Freda

Absolutely. I've seen the dominant mare in a group knock a cheeky youngster to the ground, he watched his p's and q's after that.

Yeah, easy to drive something like this to the unthinking..horses evolved as grazing, herd animals. True enough. But for as long as humans have used horses for anything other than food, they have been confined, in some way or other, out of necessity. Archeological digs have found the remains of horses chained to walls in Pompeii....I can just hear Alexander the Great saying, righto, lads, the Hittites are coming, go and catch your horses. I can see them now, tearing round a paddock in the dark to round up the war horses. Just, no. At the least they'd have been tied to picket lines or hobbled. Any performance horse, not just a racehorse, esp in and around large cities, has to spend most of its active life stabled. NZ is one of the few places which has the scope to allow such horses space. There are some magnificent equine establishments all over the world, but such property is not available to all. Even the French and UK/ Irish regimes, very different from here, certainly, with the scope of the training grounds, still stable their horses.

Geez, the stinking cold easterly at Riccarton must have missed you.

No idea. He told me this morning.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I dont think it figures in the National awards. And, in the interests of accuracy, Pitty has won the National Premiership three times.

Yes, Pitty certainly did...but that was in the days before a dedicated Sth island base for TA. For a good number of years, the Guineas hopefuls and a few others were based at Rangiora early in the season but not in any great numbers. As far as all this goes, there is no 'award' given for leading sth island stable, someone will correct me if that isn't the case, so any distinction is purely academic.

Again, I don't find her comments outrageous, crazy, or anti-racing.

As a result of the Becs podcast - and a few other matters brought to my attention recently- I made some enquiries with some re-homers of horses. Gallopers, not the harnessed variety. Seems that some owners and/or trainers had the delightful habit of sending broken-down or temperamentally unsuitable horses to these people and expecting them to deal with the problems. You'd be horrified if you knew some of the names but we won't go there. That has brought about a necessary shake-up of procedure. Every horse placed at a rehoming facility has a complete vet overhaul, paid for by NZTR. Those deemed unsuitable for pleasure riding for ANY reason gets returned to the owner or trainer. NZTR has no problem with horses being euthanised, contrary to what may be thought. However, they expect owners/ trainers to take that responsibility. My beef is that the Welfare arm of NZTR doesn't get off its backside and front foot the concerns of the public. The greyhound folk now spend thousands in operations and general rehab to ensure as many dogs as possible are able to be passed on as pets. But they allowed the few arseholes who gave the industry such a bad name to carry on with impunity. And the rehabbing work was never made public knowledge. What happened to them is an unfortunate result of sitting on their hands for too long. You may dismiss Bec's stance as that of a nutter, that's your choice. But if a nice publicity video/ podcast about the welfare requirements was made available on mainstream TV, it may go a long way to shutting up the vocal naysayers.

Take a chill pill, Chief. No one on here is anti-racing. Least of all Malted Milkshake, that I can guarantee. There are bad eggs in the sport-horse and pony club world as well, and the 1000's of dogs destroyed every year is sickening. Humans aren't a very nice lot. All we can do is insist that animals reared and slaughtered for food are treated ethically, and that sporting and pet animals are given the best care possible. Obviously not all horses - or dogs- are suitable for rehoming, and that's another bucket that needs the leaks stopped.

Not so many now, but many times years ago. And colts too.

Yes, they were at one time. Years ago now though. Dont ask me what the % was.

Bollocks.

I fail to see what is so hard to understand. Obviously posters dont know that all stable personnel must be licensed. Ground workers, track riders( slow and fast work, separate categories) trainers ( obviously) and of course riders, either professional or amateur. All hold licenses issued by NZTR. Random members of the public cannot wander in and out of stable yards unless authorized by trainers ( feed delivery, farriers/ vets, etc).

No. I see the strike was arranged by the BHA. Can you imagine NZTR 'arranging a strike' ? And - given what I have learned from some smart people over a long period of time - the NZ Govt. subsidises racing here to a very generous extent. To then 'tax' something that it bankrolls would seem to be an oxymoron - if such a term could be applied here.

Track was in superb condition and a grand spring day as well. What a waste.