The Centaur

And today the 8-10 show much better. Mick G seemed a much happier man doing it by himself without the crap humour from the other one. Maybe Mick had a win but at least he left the audience keen on the days racing ahead.

I have forced myself to listen to the Saturday 8.00am-10.00am show. A few times the extended interview has been excellent. However the rest mainly an insult to ones precious time. The Louis guy seems to have the idea he has to be "entertaining" no doubt per the SENZ directive. Sadly the humour is of a juvenile nature and so frustrating when trying to get info for the days racing. The combo of Guerin and Herman-Watt doesn't work they just talk over each other.

Are you serious?? Maybe you should join SENZ. They need jokesters.

I must be missing something. Of what possible interest is the Everest or the Trackside splashout on this side of the Tasman.

The geniuses at the TAB have not gone away. Today Jetbet 4 is Awapuni tomorrow Jetbet 4 is Awapuni. Meaning too confusing so TAB have barred betting on Awapuni tomorrow except for fixed.

We were promised all the details of the deal when the Minister "approved it". NZTR also promised us details June 15. So far NZTR idea of information on the deal is to get intoxicated with the cash and tell us where they a going to throw it about. So far the required information is shockingly lacking. With sport taking over Trackside NZTR have squandered millions by not getting in on the deal. All together a massive con. Yes good question about the company registrations. Answers are needed.

Chief, you should take up golf. With a few holes to play Daniel Hillier was $101 (thank you very much). Considering in an interview last week he reckoned he could win one soon not bad odds.

Thats what we need. Real enthusiasts!!

Switching Saturday meeting to All weather was something Michael Guerin was promoting. Now I appreciate Guerin has longstanding racing & harness knowledge but has been wrong so many times. e.g. When the TAB OpenBet system was about to launch Guerin the TAB employee came out strongly that after getting a sneek preview of the system it was going to be the greatest thing of all time.

For some unfathomable reason Wednesday Race 1 The Queen Mary Stakes has been abandoned by the TAB. No betting at all. Wanted to bet on Gaiden a 40:1 longshot. Must get a Betfair account or similar.

It was super impressive. They really rated the 2nd horse and there was daylight to third. The commentator started talking up the horse before the race and the things he was saying led me to believe he reads this forum. Well spotted.

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?