box seat

[the galah]

i watched it tonight and i thought it worth the watch.

just the right amount of mick,take the vaccine, guerin. I find him good in small doses.

at one point they asked what did viewers think of the golden gait racenight at auckland on friday,then they asked micky g.

well,the golden gait racenight is something i started a thread on a month or so ago,so i took notice of what micky g said.

well,he specifically referred to eagle hanover and said something like when would he ever get to race in a $100,000 race.

well micky g,last week actually was the answer.

and given eagle hanover was mentioned,i will use him as an example of just how much better north island horses and connections are treated by the HRNZ funding model,than south island participants.

eagle hanover is a rating 39 horse who has had 2 wins and 9 placings from 33 starts this year,for $37,836 .

Because of the preferential treatment given by HRNZ,eagle hanover this year will have started in 2x100,000, 1x35,000, 1x$30,000, 1x$25,000, 1x20,000, 1x$18,5000,  4x16,000, 2X$15,000 races.

so theres your answer mr Guerin.

Had a horse of eagle hanovers class been racing in canterbury,he would have been lucky to get the oppotunity to start in 1 $20,000 race all year.

Eagle hanover is proof how HRNZ is screwing over the south island people ,especially those in canterbury who run the meetings that generate the profitable turnovers ,that fund the stakes for the north island.

Also,didn't they say when they first announced the golden gait racenight,that it would attract south island horses. well did it-no it didn't.Theres about 4 south island horses there,3 from dunns and another trained by mccaffery.and most likely a couple of those would have raced at auckland anyway,without any golden gait.

 

[Gammalite]

38 minutes ago, the galah said:

Theres about 4 south island horses there,3 from dunns and another trained by mccaffery.and most likely a couple of those would have raced at auckland anyway,without any golden gait

incredible to think that the Southerners won't travel there much these days.

Especially when it's a whole card of $100,000 races.  Where did they get the $1,000,000 from ? 

Can't help but agree that is a Bit much , and should of been spread around better. (throughout NZ)  especially since the racecard has 5 of their normal trot races. 

The North with quite a few Trotter specialists like Bernie Hackett , the Dr, the McGowans , Balle's , TonyH pretty good with a trotter too , Dickies. so is good they have plenty of races for them . About 60 trotters racing Friday.

I think the Southerners are scared off by Meant To Be winning the Sires stakes at Addington, Better Knuckle Up the Ascent, Duchess Megxit doing great things too , so Not turning up ?? chickened out lol. 

Bob Butt put in an appearance past 2 weeks , so good on him. should of hung around for another week . Gold Bullion could of Won one of these 100k trots ?? would of gone close. He's not going to Invercargill against Hope's or anything ? so should of gone for the BIG bucks 💰.

Old Mate Mo'Unga is heading down there for Group 1 glory. Go the Mo !!!  looks a Special. collect again 💰. can't wait. 

[the galah]

1 hour ago, Gammalite said:

incredible to think that the Southerners won't travel there much these days.

Especially when it's a whole card of $100,000 races.  Where did they get the $1,000,000 from ? 

Can't help but agree that is a Bit much , and should of been spread around better. (throughout NZ)  especially since the racecard has 5 of their normal trot races. 

The North with quite a few Trotter specialists like Bernie Hackett , the Dr, the McGowans , Balle's , TonyH pretty good with a trotter too , Dickies. so is good they have plenty of races for them . About 60 trotters racing Friday.

I think the Southerners are scared off by Meant To Be winning the Sires stakes at Addington, Better Knuckle Up the Ascent, Duchess Megxit doing great things too , so Not turning up ?? chickened out lol. 

Bob Butt put in an appearance past 2 weeks , so good on him. should of hung around for another week . Gold Bullion could of Won one of these 100k trots ?? would of gone close. He's not going to Invercargill against Hope's or anything ? so should of gone for the BIG bucks 💰.

Old Mate Mo'Unga is heading down there for Group 1 glory. Go the Mo !!!  looks a Special. collect again 💰. can't wait. 

the conditions of the golden gait racenight ,virtually meant the south island horses were going to be excluded.

Anyone who doesn't believe that,the proof is there if you look at the fields.

to be eligible to run in most of the races on friday,a horse has to have started 6 times at auckland.

Those who came up with those conditions specifically said auckland would get south island trained horses being sent to race in the north island multiple times through the year, so to become eligible for this racenight.

these are the same people who said the 2 year old bonuses would see an increase in 2 year olds starting and more breeders breeding and the same bright sparks who said the $20,000 christian cullen bonus would see more starters and the same people that think having a million $ new zealand cup will create more turnover than a $750,000 nz cup.

you get my drift. at least the decision makers are consistent.Wrong all the time..

