Riccarton Turf Club?

[Chief Stipe]

24 minutes ago, Doomed said:

I don't think the recently appointed head of NZTR had ever held a racing job previously.

Doesn't mean he doesn't have "an interest in racing".  

26 minutes ago, Doomed said:

Didn't we have a TAB or racing board head a few years ago who said he had never set foot in a TAB?

Probably a lawyer or such but had an interest in racing.  For quite some time now you don't need to walk into a TAB to have an account.  

28 minutes ago, Doomed said:

People may well argue that a CEO's job is to manage people with the requisite skills. That may well be true, but at the same time they can't claim they have an affinity for racing at the grass roots level.

Define the "grass roots level"?  Imagine the uproar if they hired someone for the top job whose only experience was as a Stablehand. 
"Grassroots", "The Coalface" and even "Battler" are just metaphors to describe something that is often very fluid in definition.  It seems more and more we categorise and label individuals as a means to create virtual tribes which are then pitted against each other. 

[curious]

57 minutes ago, Doomed said:

 Didn't we have a TAB or racing board head a few years ago who said he had never set foot in a TAB?

Can't say I've been in a TAB myself since the 70s but I wouldn't consider that to mean I don't have an interest or active involvement in racing.

[Doomed]

6 hours ago, curious said:

Can't say I've been in a TAB myself since the 70s but I wouldn't consider that to mean I don't have an interest or active involvement in racing.

I probably should have phrased it as never having had a bet. I think it may have been John Allen.