Freda

He also said, don't worry about anyone inside, they'll get out of the way. Not this lot, I said. ...! In your day, maybe!

Left hand down, keep kicking....as Mouse said to me at Greymouth

George makes more than a few mistakes himself. And I'm not assassinating the guy, it would be a very difficult job to do. Just pointing put that everyone makes mistakes.

Yes. You're absolutely right. You can. But it's still structured like a salad bowl.

You can come from anywhere, on any track, it depends on the pace. The Valley isn't exactly 'roomy'. It's a dog track. But the best horses usually manage to win because they are the best. One thing you don't get there often is a walk-and-sprint. Not often on the Coast either. As for praise? why not? many are now aware of agendas afoot to close down many venues and finally are realising just what will be lost without them. And the Coast is particularly vulnerable after the b/s last year at Reefton, following on the reduction from 4 to 3 days of the circuit.

Ah...no. I'm told Balcombe might be putting in an appearance at Reefton, though. And there was a new, official-looking bloke whom I haven't seen before deep in conversation with an RIB employee.

It was a glorious day, just a wee breeze which stopped it being oppressively hot although it was still warm. Crowd happy and buzzing, there were so many campervans out the back that it was nearly another village! We had to leave after R4 but there were still people coming in the gate.

Top post.

You'd remember Laurie Sutherland then?

Don't think so. An opportunity to ride there would of course be keenly anticipated but a permanent move, no.

Of course.

And Nelson.

Bear in mind that some of those in Pitty's name were Harris horses. Good to see him get a couple yesterday, stable has been quiet of late by his standards.

Haha ..3 days of it so far!

I have to wonder just how long 'Tab for Ever" has been around racing generally. Referring to paid holidays and lieu days when the rest of the industry is head down, arse up, is a bit tasteless for starters. To think that holiday racing is 'brilliant planning ' by NZTR is one of the silliest comments I've seen here. The holiday dates have SFA to do with the current NZTR, rather the old club system from days long gone. When the climate and holiday periods were aligned, as best as could be, with where the crowds were, and where conditions might suit horse racing. This effing lot - the 'brilliant' ones - are, instead, hellbent on shutting down country circuits. One of the most successful and enjoyable ones, the Gisborne-Wairoa meetings, now replaced by a boring day at Hastings. Blenheim, nice track, good people - just doesn't fit the agenda either. And the West Coast circuit, on the skids because of an arbitrary decision to deny Westland a day at their own track; whatever reason given was the typical b/s trotted out by these people. The club had the financial resources as well as community support to make any alterations deemed necessary from their OWN funds, no need to call on the industry like the bigger bloodsuckers do. So Greymouth kindly ran an extra day for Westland. But when the Westland committee resisted the expectation that the property value be vested in NZTR, and sold it back to the community, payback. No further date, so circuit reduced to three days squashed into a small window. Uneconomic for trainers from afar. Trainers and owners who have supported the clubs for decades, now not coming. The astonishing antics of an RIB official last year to abandon Reefton...the writing is on the wall. Luck ? the only need for a club to shut up shop or shift to another track should be for economic reasons, or for lack of interest from stakeholders- which are both inter-related. Luck has eff all to do with the funding restrictions applied to these small clubs for decades. No wonder some of them had run-down facilities. Neglected ? They can't suck off the funding tit of NZTR like their bigger brothers can. As for Newmarket - the historic, chalky ground which not only hosts racing [ and has done from the time of King James ] but some amazing training facilities too, and a jockey school to boot - is actually in Suffolk. Which is, FYI, in England.

Scottish?

Told ya he was a superstar.

Did you have a problem with yours?

The track at Kurow looked amazing too.

Fair enough. If there were serious anomalies, you'd find them!

Performance wouldn't alter but the ratings might if the competition was more widely spread.

A point that was made to me recently; namely, that ratings are obtained by racing against other horses, and assessing the merit or otherwise of performance. Southern horses race mostly within a limited pool, and ratings are relative to their performances against each other. If they regularly competed against northern horses, this apparent anomaly wouldn't happen.

Not really, no. There have, in the past, been good plans involving much work presented to NZTR but no discussion, and probably not even looked at in depth. Was chatting to a northern based trainer yesterday, he thinks that once Auckland is up and running the major stables will set their sights on the regular and well-staked races there, leaving the outlying and provincial areas out in the cold. I would like to have confidence in Head Office to keep a viable flow of races for the rest of the peasants but unfortunately, I don't. In fairness Bruce Sharrock is always ready for a chat and is, in himself, very personable. But that's his job. Whether he gives a sh*t really is hard to ascertain. As for the article about Andrew's thoughts - while I certainly get his concerns, at least there is still the opportunity to race the horse elsewhere. What is wrong with hopping across the border for weaker company ? It's still Australia! Plenty of horses in NZ find their way down south when deemed uncompetitive in the north, that is in itself not a bad thing. Keeps owners in the game with the opportunity to race a made and educated horse that may have shown quite a bit of ability, and can be purchased at generally very modest cost. Owners, if they are still keen on a particular horse can keep their interest and just race it further afield. There are also trainers who regularly race horses to drop their ratings to get them to a level where they can be competitive. Done regularly in HK too, for example. The thing that does concern me is the rush [esp. down south] to squeeze out smaller clubs and reduce opportunity away from major clubs - read Riccarton in our region. That in itself does nothing to attract new clientele with the homogenised diet that then becomes the norm. The point of difference that has been so attractive for years, of country/provincial racing offering opportunities for the less competitive horse, is steadily being removed. While Auckland may 'future proof' racing in the northern region, I don't see Riccarton doing the same for the south.

My knowledge and understanding of things wagering-related is very limited. However, I think that any 'privileges' and so on are extended to the BGP group because overall, they don't win. Therefore, a positive for TAB. If they were successful [ made an overall profit ] they wouldn't be treated the same. And - as alluded to - they attract enormous interest among a younger set.

No, harness racing won't be wanting a rail. They use marker pegs.