So you have to ask,why did r dunn help promote the million $ race night.

well self interest of course. He saw himself getting a cut of the bigger stakes that hrnz have sent aucklands way ,but primarily  of course he was the auckland representative on the hrnz board. I don't know whether the still is,but  robert dunn has done a good job from their perspective,but,i would argue, at the same time seems to not  comprehend that hes doing it at his canterbury owners expense.

Like i said earlier,even robert dunn has only about 3 extras that have island hopped to get enough starts.,2 in the same race.Those 2 may be chances as they have dropped back through the rating system as they struggled to get used to the auckland way around,but are getting better lately.

Edited Tuesday at 11:41 AM by the galah

[mikeynz]

No South Island trained horses at Auckland at all, one can't deny they have improved fields wise recently but it's at the expense of other clubs, why Westport who produce one of the biggest turnovers for the year only have a 25000 feature is a bit odd.

One wonders if Southeners will go North for Auckland Cup, might be the odd hit and run case but spending new years eve in Auckland, who would want too?

[Spatchcock]

What A Minx, Fearless, Paradise Ali, Bounce N Beyond, Bravehearthighlander, Eyre I Will, Joes Rock and all those Australian trotters with Wallis Hackett were all outside the Island when the scheme was announced. Only one of them had a change of ownership.

[Westview]

11 hours ago, the galah said:

the conditions of the golden gait racenight ,virtually meant the south island horses were going to be excluded.

Anyone who doesn't believe that,the proof is there if you look at the fields.

to be eligible to run in most of the races on friday,a horse has to have started 6 times at auckland.

Those who came up with those conditions specifically said auckland would get south island trained horses being sent to race in the north island multiple times through the year, so to become eligible for this racenight.

these are the same people who said the 2 year old bonuses would see an increase in 2 year olds starting and more breeders breeding and the same bright sparks who said the $20,000 christian cullen bonus would see more starters and the same people that think having a million $ new zealand cup will create more turnover than a $750,000 nz cup.

you get my drift. at least the decision makers are consistent.Wrong all the time..

So you have to ask,why did r dunn help promote the million $ race night.

well self interest of course. He saw himself getting a cut of the bigger stakes that hrnz have sent aucklands way ,but primarily  of course he was the auckland representative on the hrnz board. I don't know whether the still is,but  robert dunn has done a good job from their perspective,but,i would argue, at the same time seems to not  comprehend that hes doing it at his canterbury owners expense.

Like i said earlier,even robert dunn has only about 3 extras that have island hopped to get enough starts.,2 in the same race.Those 2 may be chances as they have dropped back through the rating system as they struggled to get used to the auckland way around,but are getting better lately.

At least your up front with your Robert Dunn statement ' I don't know ' Robert hasn't been on the HRNZ board for close to a year.  This concept is a Jamie McKinnon idea , yes I have a horse up there Bounce n beyond and we did target the series. The concept is close to the jewels which i personally like but with a bit more emphasis on getting points for starting alone. Unfortunately again there has been little publicity but i would  rather throw money at this 10 race series  with qualifying over months than a two race slot night. 

 

[Gammalite]

4 hours ago, Westview said:

Bounce n beyond and we did target the series.

great run last start . 58 sec half behind Gold Bullion.  He is trotting well now compared to 2 months ago when was galloping all the time. Well done to the conditioners for getting him right. Best of Luck for a Win this week.

15 hours ago, the galah said:

Those who came up with those conditions specifically said auckland would get south island trained horses being sent to race in the north island multiple times through the year, so to become eligible for this racenight

so about half a dozen gave it a go . Jolly Roger might go close.

But the Concept is deeply flawed when you're racing very ordinary everyday horses for 100k every race. Not many horses get to start in Group Races in their careers , which should be the priority if possible if they can run a bit. ( Like the Invercargill Cup 100k Friday which has the 'prestige' and the Cup class B support horses attending .) 

there should be some 'prestige' tied in to Group races. running these Very large stake 'plain races' doesn't seem right somehow , without any of the 'prestige' allowed/given to them.  I guess the slot races aren't Group races = So this is the next progression ?? I guess it's just a bonus for the 'week to week' owners that send them round each week ?. 

