen out far too late for most!

Yeah you certainly couldnt have backed it on previous performance. Grass Track mustve been the difference! Tough on the punter!

Totally agree Cosmic! A driver with a UDR of .0431 was good enough to get the hkrse away from a so called standing start and controlled it without it galloping! To be fair the biggest problem with it was getting it to actuslly want to trot away! The big difference today was that the starter allowed to actually start trotting before the tapes were released, which was the difference! If Silver Linings was made to stand then that would have probably made a huge difference. At the end of the day Burrows won with it and the TAB paid out! The fact remains so many standing starts are just an absolute lottery.

Gamma, the horse got a trot up start! How am I wrong? Because I thought the horse wouldnt trot the whole way? Off course the world hasnt ended, it has changed though due to Silver Linings winning from a trot up start! Didnt invest in that race, did get 2 good collects from 2 on the day though, so pretty profitable!

Gamma we have discussed this many many times and get the same answer! Is it a standing start for all? Is it a stand for most but for some they are allowed to be moving up? Or is a standing start a mix of standing, walking or charging? The truth of the matter is today Silver Linings gained a huge advantage over all of the others and the fact that it was in a trot already was the reason the horse began as it did! The fact it won today still doesnt alter the fact that it is a PIG from a STANDING START rather than a trot up start!

Lol. Was it standing as it was a Standing Start!!!!! Well done to Burrows he got the horse away which other professionals couldnt!!! The truth of the matter is that he got away with it a d you are right the standing starts are just a damn lottery!! Had the starter made Silver Linings start from a stand, it probably would have galloped, but it is what it is, and he got the win! If the starter asked whether Silver Linings gained an advantage at the start, he would have to say YES as he was NOT STANDING!

Gsmma, it was in a bloody trot, not a walk at all!!!!!

Lol the horse had a run up start, not s STAND!

To be fair your name gives it away! For you, I would say NEVER!

Lol Well done to Don Burrows, Cross Dresser! He had the horse in a trot before the start and it worked for him! Just shows the amateurs can be better than the professionals!

Silver Linings is off to Oamaru Sunday! The trainer Don Burrows has drawn the short straw and is going to be sitting in the cart! The TAB should be opening a book on will Silver Linings 1. Swing around at the start 2. Break hopelessly and gallop for 200 metres 3. Stand on the mark and refused to go 4. Trot away and then break 5. Trot for most of the race and then gallop 6. Trot the whole way lol lol lol Worth a go isnt it?

Yep everyone knows how I feel about mile races and yes absolute clowns running that race over a mile at Addington! Dont bet overseas apart from Oz trots when I sort one out but never get much on! The Tab NZ have this Top 4 and yet you can not get anymore than a pittance on it on your account. No agency or course betting so what is the point? Bring back the head to heads NZ TAB when there is no decent fixed odds divs

LOL I totally agree with you in regards to the hopeless odds on offer at Addington as well! I didnt want to say that as well as Auckland as people would think I was trying to kill the sport! But yes, really I only saw one horse I thought was worth a go and that has been slashed so going to be a very quiet night on the punt! Anyway I am sure someone will come on and say they are great punting fields as many do like backing the shorties !

Looked at the Fixed Odds and seriously nothing worth having a crack at the way I invest! To be fair you couldnt really expect too much due to the fields but it really is showing that racing in the North is on life support! Michael Guerin and Craig Thompson can come out and say dont be so negative, but even the most optimistic person couldnt possibly put a positive spin on it!!

LongOwner, how long is going to be though? It has been propped up for awhile wouldnt you say? Also, without owners and punters unfortunately you havent got harness racing!!

Luv the challenge, but no never go off early Gamma!