Reefton

Shit if the Derby and the 2000 Guineas are under threat then we have no hope. They are about the only two races along with the Oaks where the winner/placegetters are generally competitive in Aussie later in their Group One three year old races. If they are not Group Ones realistically do we deserve any Group Ones That serious decline in quality racing came after a serious decline in quality administration. Too many wankers looking to pad their CV's and not enough with a genuine interest in trying to further the interests of the game and its participants.

when I say BS line I mean bulshit line not Bruce Sharrock line

Wasn't long ago he was talking about all the diverse income streams NZTR had with the various betting agencies paying commissions to them Was that just a BS line? He and his cronies would be better to turn their attention of why Kiwis bet offshore than attempting to stop them doing so

For Gods sake don't come near the Coast!

yes he had Mutual Belle and Pinstripe plus one I think called Mississippi Red which was handy. He was the son of our long time President Ken Gray(great bloke) who died a few months back. I hadn't seen him myself for years but of course he was at the funeral

cos hey don't want to pay time and a half for tote staff

I said that in a thread a couple of months back but apparently the administrators are all good it is the stakeholders who are at fault.

The greatest of them all

yes it will be interesting

I guess 20 years ago Levin was still racing on its own track and quite happily so. Now that 40% are probably thinking the status quo is a bit uninteresting and no doubt have been promised the earth about the benefits that will come of RACE and that the Levin track will be protected and God knows what. Once they are hooked into RACE the story might well be a hell of a lot different especially if there is a cool $10m plus asset sitting there wanting to be plundered by the RACE hierarchy. The North Canterbury Racing Club were probably once led up the garden path in a similar way about the benefits of tying themselves into Riccarton. Not only did mismanagement shut their track down(and nearly kill someone) but now the Club doesn't even own its own track and in any case the track is going to be sold off for the major benefit of the CJC

To paraphrase that 'Either you give everything you have to RACE or we will force you to give everything you have to RACE' I hope the resurgence in members(including presumably SA) is successful in giving the one fingered salute to NZTR

100% correct The problem was that the following Labour government gave virtually the whole lot away while keeping the debt for building them. In some cases they paid the 'buyer' to take it off their hands They have returned huge dividends to their new owners over the years but knowing the way big business operate they have probably paid beggar all tax because the massive tax losses up to the point of sale would have been 'sold' with them When we go to Cromwell races each year we will often trip to Clyde. I look at that massive hunk of concrete and think 'How could anyone say that is not an asset to NZ?' Ditto the lake behind it that provides all those recreational opportunities. And the superb roads down there both in Cromwell town and the state highways all courtesy of the Ministry when the lake was created Muldoon and Think Big is no different(other than scale) to the PGF or the 'shovel ready' carry on we have had in the last couple of years.

There is one of the Committee people Bill(?) who is often there when I go to Riccarton who invariably offers to shout me a drink. The problem is I am generally driving home for three hours after so usually decline(but still appreciate it). I don't have a problem with the Riccarton Committee. The CJC will be like every other Club - they will struggle to get people keen to be part of it

I'll bet it tasted good Wednesday after a nice win like that

Thanks for that JB The very first sentence sums it up. As l always say I know all about what is wrong in the game but I sure would hate the job of fixing it. One thing I am sure of is that like virtually every organisation where the administrators aren't paying their own bills it is overrun with bureaucracy. CS may well be right that the RIU is out of control but I very much doubt it is excessive wages paid to the stipes dragging it down. We will struggle onwards and be on my knees every night praying that the KT Myers barn doesn't get struck down by a virus next Christmas time. Without wanting to belittle the support of all the other marvelous contributor horses wise the Coast would be f#*ked without him

You have developed an unbelievable fascination with blaming 'stakeholders' for not righting the wrongs in this industry. What you clearly have no idea of is the fact that most 'stakeholders' have been battling for years(each in their separate ways - not all are capable or inclined to be like me and attack these pricks via submissions on various mad proposals they come up with - but even if they are only at their local racing club President or if they are sacking a horse which might win a race somewhere someday but that five years ago they would have persevered with they are taking their stand. Another example is punters taking their business offshore) It is absolute bullshit to say that the problems in NZ racing are the fault of the 'stakeholders'. I am not a big punter(not a good enough judge) nor a big owner and the President of NZ's smallest racing club but I have been through the mill in this game whether stable hand, administrator in virtually every role, owner, punter, horse (and racing people) lover and overall enthusiast. I have smashed my head against the brick wall of racing hierarchy for years and years and I'm bloody tired of it. And I talk to a lot of people(like Pam for instance) who are just as sick of the way things are going as I am and who invariably have contributed enormously and continuously in their own way to try to get these idiots to see reason. It is impossible. One of the funnier things about the current situation is to have the likes of Murray Acklin, David Lloyd and(I understand) even Gray Chittick, who were mortal enemies 20 - 25 years ago now onside with the dissatisfaction and doing their bit as well. Look at those who submitted on the Racing Act - every one (essentially) ignored. As I said many were not capable(either through time constraints or maybe 'not knowing what to say') of submitting themselves but that doesn't mean they were not appalled at the implications. When I had completed my own submission some dickhead politician(who I couldn't identify) quipped 'thanks for the lecture'. F#*king arsehole! But that is an example of what you are dealing with. I have had one huge win saving our club but for all that I have submitted here there and everywhere and invariably been ignored. What the bloody hell more can I do? Ironically had I lost that particular battle then by now I would have long since walked away and occasionally had a look a the results or attended a meet but really I would no longer care what happened to the industry and most certainly would not have a horse share or two. The problem is not stakeholder indifference it is disconnection between the stakeholders and the hierarchy. The stakeholders are ignored but they are the basis of the game

