Palmerston North - Easy Kill!!!

[Brodie]

Just looked at the results for today’s Palmerston North Harness!

Stake money pretty good all things considered at nearly 9k per race.

Fields were all reasonably small so good chance of picking up stake money.

The winners were all less than average horses and wouldn’t have a dogs show of competing in either Christchurch or Auckland competitively!

Michael House is cleaning up with horses that I wouldn’t like to be paying the training bills for, but their Racing life is being extended by being able to get easy wins against very poor horses from the  central North Island.

If it wasn’t for the South Island Horses going north to race at Palmy then I would say that the harness track would be sold off for housing!

Not too sure how this club could possibly be running at any sort of profit going by the poor quality of horse that is racing there and the small fields????

 

Edited December 11, 2018 by Brodie

[Happy Sunrise]

1 hour ago, Brodie said:

Not too sure how this club could possibly be running at any sort of profit going by the poor quality of horse that is racing there and the small fields????

But they seem to survive year after year and harness racing continues in an area where it could easily not.

That is a very good thing.

[Brodie]

14 minutes ago, Happy Sunrise said:

But they seem to survive year after year and harness racing continues in an area where it could easily not.

That is a very good thing.

Happy, I have got no idea how they possibly can survive.

The meetings are normally not on very good days of the week and the turnover is never flash!

They surely must be losing money  and totally be relying on being subsidised by other parts of the industry?

Stake money of 9k and turnover win and place on average around 12k so the percentage the TAB would pay the club would be minimal then there is all the operating costs!

Does anyone know how the Manawatu Harness is able to survive?

Edited December 11, 2018 by Brodie

[Happy Sunrise]

5 minutes ago, Brodie said:

They surely must be losing money  and totally be relying on being subsidised by other parts of the industry?

That wouldn't be good but who would know the numbers?

Come to think of it is Palmy slated for closure?

[Westview]

50 minutes ago, Happy Sunrise said:

That wouldn't be good but who would know the numbers?

Come to think of it is Palmy slated for closure?

Wouldn't be good for the industry as a whole, for harness to survive we need to support all these small locations, how much betting comes out of Wellington with no local industry, not much I'd be picking

[globederby12]

1 hour ago, Brodie said:

Happy, I have got no idea how they possibly can survive.

The meetings are normally not on very good days of the week and the turnover is never flash!

They surely must be losing money  and totally be relying on being subsidised by other parts of the industry?

Stake money of 9k and turnover win and place on average around 12k so the percentage the TAB would pay the club would be minimal then there is all the operating costs!

Does anyone know how the Manawatu Harness is able to survive?

One of my neighbour's is part of the Manawatu Board running the track.

We had a street Xmas party on Sunday and talking to him it doesn't sound like they are shutting up any time soon. 

I could talk to him again and answer some of your questions.

[Brodie]

Globe, can not see how they can possibly carry on the way things appear?

They tend to race on a Tuesday afternoon and then Thursday night for the second day!

There was bugger all in the pools today to support running a meeting at Palmy.

We don’t get Fixed Odds betting figures from Bookies  on any of the meetings so don’t know whether anyone is betting on fixed either.

The way these meetings are currently going, Michael House could well win the premiership lol!

[Taku Umanga]

Manawatu are light on staff which probably helps - I believe Cambridge losses are in the hundreds of thousands every year and they have a far larger pool of horses available to them.  Traveling to race at Manawatu is an expensive exercise. 

[Happy Sunrise]

2 hours ago, Taku Umanga said:

I believe Cambridge losses are in the hundreds of thousands every year

?

So how do they keep open?

[the galah]

While the fields may not be as strong at Palmerston north,that doresn't matter.. It puts horses with similar ability against each other as they try to do anywhere and the racing is just as competitive as elsewhere..

I too wonder how they can offer such good stakes based on their turnovers,maybe they have good cash reserves.

The only thing that is a little disappointing is they only seem to get 8 races and if your a non win trot horse you have to race against multiple race winners.

A win at Palmerston north is just as deserving  for those who achieve it,as a win anywhere else, and shouldn't be classed as anything less.

[Brodie]

I agree that it is always great for the owners to get a win with any horse!

Point was that with the amount of turnover thru the punting compared to the stake money being paid, where does the money come from to be able to carry on racing?

I believe that Forbury is pretty stuffed as well, owing plenty to the Dunedin Council etc.

 

[Flagship uberalles]

Personally, I like Palmerston North trotting, it's important that harness racing is kept alive in the c.d, I find it unbelievable that Wellington doesn't have a track, our 3rd largest city, we are missing a trick there. Wellington used to bring north and south together and good Fields Wellington cup time. ....

[the galah]

17 minutes ago, Brodie said:

I agree that it is always great for the owners to get a win with any horse!

Point was that with the amount of turnover thru the punting compared to the stake money being paid, where does the money come from to be able to carry on racing?

I believe that Forbury is pretty stuffed as well, owing plenty to the Dunedin Council etc.