The 3 year old race has a handy lot (duchess Megxit and Better Knuckle Up , etc) and a 2 yearold trotter Sires stakes winner in race 3 , but the rest of the card has horses not really of Group Class status in their career. 

[Nowornever]

They might get the turnover to pay for one of those 100K races if they are lucky.

[the galah]

9 hours ago, Westview said:

At least your up front with your Robert Dunn statement ' I don't know ' Robert hasn't been on the HRNZ board for close to a year.  This concept is a Jamie McKinnon idea , yes I have a horse up there Bounce n beyond and we did target the series. The concept is close to the jewels which i personally like but with a bit more emphasis on getting points for starting alone. Unfortunately again there has been little publicity but i would  rather throw money at this 10 race series  with qualifying over months than a two race slot night. 

 

So hes no longer on the  HRNZ board.

is he still on the auckland trotting club board,if so then one would assume jamie mckinnon doesn't come up with these ways to spend hrnz moneyfor the benefit of auckland,without input from atc board memebers like dunn.

What has robert dunn done to ensurea similar type series that auckland has been getting funded ,are run in canterbury.Didley squatt by the sounds of it,yet most of his owners would be based in the south island.

I'm not anti robert dunn,he seems a top bloke,but i do think he has double standards in who's agenda he pushes. At least thats what it appears like form everything i have read.

 when you say you support this series over the slot races,that doesn't indicate you support auckland racing getting  preferential stakes funding treatment over canterbury or southland.

11 hours ago, Spatchcock said:

What A Minx, Fearless, Paradise Ali, Bounce N Beyond, Bravehearthighlander, Eyre I Will, Joes Rock and all those Australian trotters with Wallis Hackett were all outside the Island when the scheme was announced. Only one of them had a change of ownership.

South island horses have been sent to auckland for north island racing each and every year in the past.My guess would be if i went back and looked at the results from 2 or 3 years ago,i could name just as many,if not more mid grade south island horses than what you have that raced in auckland in december.

Those aussie trotters. They really have struggled. I watch them each week go around,always expecting them to gallop. I know between the 6 of them they have what,won one or two races..

The point is.Is what they funded in stakes been a financially wise decsion.

HRNZ have announced not that long ago they were spending a significant portion of their cash reserves to fund meetings like this.

Once the money runs out,then what.

Is the plan ,with the gallopers,to share the turnover money that the greyhounds will no longer be getting in 2 years to plug the big financial hole they are digging for themselves?

like i have said before,HRNZ leaderships motto seems to be..plan to spend today and just hope something turns up tommorrow. 

also,are we suppose to forget just how much HRNZ will need to put into auckland to keep it going after they their training facilities. Who are HRNZ going to reduce payouts to when they do that?

Edited Wednesday at 08:26 AM by the galah

[the galah]

31 minutes ago, Nowornever said:

They might get the turnover to pay for one of those 100K races if they are lucky.

You've hit the nail on the head

[Brodie]

Anyone with any semblance of business acumen can see that these Auckland meetings are losing money.

This meeting financially is going to be horrifically in the shite!

It is good to see fields in Auckland  where there isn’t 5 starters, but seriously if you think that throwing massive amounts of money into Auckland racing to bail them out is a winner, then personally think you are deluded

To run these $100k races over 1700metres just shows how clueless some thst are msking decisions really are!

The turnover on this meeting will be interesting but yes, Auckland is being given preferential treatment and it will backfire!

Did we ever get what the positive news that came out  of the ATC meeting was?

[Nowornever]

Well that's good news. We will not see whale again until the middle of January.

 

[Rangatira]

32 minutes ago, Nowornever said:

Well that's good news. We will not see whale again until the middle of January.

 

Whale Of a Tale useful.

[Brodie]

1 hour ago, Nowornever said:

Well that's good news. We will not see whale again until the middle of January.

 

Suppose I need to subscribe to the Tipping Line?

[the galah]

13 hours ago, Brodie said:

Anyone with any semblance of business acumen can see that these Auckland meetings are losing money.

This meeting financially is going to be horrifically in the shite!

It is good to see fields in Auckland  where there isn’t 5 starters, but seriously if you think that throwing massive amounts of money into Auckland racing to bail them out is a winner, then personally think you are deluded

To run these $100k races over 1700metres just shows how clueless some thst are msking decisions really are!

The turnover on this meeting will be interesting but yes, Auckland is being given preferential treatment and it will backfire!

Did we ever get what the positive news that came out  of the ATC meeting was?

