Brodie Posted October 19 Share Posted October 19 (edited) The 2024 Junior Drivers Championship concluded last night at Addington after 5 heats. The ladies performed admirably with three lf them accumulating the highest points. Just shows how lucky we are to actually have so many females in the racing industry especially harness racing. Congratulations to Crystal Hackett who won the championship and Kerryn Tomlinson second and Olivia Thornley third. We all know that there is a lot of luck in this championship and depends on the horses that they draw. However great championship but think that they couldve possibly held at least one more heat than they actually did as if you draw poor horses in a couple of races then you are going to struggle. The ladies have it well over the boys as I think I read that they have won the last 7 runnings of this Championship Edited October 19 by Brodie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAB For Ever Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 Well done to Crystal Hackett for winning the title. A very good driver getting plenty of drives in North , from Harness stock plus drives for top Purdon/Phelan stable who have plenty of faith in her. Leading the Juniors up to the final race was Zev Meredith , another Northerner , but not from Harness stock. Came thru the Kids Kart travel path. Horses run very well for him ! Getting more and more chances in the competitive but 'small sized fields' environment in North. The Northern Harness scene getting a lot of put-downs in recent times , and many on here questioning its 'standing'. It would seem that Northern Harness has the best Junior drivers ,plus many of the top Senior ones too. Ray Green said two weeks ago it seemed easier to win in South , no doubt with Copy That memories firmly in mind ! Quite likely it has better Trainers ,and only sent Mark Purdon south a few years ago to even things up ! To paraphrase , Northern Harness seems to have better horses too. It also has the better Stallions[ Studs] , it has 3 x quite different tracks that can run Night Racing v ONE in South. Yes ,betting has drifted a lot in North in recent years but it has been very good in past so the North shouldn't be written off...........more quality than quantity it seems ! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the galah Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 (edited) 2 hours ago, TAB For Ever said: Well done to Crystal Hackett for winning the title. A very good driver getting plenty of drives in North , from Harness stock plus drives for top Purdon/Phelan stable who have plenty of faith in her. Leading the Juniors up to the final race was Zev Meredith , another Northerner , but not from Harness stock. Came thru the Kids Kart travel path. Horses run very well for him ! Getting more and more chances in the competitive but 'small sized fields' environment in North. The Northern Harness scene getting a lot of put-downs in recent times , and many on here questioning its 'standing'. It would seem that Northern Harness has the best Junior drivers ,plus many of the top Senior ones too. Ray Green said two weeks ago it seemed easier to win in South , no doubt with Copy That memories firmly in mind ! Quite likely it has better Trainers ,and only sent Mark Purdon south a few years ago to even things up ! To paraphrase , Northern Harness seems to have better horses too. It also has the better Stallions[ Studs] , it has 3 x quite different tracks that can run Night Racing v ONE in South. Yes ,betting has drifted a lot in North in recent years but it has been very good in past so the North shouldn't be written off...........more quality than quantity it seems ! all good points to underline the north island contribution. the only thing is when you referred to 'put downs" you need to differentiate comments made on here about the fiscal sustainabilty of northern clubs, based on turnovers ,stakes paid and clubs financial circumstances.In other words,that is a very different subject than talking about people and horses as you just have. Edited October 21 by the galah 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAB For Ever Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 54 minutes ago, the galah said: all good points to underline the north island contribution. the only thing is when you referred to 'put downs" you need to differentiate comments made on here about the fiscal sustainabilty of northern clubs, based on turnovers ,stakes paid and clubs financial circumstances.In other words,that is a very different subject than talking about people and horses as you just have. The financial situation is diabolical ,and caused by non-racing issues but there a continual put downs on here about the 'boring ' racing in North and non-attractiveness of Northern Harness. Its relentless and boring to read.....yes ,small fields are taking their toll on overall attractiveness but still a lot to enjoy with good stock , well driven by the best etc and the action very close up ! And some good money to be made too on the tote ! Even you pulled the old anecdotal ...."I attended once 20 years ago and etc etc'...out of the archives. If it aint that stuff its the commentator etc etc So its the people and horses copping the serves ! Entain obviously hopes some of the former glory can return , personally I can't see it but its worth a try ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie Posted October 21 Author Share Posted October 21 9 hours ago, TAB For Ever