 

I was talking to someone last week who was at the recent meetings. He told me if you want to have a bet  at forbury,you do it at a caravan outside as there is only one window in the public grandstand . Apparently the restaurant food in the public area is not great, in his opinion. Sounded like a very average experience which discourages attendance.

[Flagship uberalles]

12 minutes ago, the galah said:

I was talking to someone last week who was at the recent meetings. He told me if you want to have a bet  at forbury,you do it at a caravan outside as there is only one window in the public grandstand . Apparently the restaurant food in the public area is not great, in his opinion. Sounded like a very average experience which discourages attendance.

That's sad, anyone know what attendance is like on a Thursday? Therein lies one problem though, constant Thursday meetings, hard to have a work do there as no-one shows to work on Friday!!!!   no open class trot or pacing race there...used to have a good 4yo race but gone now.  ......it will be a sad day if we are just left with Addington and Alexandra Park as our only night trots....and I can see that coming soon!!

[Brodie]

Went to Forbury Thursday night meeting about a year ago.

Was not really a highlight of my racing attendances on race courses.

very few people apart from trainers and drivers.

Food was crap.

Think only 2 betting windows and operators were not on the young side and one didn’t even seem to know how to take Fixed odd bets that well!

Went to Forbury reasonably often many years ago and enjoyed it, but you can see why not many now go!

Unfortunately, it looks like Forbury could well be on oxygen!

[Flagship uberalles]

41 minutes ago, Brodie said:

Went to Forbury Thursday night meeting about a year ago.

Was not really a highlight of my racing attendances on race courses.

very few people apart from trainers and drivers.

Food was crap.

Think only 2 betting windows and operators were not on the young side and one didn’t even seem to know how to take Fixed odd bets that well!

Went to Forbury reasonably often many years ago and enjoyed it, but you can see why not many now go!

Unfortunately, it looks like Forbury could well be on oxygen!

Shame it's been reduced to that, went there early 80's on a South island road trip with my parents, it was good atmosphere and v busy....

[Happy Sunrise]

I love Forbury.

[Flagship uberalles]

9 minutes ago, Happy Sunrise said:

I love Forbury.

Some big price winners came out of our tip section on shitcafe!

[Happy Sunrise]

1 minute ago, Flagship uberalles said:

Some big price winners came out of our tip section on shitcafe!

Betting at Forbury is fun. There  are occasional mismatches and form is not usually clear so takes a bit of study which most can't be bothered with. Track is good and watching is exciting in person. 

The facilities at Forbury at marginal. Stands are rooted. Bar inside is ok but not large as it is open during other times I believe.

If they had some money they could fix the areas of asphalt which are wrecked and create a better place to watch. All blue sky thinking though, as lets face it, harness racing at night is made for TV so no one sitting at home gives two hoots about me standing in the freezing cold on shitty stones in the middle of winter

[Brodie]

Happy Ye you are right about the pot holes in the asphalt.

What is doing there, you would think that they would want the place presentable.

Dunedins drinking water has always been crap as well and I believe many trainers take their own from ChCh rather than giving the horses Dunedin shite!

[OLDWHITEMAN]

On 12/12/2018 at 4:55 PM, Brodie said:

I agree that it is always great for the owners to get a win with any horse!

Point was that with the amount of turnover thru the punting compared to the stake money being paid, where does the money come from to be able to carry on racing?

I believe that Forbury is pretty stuffed as well, owing plenty to the Dunedin Council etc.

 

I am also concerned about one trainer dominating and winning 10 of the 16 races at the two-day meeting. This is not good for local trainers when an outside trainer comes in and grabs most of the loot. How are CD trainers supposed to survive and pay their way? All credit to Michael House, he has always been an innovator, but I wonder about the viability of local CD trainers if House continues to dominate. Houses' success could kill CD harness racing.

[Brodie]

8 minutes ago, OLDWHITEMAN said:

I am also concerned about one trainer dominating and winning 10 of the 16 races at the two-day meeting. This is not good for local trainers when an outside trainer comes in and grabs most of the loot. How are CD trainers supposed to survive and pay their way? All credit to Michael House, he has always been an innovator, but I wonder about the viability of local CD trainers if House continues to dominate. Houses' success could kill CD harness racing.

You are right Whiteman!

Imagine if leading Canterbury trainers took horses up there as well there would be absolutely no stake money for the the CD horses.

[Taku Umanga]

17 minutes ago, OLDWHITEMAN said:

I am also concerned about one trainer dominating and winning 10 of the 16 races at the two-day meeting. This is not good for local trainers when an outside trainer comes in and grabs most of the loot. How are CD trainers supposed to survive and pay their way? All credit to Michael House, he has always been an innovator, but I wonder about the viability of local CD trainers if House continues to dominate. Houses' success could kill CD harness racing.

Not many Waikato or Auckland trainers are bothering to travel.

[Rangatira]

On 12/12/2018 at 7:59 PM, Flagship uberalles said:

Some big price winners came out of our tip section on shitcafe!

a futuRe cup AsPirant amOngst tHEm

[Happy Sunrise]

1 hour ago, Rangatira said:

a futuRe cup AsPirant amOngst tHEm

Which one?