Odd isn't it that some are arguing on the other channel that the million $ racenight is all good,because HRNZ is only contributing $250,000 and the ATC is putting in the other $750,000.

The Auckland trotting clubs annual report said "the club technically has a $54.5 million negative working capital position as at july 2024." but it went on to say,"this situation does not impact the clubs ability to finance it immediate operational needs." 

In the ATC's annual report they were still thinking positive about the chinese sale,now thats fallen through,they still are thinking postive and hoping they can get another buyer to pay $90 million for franklin park. They had said if the chinese sale went through, they would have $9 million as at july left over to build a new training complex once the leaseback of the old training complex runs out.The one HRNZ will need to top up if racing is to continue in auckland,as HRNZ seem committed to do.

Sounds like anything less than $90 million means less for the required new training complex and more needed from HRNZ to contribute..

At one point the annual report said the ATC "expects to recognise a gain on disposalble of $67 millions following the final settlement of the purchase price ..."fair valuue less costs to sell"   

Obviously the costs to the ATC of getting that property ready for sale have been substantial. Sort of makes you think,gee they sure would want to get something somewhere near what the original buyers offered them,wouldn't they. 

from what i can make out,the book value of the land being sold in 2024 is a tick over  $30 million.  

But of course,as noted in its report..."the book value of assets being sold are significantly less than this debt"(Its quoted at one point in someones report they owe $76 million to the bank as at july,then latter it shows they owe $79m as at july..

The ATC's problem seems to be cashflow. They have significant assets obviously with the likes of alexandra park.

The Auckland club employess sure know how to spin and are good sales people ,given the support HRNZ is showing them.you can also see that in thier annual report.

at the end of the day,its just so hard for anyone ,with much sense,to look tomorrow nights meeting and not think this will create a financial hole for both the Auckland club and HRNZ.

And wouldn't any funds the ATC loses on tomorrow nights meeting mean they will have less money to go around,meaning they will have less to contribute to any new training centre,meaning HRNZ will have to increase the amount they take for their bank to make sure  the auckland racing continues,meaning HRNZ will have less money to support racing in other areas of nz.

So people minimising hrnz's contribution to tomorrow meeting aren't including the big picture.

Edited Thursday at 08:45 AM by the galah

[Brodie]

What I have lesrn

10 hours ago, the galah said:

Odd isn't it that some are arguing on the other channel that the million $ racenight is all good,because HRNZ is only contributing $250,000 and the ATC is putting in the other $750,000.

The Auckland trotting clubs annual report said "the club technically has a $54.5 million negative working capital position as at july 2024." but it went on to say,"this situation does not impact the clubs ability to finance it immediate operational needs." 

In the ATC's annual report they were still thinking positive about the chinese sale,now thats fallen through,they still are thinking postive and hoping they can get another buyer to pay $90 million for franklin park. They had said if the chinese sale went through, they would have $9 million as at july left over to build a new training complex once the leaseback of the old training complex runs out.The one HRNZ will need to top up if racing is to continue in auckland,as HRNZ seem committed to do.

Sounds like anything less than $90 million means less for the required new training complex and more needed from HRNZ to contribute..

At one point the annual report said the ATC "expects to recognise a gain on disposalble of $67 millions following the final settlement of the purchase price ..."fair valuue less costs to sell"   

Obviously the costs to the ATC of getting that property ready for sale have been substantial. Sort of makes you think,gee they sure would want to get something somewhere near what the original buyers offered them,wouldn't they. 

from what i can make out,the book value of the land being sold in 2024 is a tick over  $30 million.  

But of course,as noted in its report..."the book value of assets being sold are significantly less than this debt"(Its quoted at one point in someones report they owe $76 million to the bank as at july,then latter it shows they owe $79m as at july..

The ATC's problem seems to be cashflow. They have significant assets obviously with the likes of alexandra park.

The Auckland club employess sure know how to spin and are good sales people ,given the support HRNZ is showing them.you can also see that in thier annual report.

at the end of the day,its just so hard for anyone ,with much sense,to look tomorrow nights meeting and not think this will create a financial hole for both the Auckland club and HRNZ.

And wouldn't any funds the ATC loses on tomorrow nights meeting mean they will have less money to go around,meaning they will have less to contribute to any new training centre,meaning HRNZ will have to increase the amount they take for their bank to make sure  the auckland racing continues,meaning HRNZ will have less money to support racing in other areas of nz.

So people minimising hrnz's contribution to tomorrow meeting aren't including the big picture.

Well written and I would say accurate posting Galah.