said: The financial situation is diabolical ,and caused by non-racing issues but there a continual put downs on here about the 'boring ' racing in North and non-attractiveness of Northern Harness. Its relentless and boring to read.....yes ,small fields are taking their toll on overall attractiveness but still a lot to enjoy with good stock , well driven by the best etc and the action very close up ! And some good money to be made too on the tote ! Even you pulled the old anecdotal ...."I attended once 20 years ago and etc etc'...out of the archives. If it aint that stuff its the commentator etc etc So its the people and horses copping the serves ! Entain obviously hopes some of the former glory can return , personally I can't see it but its worth a try ! TAB, forums are for open debate and to question decisions being made if they sppear to be wrong or inconsistent. Continual put downs are just a result of the poor decision making that has occurred in recent years and are still bring made. The racing is generally boring and as for punting wise, turnover is extremely poor most of the time. As for better trainers and drivers in the North I personally believe that to be BS, Yes there are some very good horses trained in the North Island however the average horse up there would not be as good as the South Island ones. The South is heavily subsidising the North Island and Entain will eventually realise that this can not continue. Not a put down, just stating fact! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 lol . you guys are cool . you can feel the North v South Island vibe right through.😁 think a lot of good points and some funny flexible ones. Junior drivers : TABman giving Crystal and Zev the Top NZ billing after the Championship, but of course the South have/had SarahO recent years and now Carter with a NZ Cup runner. All square after one bout. Race drivers : Blair-Tim-MarkP-JohnD v Zac, AGH, wizards magicians and musicians. Points to the South Island in that battle. Best Horses: Well the richest man has purchased good ones to race at Barry's for a few years now so has Merlin currently, who tipped over Don't Stop Dreaming in the Derby and Race by Grins. Steven Reid just beat up the Aussies with 'Coastal Babe'. BarryP and Phelan just Quinellaed the 2 year old trot feature at Addington, Duchess Megxit too. Points to the North. Best Trotters: Bernie doing a good job in the North every week with big team of trotters, equalled by the 'Hope' team in the south. but with Dunns , Williamsons, and Paul Nairn an easy one for the South to take the points . BIGgest races: Nz Cup the main one , but attempt at match-up by AKLD Cup (2mile stand) as is the Rowe Cup v Dominion. the good Slot Grin at Cambridge about to be equalled at Addington with 2 3 yearold slot races. Excellent stuff !! points shared BEST racing : Brodster and some are thinking the North Island racing is boring. (they obviously don't watch any Oz racing 😂) but if that is the consensus of opinion. South Island take home the points Betting : The bigger fields and more horses racing seem to be favourable to the NZ Punters that are counting those sort of things, as of course with more numbers in a field the better odds you can get (Like with Republican Party and Tact McLoed , Rush, etc recently) so the South Island is better for odds and to bet on if that's what you're after. Points to the South. Chance of Winning : with the excellent racing at Cambridge each week , with races supplied for even the slowest of horses racing All the smaller trainers and Owners are getting some winners. Very hard to win a race in the SI. Dreams are Free even struggling in the deep South. easy Points to the North there. Turnover : All the accountants are trying to shoot the North Island racing for this. They have come up with reasons like who watches trots on a Tuesday? etc. Just race on a Saturday night then ?? is the easy answer and bus coach over the punters from Ellerslie (a short fun trip) every Saturday afternoon to have dinner and bet into some Alexandra Park action. People back at the TROTS instantly and turnover increasing. anyway 🙄 Points to the South who have good Sunday action. Financial Situation : The North badly effected by the $100mill debt from the apartments, and so trying to sell off Franklin training set-up to cope . very poor decision. In the South Forbury Park sold and they have money to invest into something for the future. The Galah had some excellent ideas. Points to the South TAB/ ENTAIN support : a national problem? . Brodie has the ideas to fix it up ? no points HRNZ support : they are the national body so Support BOTH Islands . Slot races are coming in to help with having BIG Prize races. This is important . Attracts Outside interest. slot holders , Aussies, party goers lol, (think they have a concert Grins race day like a mini Everest Day) They Allocate the prize money for regular racing as they See Fit , to help the Participants KEEP Going in this amazing Sport of Harness Racing. Good on em' !!!!!! heap of points to them FINAL SCORE = South Island 6 Points v North Island 2 points v 2 or 3 shared points South Island wins 🏆 !!!, so solution = close/boycott North Island Immeadiately and send all those great Trainers and horses to OZ so we can enjoy their efforts, wins and betting here. 😎🕺 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the galah Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 (edited) 4 hours ago, Gammalite said: South Island wins 🏆 !!!, so solution = close/boycott North Island Immeadiately and send all those great Trainers and horses to OZ so we can enjoy their efforts, wins and betting here. 