jess

Not only this quote but more particularly some others I read which were attributed to this man made me think if that was the quality / tenor of his utterances, that he might have been wiser to have kept his counsel and said nothing.

How my horse is going is information for my trainer and me. IMO it's not for the trainer to provide the skinny on my horse to other owners or punters - unless those other owners/punters want to pay my bills. Even betting / cheating considerations aside - it just isn't right to me. He who pays the piper calls the tune ....

Oh yeah .. that pacemaker stuff .. and openly referred to as such .... pretty awful stuff and I have no idea what the betting public or industry judiciary made of it ...

Oh and just a quick post script ... it piqued my interest so I looked up the stewards' report later on ...... not a problem apparently. Must've imagined it ....

I am very much an amateur observer when it comes to this code. But I have watched harness races on TV and at the track where the tactics have beggared my belief. One time on-course there were 2 drivers who were clearly "connected". I watched as one would go to the front - a good horse would come up outside him and the front runner would go like hell in a speed duel to keep him out- ruining his own chances. Subsequently the leader's connected driver would come up outside him and the leader would obediently hand up at the perfect time and his "mate" would go on to win. If it happened once I might have been able to talk myself out of any conspiracy theory. But when I saw a similar pattern in several races, involving the same 2 drivers, I was struggling to put it down to coincidence or a series of honest explanations. When I expressed my observations my more learned mate shrugged and said "oh team driving - yeah - that lot do it quite a bit"

Don't know and don't care about the source - disgruntled, fully gruntled or otherwise. I'm not looking to bag whoever informed if it turns out they informed about a load of cheats. The source may be saint or sinner. But if cheating has been exposed - I say that needed to happen.

Hard to sort out truth from rumor at this stage ...but the wording might also be important ... Perhaps Police have not arrested anyone ... could still however have laid charges and proceed to court.by way of serving a summons on the defendant ... (without arresting him...) J.

Ah ok . A bit like a criminal whose stock in trade is aggravated robberies - then he rapes someone - so he should be treated as a first-time offender? I certainly hope you are wrong ....

Yeah you're probably right. There'll be a headline tomorrow & a joint press statement from RIU and NZ Police saying something along the lines of .....Just kidding - nothing to see here - just a bit of fun - as you were folks.... ?

Lots of water to go under the bridge before anything is proven. I do see some names familiar from past dishonesty featuring on the early press however. And I will be watching with interest, the sentences given to anyone who has previously been found to have cheated. I certainly hope it would be more life-ban than wet bus ticket .....

In a written statement, New Zealand Racing Board chair Glenda Hughes said the investigation "while disappointing, shows the racing integrity system is working". Something for a Tui billboard? ......

Precisely why I never understood the Canterbury harness fraternity raising funds for the defence of the blue magic cheats "last time" ... It was those cheats who took the money from the pockets of the decent industry people & honest battlers. A niggling voice in my head said maybe it was because so many were cheating and it was a case of "there but for the grace go I" - and the donors thought they were just lucky it wasn't them who'd been caught so they should support their mates. I hope that wasn't the case. I hope it was just some sort of kind but misplaced loyalty ....

Ha ha ...yep, cheers Hesi ... just a bit of fun. Glad it made you smile...... J

Press Release II Following the earlier press release about our new branding we have fielded a number of enquiries so thought it best to issue a brief statement to clarify the situation. To answer all those who wanted to know about the cost of the re-branding, we are unable to disclose this as it is commercially sensitive information. What we can say however is that we entered into a consultation phase with industry partners and stakeholders, with the emphasis on being both customer-centric and results driven. We listened to what you were telling us and once we drilled down into the action plan, we were able to brainstorm the options for an iconic name to spearhead the brand. We ran the best 3 options up the flagpole and while each had obvious merits – it proved a difficult task to choose between them – finalists being “Loveracing” “Likeracing” and “Loatheracing”. With the help of top marketing firm OTTTM – we decided that going forward, “Loveracing” was the best strategic fit for the business. We believe this showcases our aspirational goal - of every New Zealander loving racing – and is yet another example of our bold and innovative blue-sky thinking. We think you’ll all agree – we hit the ground running with the launch of the new initiative and we’ve really hit the back of the net with the new look, value-added website. <ends> Media Release – 03/09/18 Pippa West – Senior Communications Adviser Off To The Trough Marketing (OTTTM)

Hee hee Mustelidus maximus .... I was not serious at all in my wee Westbury Weasel comment ... I am fully convinced you are an independent mustelid who roams freely wherever he chooses without fear or favor .. Nor do I sense you are a stalking mustelid ... although I must advise that given my own tribe of equines - if your memento from the ravishing Redwood is a little piece of poop - I have more than enough of that commodity to cater for the composting needs of a medium sized town so I should save you the cost of postage ?

Thsnks for that. Exciting stuff. And did you see the press release? Moving forward if we unpack this new branding you'll see we are all on a journey but we'd like to assure all our stakeholders we will continue to think outside the box and we remain across the various issues impacting on the industry at this particular point in time.

Ah ok Chief. Thx. Wasn't on the site yesterday so wasn't aware. I am hoping you were not serious re the love racing thing however and it was just yr little joke ...

Anyone tried to get on this tonight? Is it just my computer playing silly buggers or is there an issue here ...? J

Even though I've been known to patronise the Levin jump outs in the past and wld like to have had access to video when i cldnt make it there to watch - if filming them would take food from the mouths of the suits (I'm not saying just men here either as in fact a particular woman comes to mind ....) I'd have to vote the initiative down. I cldnt live with myself Rowley.

Word is upcoming Levin jump-outs will be videoed....

Turny - I beg your pardon - just checking in case there was a typo in your message - I don't know you personally so I have no idea how fat your fingers are as they engage with your keyboard ... and naturally I don't mean to cause offence ... Was that "running" or "ruining"?

NM - I take your point but your use of the term "breeders" is probably too broad. Life clearly is darn good for the likes of Chitty, Chittick, Lindsays & co schmoozing at their $600 dinners - but it's still a hard slog for those of us who breed one or two mares. None of the tax breaks or other recent initiatives help me one iota. Hey - it's my choice to still be in the game - but don't tell me it's easy for breeders - cos actually I'm one of those who's (in yr words) "having the sh#t kicked out of me" .... J

Good on ya Rich Hill!! Besides the horse flash on show I really liked the casual, spacious setting for the parade - the nice easy manner of the handlers - and in turn, the relaxed way the stallions paraded. I was expecting the commentary to be from the stud master on the day but it had been spliced in from the promotional material. No matter. It might have been hard to get a good soundtrack under conditions. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Actually hope to be doing business with them next season. Thanks Rich Hill - and Huey for sharing. J.

... oh and I think I am in love with Redwood ...

Movie maestro mustelid! I have no idea how you did that either Weasel but that was bloody great! And with a sound track! Now unless you have secret cinematographer talents or are an undercover Westbury Weasel - I'm left thinking how cool is that and how readily could all these parades be shared amongst lots of keen breeders (and fans/tyre kickers) who are unable to attend on the day. Thanks very much Weasel. Nice work that man ⭐⭐⭐