What I have learnt and surprised over the past few years is just how gullible and naive people in NZ are!

If someone in authority says something so many actually believe that it must be gospel.

Look where this country is financially at the moment due to decisions made by voters that allowed the most unqualified bunch of lefties in Labour to control NZ for 6 long years.

The damage to the country is going to be felt for decades unfortunately.

As for Auckland racing, it is in a perilous state and hopefully they can sell Franklin for a good price but I would not be holding my breath.

ATC knew there was a chance that the sale was going to fall over and shouldve been working on getting a backup offer on it!

The interest on the debt is ticking over at a quick rate and yet they can run these $100k races which is going to lose even more money.

I suppose at the end of the day it is only going to cost them a few hundred thousand or a months interest, so doesnt matter!

Entain have come in and shelling out money into stakes with gay abandon and are these White Knights apparently?

Maybe they buy Franklin and split into housing?

[Brodie]

First race at Auckland just been run with stake of $100k win pool of under $6k and under $4k place tote.

Doesn’t seem too profitable and considering Invercargill tote pools all day are massively more and racing for much smaller stakes, think they have stuffed up again?

[Gammalite]

13 minutes ago, Brodie said:

First race at Auckland just been run with stake of $100k win pool of under $6k and under $4k place tote.

Doesn’t seem too profitable and considering Invercargill tote pools all day are massively more and racing for much smaller stakes, think they have stuffed up again?

Profitable for the owners of the horse though Brodie .

Where is your congratulations for the Bernie Hackett and Michelle Wallis team ? running the first 4. 

There is No stuff up mate. Just you and accountants worrying about the wrong things.🤣

Tell me why Trotters have to race for a tenth of the stake of gallopers all the time ? A once a year initiative is applied to reward the folk still racing trotters at Alexandra Park (that have had 6 starts there since Jan 1st) and it's a GOOD THING mate !!! We need these owners to race the horses . I write to a bloke who has 3 runners in tonight and he is DELIGHTED to get some end of year reward for his annual outlay . 

Punters can still bet on them if they want to ? I just had $10ew on Sheezagift , after her big Addington win looked a good thing . so have a bit more for Charlie Brown - Dalton Shard Quinella now lol 👍😁. hope that Rocket horse is just a Tom thumb lol 😂 as far as power goes lol.

Get your money on mate. support the Buggers and stop worrying about whether bloody Invercargill has more bets than Alex Park . What a stupid thing to worry about. when there's good racing happening . 

[Brodie]

9 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

Profitable for the owners of the horse though Brodie .

Where is your congratulations for the Bernie Hackett and Michelle Wallis team ? running the first 4. 

There is No stuff up mate. Just you and accountants worrying about the wrong things.🤣

Tell me why Trotters have to race for a tenth of the stake of gallopers all the time ? A once a year initiative is applied to reward the folk still racing trotters at Alexandra Park (that have had 6 starts there since Jan 1st) and it's a GOOD THING mate !!! We need these owners to race the horses . I write to a bloke who has 3 runners in tonight and he is DELIGHTED to get some end of year reward for his annual outlay . 

Punters can still bet on them if they want to ? I just had $10ew on Sheezagift , after her big Addington win looked a good thing . so have a bit more for Charlie Brown - Dalton Shard Quinella now lol 👍😁. hope that Rocket horse is just a Tom thumb lol 😂 as far as power goes lol.

Get your money on mate. support the Buggers and stop worrying about whether bloody Invercargill has more bets than Alex Park . What a stupid thing to worry about. when there's good racing happening . 

Lol, Gamma all is good!

If the powers that be think they are doing the right thing for harness racing in Nz then thst is good!

I am just merely pointing out that I have absolutely no faith whatsoever nowadays in decisions being made!

Anyway, love this time of year as there is so much racing and always do very nicely.

I am going to go for it now while we still have racing.

Merry Xmas to all!

 

[Gammalite]

30 minutes ago, Brodie said:

Anyway, love this time of year as there is so much racing and always do very nicely.

I am going to go for it now while we still have racing.

They'll still have racing for a bit longer don't worry (although am surprised with that greyhound stuff going on ) 

Has been some great racing alright,  and the Sires Stakes winner from Addington collects his 2nd $100,000 race 'on the trot' so to speak lol. Mate has a share in that one.  a fantastic 2 year old trotter is meant To Be.  

Crystal running 3rd to the 2 x Purdon runners in that with her parents trained horses. You wouldn't be keen to beat Barry's and Scott's if you were here as she drives a lot for them . So reckon she's happy with 3rd 🤣.