😎🕺 i know your being tongue in cheek with that comment. i'm sure people in the south island want to see harness racing in the north prosper,but most feel HRNZ is over committing and being unrealistic,nor are HRNZ showing fiscal responsibilty.Southland harness racing,to me, is also struggling. people aren't stupid. Hrnz seem to think they are,but they are not. people know if you continue to run one part of your business at a loss it impacts on the bottom line of the whole business. The north island should be restructured and realistic,viable plans for its fututre should have already been made. Its imperative for those in the north island that this happens.Its in their interests. The failure of hrnz to address that is what worries people in the south island. In other words theres a lack of confidence in HRNZ leadership and decision making. You know,what gets me most, is when i was a young fella and a teenager,canterbury people were so one eyed and parochial about their sports teams and would do anything necessary to achieve and succeed. To me,canterbury people and in particular canterbury harness racing people have become too apathetic and don't make themselves heard,nor promte their importance and needs like they used to. In a lot of ways i think when it comes to the crunch in the not too distant future,and it will,you can see it coming,canterbury people will only have themselves to blame for how the canterbury scene will inevitably be impacted. Edited October 22 by the galah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gammalite Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 11 minutes ago, the galah said: i know your being tongue in cheek with that comment. i'm sure people in the south island want to see harness racing in the north prosper,but most feel HRNZ is over committing and being unrealistic,nor are HRNZ showing fiscal responsibilty.Southland harness racing,to me, is also struggling. people aren't stupid. Hrnz seem to think they are,but they are not. people know if you continue to run one part of your business at a loss it impacts on the bottom line of the whole business. The north island should be restructured and realistic,viable plans for its fututre should have already been made. Its imperative for those in the north island that this happens.Its in their interests. The failure of hrnz to address that is what worries people in the south island. In other words theres a lack of confidence in HRNZ leadership and decision making. You know,what gets me most, is when i was a young fella and a teenager,canterbury people were so one eyed and parochial about their sports teams and would do anything necessary to achieve and succeed. To me,canterbury people and in particular canterbury harness racing people have become too apathetic and don't make themselves heard,nor promte their importance and needs like they used to. In a lot of ways i think when it comes to the crunch in the not too distant future,and it will,you can see it coming,canterbury people will only have themselves to blame for how the canterbury scene will inevitably be impacted. yes , was just having a bit of a joke at the end. Of course I know a whole heap of participants in the North Island , and none at all in the South. so have a bias for the North. As far as Industry stability goes, the South have the Sale of Forbury to work with as far as Financial investment for the future goes. some of your ideas were good in that area. Seemed the only solution for Auckland would be a sale as well ?? after the Unfortunate death of the bloke (ATC club president ) that time after he was instigating all the apartment real estate stuff that went pear-shaped. Would of thought selling the whole course would of been the answer (like Sydney did with Harold Park , (even though HP was a close-to-city icon for decades with countless champions and Friday night entertainment) . ATC > To clear the debt and invest in a course down towards the Waikato? . Use the current Waikato as the country horses track on Fridays, and a Brand new spanker state of the art track with training barns, for newcomers and all the modern things, to get the North a BIG future. Go Meadowlands type Big lol. Instead they're trying to sell Franklin just to pay the debt? where the hell will the person's train that are training there now go ? the North will fizzle out 🙄 has Manawatu stopped already? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAB For Ever Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 10 hours ago, Brodie said: TAB, forums are for open debate and to question decisions being made if they sppear to be wrong or inconsistent. Continual put downs are just a result of the poor decision making that has occurred in recent years and are still bring made. The racing is generally boring and as for punting wise, turnover is extremely poor most of the time. As for better trainers and drivers in the North I personally believe that to be BS, Yes there are some very good horses trained in the North Island however the average horse up there would not be as good as the South Island ones. The South is heavily subsidising the North Island and Entain will eventually realise that this can not continue. Not a put down, just stating fact! Go the Crusaders ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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