Freda

Thanks, haven't received it yet, but a decent prize nevertheless and much appreciated. Ten bags of a Dunstan feed ration of choice, I believe.

Yes, exactly. The great staff mentioned above aren't going to radically change their routine regardless of who comes and goes at the top. The system works, and well, from Karen and D.E at the top, through the various foremen/women, through the trackriders, strappers, and the muckers-out. Every stable - without exception - has its up and downs, the promise of the newly-purchased young stock may or may not come to fruition, irrespective of who is in the drivers' seat, and that's life.

Quite a few trucks arrived today

There are few better trainspotters than Curious.

Odd indeed. The cynic might think that not one of these folk have the faintest idea about anything pertaining to rules or integrity, and also have comprehension difficulties.

I thought we were...a bit of levity now and again doesn't hurt...but yes, it is important.

Haha....bit early to tell yet?

Another point which I feel illustrates the prevailing culture within the RIB, is the matter of the missing shoe on the horse in question. The rules are quite clear. A horse must be presented at the races or trials correctly shod. If that is not the case the horse must be scratched. To make sure I was correct in my interpretation, I spoke to several farriers, including one who has officiated at both points on a raceday; i.e the inspection plate where correct plates are checked off, and around at the starting gates, and was left in no doubt what the requirements are. Madison Rose was presented with a plate missing. The farrier alerted officials but Oatham overruled the protocols and allowed the horse to start. Given the matter of a horse falling at Greymouth - free of interference - because it had hooked a plate off in running and become unbalanced, that in itself is astounding What is equally astounding is the claim the leg which the mare 'slipped' on could be clearly seen..really? as was the subsequent failure to stand Moseley on the mat for careless riding. And for those who recall horses being re-plated at the barriers at various times, and wonder why I'm bringing this up; the rules, which the RIB are charged with implementing, are quite clear and unequivocal. A horse MUST be presented correctly shod AT INSPECTION. The farrier at the gates is there to repair problems that may have occurred on the way to, or the gates. They have the discretion at that point, and may either straighten or re-nail a plate, or, in some cases, remove the other one to give the horse more stability than racing with one plate missing. It is NOT the job of the gate farrier to do at no cost, the shoeing that should have been attended to earlier.

Sad to recollect....I've got one in work now that I reckon would be deadly around some of those mentioned.

I think 'negligent ' is a very diplomatic term with which to describe the decision made.

Based on ticket sales the AWT middle day is now free entry.

There seems to be a fair bit of dissatisfaction about their functions in other areas too.

My understanding was that the funding from NZTR was arranged in the early days of the Karaka Millions concept, and was for a finite time only. Purcell era I think. I was also told that Saundry did not favour the 'subsidy' because that is what it is, like it or not, from NZTR being extended past that initial setup phase. But, clearly, it has been. And while I have no problem with the day being made even more special, it was, and still is, a sales-promotion exercise and - IMO- should be funded by the sales company that benefits as well as the breeders.

Was idly listening to the TV early this morning while making a cup of tea, and heard comments attributed to a Catholic church somewhere about this topic; went something like, you're either a man or a woman, if you don't like it, go somewhere else !

Hopefully.

Yes, please let everyone see the discourse. Like Doomed, I think we need to be made aware of the quality of this organization and by association, the others by which we are overseen.

To be fair, I don't have a problem with Te Reo, and I don't think it does, or will do, any harm to teach kids another language. I learned French and Latin at school. Didn't hurt me at all - and Latin is a 'dead' language - although the basis for many spoken languages today. And what a buzz it was translating a passage actually written by Julius Caesar for a School C assignment. Local rider Rohan Mudhoo speaks English, French, Creole and Hindi - and also understands Urdu. All Mauritian lads I have met can converse readily in at least three of those. Scandinavian children are taught English [ or they were ] as a matter of course. Many from other jurisdictions - Singapore, Malaysia - know either English or French as the language of govt. and commerce, as well as native or local dialects. The brain is not like the memory in a smartphone, getting clogged up with too much information and needing to be decluttered. There is room for a lot more than we store there.! Many Kiwis I know don't even speak English well. Some exercise of the grey matter wouldn't hurt at all. However, as I reflected above - while native practices, both medical and otherwise, should be respected, and learned about wherever possible - to shove knowledge gained through accepted trials and research to the back, and/or make it irrelevant or less important, is dangerous and stupid in the extreme. IMO. And to end - the assertion in the initial article that modern medical science arose in western Europe in the 17th century, fails to recognise that Arab scholars and surgeons were active well before then with some very advanced knowledge indeed. I have seen evidence of cataract surgery carried out [ successfully ] much earlier, by an Arab surgeon in Spain.

Stable return can be done online and has for some time.

New season maybe? Haven't seen any indication of any change.

Yeah. I have to wonder how long it will take the Entain crew to work out the same thing.

Wednesday definitely. Pity, I was looking forward to a day at Oamaru, a long time since I've been down there. They used to have the best mutton pies.....but won't be attending unfortunately.

It seems the Oamaru folk - as well as the rest of us - have been bowled a shitty ball. That's nature, however, and the poor buggers in the north have been copping the most challenging weather for a long time now. We have missed the worst of it. The possibility is to defer until Wednesday, pending an inspection this morning at 8.a.m. Hopefully the decision can be conveyed to potential runners speedily, as training options will need to be adjusted as a result.

Can't say I blame you one iota.

The number-8-wire mentality, the can-do, common sense mindset that Kiwis used to be known for seems to have flown out the window, sadly. Watching news this morning about the tragic shooting in the Auckland CBD, I was struck by the time spent by various distressed-looking females worrying about 'how could this have been prevented ' well, fk me, lock up those violent pricks and leave them there. Accountability? Where? Home D is ok for tax fraud or traffic offences.

And that's how the system defeats you/us. It's all well and good for the Chief to call for meaningful dissension - put it in writing, approach this or that person or body, get a genuine consensus and protest en masse - but when confronted by obfuscation and buck-passing, people just become tired and disillusioned and go away. If stakeholders as a group made a stand for your club and /or accountability in management, maybe there might be some traction. But the majority are ignorant, lazy, don't care, or are just plain so wrapped up in the difficult business of running a 7-day-a-week business, dealing with owners, staff, planning programmes [ now that's a trying one ] and paying bills, that there is just no energy or will to protest. And when I say ignorant, I don't mean in the 'nasty' sense [ although there will be some of those too, no doubt ]. I mean, ignorant of how processes work and how racing is structured overall.