The Centaur

Sir, You have been recommended for a knighthood.

One of the most underrated races is whats called the NZ St Leger. The South Is mile race for southerners is flawed. There are better ways of encouraging the south. The argument that young people don't care about tradition is rubbish. Many would like to win the iconic race their grandparents or family won years back.

Yes it does seem this new stakemoney is being spent willynilly. A smart way of doing it would be to say "how can the new stake money encourage more sponsorship?". Therefore if a new sponsor is coming in with say $20k why not match that and give more prestige to the race.

Gil Dymock used to be an interesting contributor to racing forums. Don't know if he goes by an alias but his recent contribution on theoptimists forum I thought worthy of reprint. Sorry about the plagiarization etc. Gil Dymocksays: May 30, 2023 at 8:46 am This whole sorry saga — which could be titled The Decline And Fall of The TAB Empire — puts me in mind of an early plotline in the 1990s classic gangster movie Goodfellas. In that, a restaurant owner is having trouble making ends meet and enlists the help of the local mafia (an alternate form of government on the mean streets of New York), giving them a share in the business in exchange for ensuring that debts are paid. The mafia take over and in short time turn the enterprise into a cash cow for themselves and their cronies. It can’t last, of course, and the restaurant is blown up, literally. Years back, the TAB went cap in hand to our real government, handed over the keys to the joint and now, having passed through the “jobs for the boys” phase, we’re witnessing the pre-explosion stage of the story. It might all end not with a bang but a whimper. But it will end. Hopefully, whatever takes its place will be better structured than the present wobbly edifice and will be one hundred percent free of the dead hand of government.

Interesting topic. There is a whole lot of technology behind it all. When a new post arrives for me a message arrives then I still have to press a button to see the new post. When the old TAB website was operating they managed to get the data updating quickly before the jump. With the Openhost web system this was considerably slowed after they soon found out the site was crashing with the extra load. That is probably the worst aspect of the current TAB site.

The only useful thing I took out of it was that Shannon owns a few horses in New Zealand. The rest typical biz speak or should I say bull s***. We don't need new products (which are just a slight variation on existing ones). Problem gambling can be mitigated by cutting the promotion. Not throwing millions away at another parasitic enterprise. So they are going to introduce new technology. Yeah I can see facial recog taking off like a lead balloon. The deal cuts off enterprise by kiwis themselves who if they have got a good idea must now go offshore. TAB should not be involved with Trackside. We'll probably end up with the half witted messages "Have you considered what gambling is doing.... blah blah" No. The codes should have combined and set up a standalone media organisation covering all media i.e print, digital, audio, internet etc.

Trainers over the years have accepted the fact their paddocks near the city have become valuable and sold up creating a nice nest egg. Racing clubs should not fear doing the same. The trouble is those getting onto racing governing bodies aren't the entrepreneurial types. When Avondale is sold up, not if, the money should be used for some sort of racing enterprise out west say Helensville way not necessarily a racetrack. Huge population west and north of the bridge without any racing presence.

Time for NZ Racing to get some innovative thinking on how to gather up the pieces. Start talking with the Tourist Board. Look at designating racecourse as a sister track to Singapore. All sorts of ways. https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/racing-in-singapore-set-to-end-in-2024/

My memory is not that bad. McAnulty made it plain he wants to maintain TAB (now Entain) monopoly on betting. Even said its not a back door entry to launch other brands.

You seem to be on a different page. The minister has made it plain there is no other betting brand or competition. Sleeping seems more appropriate description of Entain. Turned on TV to watch English Oaks and instead saw the maiden steeple from Toulouse before TV finished. No Oaks although TAB had streaming.

I would say surely if they are so progressive then why are stakes in the UK so pathetic. After all they go on how long Ladbrokes has been there. Not only have they been given a monopoly in NZ but the door has been closed on anyone with a good idea. The attitude of those running racing is sickening.

Thats obvious. What we want to know is where the emphasis will be. The Entain investment into new products seems all to do with sports.

Thanks for that. Found the Dean Shannon SENZ interview with Lois Herman. Can't say there was anything of interest in it. Perhaps the right questions were not asked. Its all very well mentioning the words fresh thinking, new products, innovation but really at this stage we need more insight into the actual deal. No mention of sports betting as opposed to racing betting. Still no wiser.

WHERE? Some people on here seem to have seen some sort of presentation. Could I ask again where?

Reefton, Being a club person how do you think sponsors will react when they rightly or wrongly assume they are supporting an outfit like Ladbrokes? I'm betting quite a few won't want anything to do with racing.

Are you Einstein or something? The deal is designed to be confusing. I doubt there has ever been a deal similar or maybe you know of one. People still scratching their heads.

Well you got plenty views (about a 100). Yes definitely unlucky looked full of running. I think its all got to do with recent events. The safety culture very evident. Notice how all the horses kept a straight line in the straight.

Extra link before it gets paywalled. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/winston-peters-says-the-tabentain-deal-appears-too-good-to-be-true/S7CS6JFTN5AETJLVOLGVF34R5M/

Where did "we" hear all the in depth stuff???

Don't know if its just me but its already started. Justin Evans chipping in with sport on TV. Don't think he knows the first thing about sport but instructions from the boss can't go against that can we now.

Another piece from Gary Chittick https://waikatostud.com/the-corner-with-garry-chittick-59/

When will it sink thru. George, Sharrock, McKenzie, TAB Board etc. are sports industry people. Sure they may genuinely wish racing flourish but when it comes to splitting racing and sports income they are hopelessly conflicted and compromised.

https://www.theoptimist.site/ And de Lore was the guy pushing hardest for outsourcing. Perhaps he should have defined what outsourcing actually meant.

Just listened to David Bennett the National racing spokesman being interviewed by Sean Plunkett a few days ago. Clearly both were confused about the intricacies of the deal but Bennett's statement that he wasn't privy to the details is alarming. Surely the opposition should be able to function in a democracy. They should have been told particularly given the TAB's long history and public involvement with the TAB.

I would actually be alarmed at NZTR. Their silence has been shocking. Only a few aware of the details. They weren't directly party to the deal so didn't need to be secretive. They required to be consulted which meant consulting with all groups e.g. jockeys, trainers etc. Racing had leaverage over the TAB. That leverage has been lost as the sports people always wanted. Given away by George & Sharrock without a bleat.