 

[the galah]

On 18/12/2024 at 12:36 AM, the galah said:

Like i said earlier,even robert dunn has only about 3 extras that have island hopped to get enough starts.,2 in the same race.Those 2 may be chances as they have dropped back through the rating system as they struggled to get used to the auckland way around,but are getting better lately.

nice to see bounce n beyond get home. All a cunning plan that came off.

 

[Gammalite]

On 12/18/2024 at 8:59 AM, Westview said:

I have a horse up there Bounce n beyond and we did target the series. The concept is close to the jewels which i personally like but with a bit more emphasis on getting points for starting alone. Unfortunately again there has been little publicity

well done old chap.  A big night out on the Northern town for you blokes now 👍😁 bouncing to victory.

A great win from that awkward draw , but well deserved. congrats !!

Bernie getting 2nd and 3rd again with his trotters is having a great night out too. 

[Spatchcock]

On 18/12/2024 at 9:21 PM, the galah said:

So hes no longer on the  HRNZ board.

is he still on the auckland trotting club board,if so then one would assume jamie mckinnon doesn't come up with these ways to spend hrnz moneyfor the benefit of auckland,without input from atc board memebers like dunn.

What has robert dunn done to ensurea similar type series that auckland has been getting funded ,are run in canterbury.Didley squatt by the sounds of it,yet most of his owners would be based in the south island.

I'm not anti robert dunn,he seems a top bloke,but i do think he has double standards in who's agenda he pushes. At least thats what it appears like form everything i have read.

 when you say you support this series over the slot races,that doesn't indicate you support auckland racing getting  preferential stakes funding treatment over canterbury or southland.

South island horses have been sent to auckland for north island racing each and every year in the past.My guess would be if i went back and looked at the results from 2 or 3 years ago,i could name just as many,if not more mid grade south island horses than what you have that raced in auckland in december.

Those aussie trotters. They really have struggled. I watch them each week go around,always expecting them to gallop. I know between the 6 of them they have what,won one or two races..

The point is.Is what they funded in stakes been a financially wise decsion.

HRNZ have announced not that long ago they were spending a significant portion of their cash reserves to fund meetings like this.

Once the money runs out,then what.

Is the plan ,with the gallopers,to share the turnover money that the greyhounds will no longer be getting in 2 years to plug the big financial hole they are digging for themselves?

like i have said before,HRNZ leaderships motto seems to be..plan to spend today and just hope something turns up tommorrow. 

also,are we suppose to forget just how much HRNZ will need to put into auckland to keep it going after they their training facilities. Who are HRNZ going to reduce payouts to when they do that?

Congrats to Yabby Dam Farms for having the foresight to send their 'struggling' (quote: The Galah) trotters to Auckland. Last night they won $70,000.

[the galah]

4 hours ago, Spatchcock said:

Congrats to Yabby Dam Farms for having the foresight to send their 'struggling' (quote: The Galah) trotters to Auckland. Last night they won $70,000.

yes congrats to everyione who won the big money on offer. 

I had to laugh when then yabby farm trotter won.You don't see a horse get that much luck early in a race much,but both horse and driver were good enough to take advantage of that.

I didn't mind seeing it win.But spatchcock,if you think they hadn't been struggling prior,apart from the horse that won last night,then your not much of a judge of form.

They said they sent 5 horses over in september,yet the horse that won last night has been the only of those to win since arriving.All cashed up had done a good job for a couple of seasons,,but he was not one of the ones they sent this year.

they had been earning well in australia the previous 18 months. a breeders crown winner,others all multiple winners before they got here.

But hey,lets hope they keep sending more horses to auckland as auckland racing needs them.

Obviously victorian harness racing is in a state of decline,with their participants expressing feelings of annoyance  and dismay ,at how the industries finances have been handled by their administrators.

funny thing is ,victorian racing seems to be the blueprint HRNZ is using.

Strange but true.

all the victorian stakes have had to be slashed recently,especially the likes of the breeders crown.

Maybe i should look at the positives of last nights meeting.

Brad steele can go to australia,drum up more owners willing to send their horses here using the bait of the million $ race night as the selling point.And of course the regular $35,000 heat/ finals and the fact that even their average horses can race regularly in low grade 6 horse fields at cambridge.

Brad steele can tell them,nz and the auckland club have worked out how to turn the industries decline around.........spend your way out of debt.

Edited 16 hours ago by the galah