The Centaur

What he means probably they are not very effective. Was any jockey in court giving their take on the incident?

Did NZTR do any representation in court? The cost is far higher than $8000 e.g. extra security, higher insurance premiums etc. Another $10,000 should have been awarded to the Jockeys Association.

Not a bad idea yes bit of beyond the square thinking required. i.e. Transfer Derby to Trentham and Oaks to Ellerslie with Trentham next Sunday. Reprogram central districts racing for that weekend.

Speaking of travel, interesting trip Andrew Forseman driving home from Auckland on his own, pulling up on the side of the road and watching on phone his horse win first up in Australia. Like the idea of a golf tourny at these circuit meetings.

One day racing will query the law that says TAB must be run to benefit nz racing. At the moment tab is run to benefit tab. That doesn't mean benefit to nz racing. Aegon being a 'small horse" kind of has escaped my attention.

Look if you want to just drive and see the sites its far better "driving" google. In fact because of the aerial view as well the scenery gets far better implanted in your brain than physically being there. Any way if you are the car driver you have concentrate on the road not the sites. Its seems a long way from the ferry to Kingscote where the track is but then thats only one fifth of the length of the island. Always thought Kangaroo Island was a few acres with a racetrack carved with kangaroos running around it. Seems an excellent getaway for people from Adelaide.

Usually before an OZ country meeting i like to take a trip around the town using my keyboard and google maps. Certainly didn't realize Kangaroo Island was that big. Been "driving" for hours and can't find the racecourse. Anyone been to K.Island races? Maybe a tip might help as well.

No. I would say the other way around. If you listened to Richards interviews he said Melody Belle is carrying more condition and bit more muscled up. Always at this time of year you get a Royal Performer. A horse who has fined down in the hot weather and is in peak form. If trainers were prepared to disclose the weight of their horse then it would probably show Melody Belle is about 15kg overweight. Jamie Richards thought he could get away with it but give a few weeks and easing of the tracks a different story.

100% owners so the delight obvious. When was the last time a Grp1 was won by a 100% owner/trainer?

Traditionally the post race photograph includes jockey, trainer and owners. Now the owners are usually over 50 years so won't be around 50 years time. Yet having the day to day carer and track rider in the photo means the person will have something 40 years on.

Not very diplomatic criticizing Jamie Richards at the top of his game but it gets tiresome hearing from him about the great team. Yet hardly ever hear who is in the "great team" or interviews from them. Anyone else think the "Plonkers of the week" award go to the Melody Belle syndicate owners. Seems they want to sell when she finishes racing possibly at the end of this season. When it comes to sentiment the first sentiment is quick cash.

Certainly don't mean those self serve. My scheme is system of scanning a customer form with QRcode, barcode etc then checking the bet on the mobile phone before sending it by phone.

Sorry I thought you were back there visiting. There are several innovative ways to make oncourse betting pleasurable. Fiddling around with a phone app in glaring sunlight is not one of them. Payments should be made just once and a deposit slip carry the balance. All selling machines must be self serve but I agree some form of bookmaker presence be available however more as a marketing gimmick.

JB, Looked a terrific crowd. How did they handle the betting? Any new technology around the selling terminals?

With Probabeel winning yesterday in Australia thats another high class winner to come out of the Matamata Trials. I stand by my statement. The Matamata Trials was the best meeting in terms of quality, interest, entertainment and spectacle to occur this season. The problem is NZTR were blind.

BGP getting the formula right isn't going to be easy. Pooling cash together for a big splash isn't a sustainable model. We saw that with the Melbourne Cup day. Also going to the races e.g. "a bunch of boys" sneaking off with the household budget for a day out is no longer all that appealing. Race crowds when they happen are more family orientated with the female side more interested in the animals. Having accumulated say 18,000 internet members and say 600 keen racing followers that really is the easy part. The big challenge is capitalizing on that.

I said look at the meetings on the NZTR calendar where they are classified as meeting, premier and trial.

Sorry everyone failed. The meeting which was probably the best to attend to spot future winners and see the cream of NZ thoroughbreds with horses such as.... Melody Belle, Probabeel, The Chosen One, Aegon, Quick Thinker, Crown Prosecutor, Travelling Light, Need I Say More, Pop Star Princess, Amarelinha, Kahma Lass, Festivity, Equinox, Burgundy Belle, Vitesse Bo etc and about 200 others was Jan 12 Matamata Trials run on a perfect track. Yet there was no publicity, no crowd to speak of. Shows the incompetence of those running racing. The open trials could have been incorporated into a tote meeting giving the holiday crowds an extra attraction.

No.

Final Clue. Numerically most number of starters and possibly most number group one wins. Easy now!

Good try but NO. No to Freda as well. Mind you Overtheriver a help.

No,No,no just meetings January of this year.

No. As stated this meeting could be the No1 if one took into consideration say stakemoney won overseas but one would need to check up on any ex Hong Kong horses. Nevertheless first time responders can have 3 meetings for an answer.

Wrong. Just to clarify. By stakemoney I mean the historical stakemoney won by the horses in New Zealand.

No. One could argue the fifth should be the top. Keep the answers coming.