probably wouldn't need a lot of room either. You could run it in the Committee room!

no he wasnt

How the hell do they fund it?

They may be too thick or they might not be but it is the inevitable result of (1) the neglect of the grass roots (2) the fact that jumping is stuffed and when K Myers and P Nelson chuck it in that will be the end of it and (3)the growing influence of the Waikato mafia in controlling NZ racing. I really doubt there is a hell of a lot the CJC can do about the inexorable march of 'progress'. Unless they sell up of course and take the money to develop a new facility and feed higher stakes

According to my info the outside of the course proper at Riccarton last Friday was diabolically heavy for horses heading from the birdcage to the crossing onto the AWT. The outside has always been the best so what hope the fence given the moisture they have had? They have got a couple of days of Nor westers on offer though. Tim doesn't seem too happy about things. In other news I see that 'Regional Track Advisors' have been appointed and ours is none other than the Riccarton Track Manager Mr Chapman. Just the sort of person we need with a track record(excuse the pun) like his. Anyway I hope to hell they run the Winter Cup because I have half a leg of one Pitty fancies a bit. I'm a bit broke at present and could do with the stake. if it gets down to eight runners and no northerners it will suit me fine though I suspect that bloke from Wanganui won't be put off by the prospect of a dodgy track

They claim(Maureen Pugh told me this) that they got the community consultation/mediation clauses inserted into the Act and the requirement to take into account the community contribution to and use of facilities. I don't even know if they are there or not but the DIA certainly wanted submissions on the process a few months back. The Nats probably think that racing is an irrelevance in the modern age and why waste their time on opposing strongly an Act that would reap them eff all votes anyway(a fair enough conclusion). And of course(and I do not know this) McKelvie their racing spokesman - now resigning - is a very wealthy farmer so who knows if the Waikato mafia was in his ear. National, like them or not(and I do), is not going to be the saviour of NZ racing. And nor is racing going to have any sort of priority if and when they get back in. While in the old days the Southland Farmer typically had a dozen mares or active racehorses those days are long gone and they are all old men now. Nobody really wants to listen to them and their influence is rapidly fading. The young farmers are more concerned about how the mortgage is going to get paid than whether the local goat track is sold up.

the difference is 20 years ago talk of seizing the assets was just talk. Now they have the ability to do it and that is dangerous. I hope SA is right and there is an exciting development for the Club but NZTR have that right to declare them surplus to requirements and start the process. There are a lot of people naive about this threat. The Harness people at Reefton just roll their eyes when I warn them clearly thinking (and they have said this) 'We have a great relationship with HRNZ and they wouldn't do that to us'. Then there is the Rugby Club which put up a third of the cost of our Admin building but nobody thought to retain the agreement between the parties so there is no written evidence. Before my time but the ex President said we gave the signed agreement to the bank because we(RJC) had to borrow for our share. It was forty years ago so fat chance of the bank having the document now. And then there are the townspeople some of whom on facebook reacted like it was me making this up and trying to grab their course. Sometimes you wonder why you bother.

Anyway as far as the exciting news SA apparently is aware of you can imagine the Petone response if Levin pulls out of this Race thing. Pretty simple 'Right boys there's a $30m penny sitting on the pavement here. We will refuse them any more racedays, declare their venue surplus to requirements and seize it under the Racing Act 2021' They aren't exactly brimming with Clubs looking to throw a heap of cash the industry's way and these guys(even if it is only the President and his VP) ought to have looked before they lept. The Race guys are going to be right in NZTR's ear if this big fish isn't landed and NZTR will, I would imagine, be keen as mustard to help their Race friends out of a financial hole. If SA is right and it is only the top two they really ought to have convened the SGM and made sure the Club Members knew what they were planning before they talked turkey with Race.

I will ignore the vast majority of that post but assume with this quote you are suggesting it was MR Pitman who took his horses to Rangiora to gallop? It bloody well wasn't but if they were a 'leading' trainer I imagine the have trained a bloody sight more winners than you or I and have a fair idea of what they are doing. I am not going to question their judgment whoever they are. Just back on the NZ Racing versus NZ Rugby comparison I note one S Hansen getting stuck in this week about the idiots running the NZ Rugby cutter. Echoes of high profile racing people commenting on NZTR.