Last race Ascot Park.

[mikeynz]

The farewell Craig Rail pace, what's the story?

[Nowornever]

If those are the fields for near peak season then I hate to think what they might be like in the winter months. 

Half a dozen races of 6 and 7 runners looking likely maybe even less.

[pete cook]

Graig has had his contract terminated

[Brodie]

1 hour ago, Nowornever said:

If those are the fields for near peak season then I hate to think what they might be like in the winter months. 

Half a dozen races of 6 and 7 runners looking likely maybe even less.

Yes shortage of available horses around at several places at the moment, which is a big worry.

[mikeynz]

 

4 hours ago, pete cook said:

Graig has had his contract terminated

So what now, maybe races broadcast from the studio?

Edited yesterday at 11:01 AM by mikeynz

[the galah]

15 hours ago, mikeynz said:

The farewell Craig Rail pace, what's the story?

 

13 hours ago, pete cook said:

Graig has had his contract terminated

thats very sad to hear.

he seems a really nice bloke and a good commentator.

He obviously did his homework on the likes of first starters breeding,often rattling off who they were related to,thereby giving recognition to the breeders,a very important industry sector,who nurture those families and never get the recognition they deserve..

he also always gave recognition to who the owners of the horses were that placed. Again,something which i'm sure people appreciated .

i heard him say 2 or 3 weeks ago he was going to miss the trackside crew and wondered whether someihing was in the works.

its surprising hrnz haven't had a story on it.i haven't read anything.They must know commentators are very well known people within the industry and  there is a public interest in this story. The lack of hrnz or media coverage is poor.Harness followers shouldn't have to guess about something like that by reading the name of a race.

i suppose the upcoming closure of the greyhounds was going to always impact commentator numbers. The likes of dan fogarty i think  a very good up and coming commentator so  you would think they will retain people like that. Just the way life works.

but as i say,its very sad when you hear anyone lose a job,especially if they  are good a it.

i felt particularly sad when kevin payne and jason teaz lost their jobs. I really did believe j teaz,in particular had an empathy with how punters view a race and added colour. Thats 3 southern commentators who they have discarded now who all must feel how unfair it all played out.

anyway,life aiin't always fair,but lets hope craig rails expertise is not lost to the industry

[mikeynz]

You never hear any of the greyhounds commentators talk about the impending ban, I think they must be muzzled, just like they no longer talk about place prices pre race, they are human robots, playing the tune Entain want them to play.

[pete cook]

All Trackside staff have been instructed not to discuss the greyhound ban

[goldilocks]

Brings back memories of Dave  MacDonald getting  the knife in the back straight after Covid

[mikeynz]

2 hours ago, pete cook said:

All Trackside staff have been instructed not to discuss the greyhound ban

Lot ov wokeness these days, I remember when Senz started in NZ, a guy who signed up to work for them Sam Casey wrote a column about women's Rugby, saying it needed a hand up rather than a helping out, or something similar, anyway his contract was cancelled, he is actually employed by sports nation now but wokeness is bad, no commentator can call it as they see it or else, Aussie is worse than us.

[mikeynz]

18 hours ago, Brodie said:

Yes shortage of available horses around at several places at the moment, which is a big worry.

59 noms for Auckland, a hundred more for Oamaru......I still maintain all races with 6 starters or less should be penalty free and no ratings reduction, no one can really manipulate things but in such small fields some are winning in poor fields that they woudnt win if there was more depth, but there is something wrong with the present handicapping issues, when anything rating 55 or something has single finger numbers mostly.

[Brodie]

1 hour ago, mikeynz said:

59 noms for Auckland, a hundred more for Oamaru......I still maintain all races with 6 starters or less should be penalty free and no ratings reduction, no one can really manipulate things but in such small fields some are winning in poor fields that they woudnt win if there was more depth, but there is something wrong with the present handicapping issues, when anything rating 55 or something has single finger numbers mostly.

Personally still can not see how on earth they believe that they can continue to race at Auckland when every meeting they are running at a significant loss?

Unfortunately HRNZ are going to get a very rude awakening and there are going to be many that are going to be looking for another job in the future!

It is a shame that it seems there is just no accountability going on for the way the money is being wasted!

Anyway been pointed out to them continuously and just falls on deaf ears!

 

[the galah]

1 hour ago, Brodie said:

Personally still can not see how on earth they believe that they can continue to race at Auckland when every meeting they are running at a significant loss?

Unfortunately HRNZ are going to get a very rude awakening and there are going to be many that are going to be looking for another job in the future!

It is a shame that it seems there is just no accountability going on for the way the money is being wasted!

Anyway been pointed out to them continuously and just falls on deaf ears!

 

rest assured brodie,the look north strategy is moving in the right direction. matt peden said so just 4 weeks ago.

And the metro series,a key part of that look north strategy,well hrnz think thats working as well.

just look at the 4 heats for that metro series last week,they had big numbers with an average field size of 7.

that comes on top of their bright idea to get more mares to race at nelson by having a $35,000 final at addington.That got a 6 horse field for that $35,000 race.

then theres what hrnz had been saying was good numbers of 2 year olds ready to race.Last week they scrapped 2 of the 3 races for them due to next to no nominations.

have they mentioned how high the ATC debt has got in the last few months. Nah,whats a few million extra ATC debt.

you know the thing about the turnover figures.

the way they spin northern harness racing is..They pick out the racenights that they can point to turnover being up from the previous nyear. But ignore the fact that those meetings often still run at significnat losses, because even with wagering turnover up,they still don't generate anywhere near enough to cover stakes.Hrnz interpretation of that is spin to the effect,the look north strategy is working.You have to laugh.

 

Edited 7 hours ago by the galah

[Nowornever]

I used to have a decent go on a good Auckland night with full fields and the pick six a few years ago but it is a complete waste of time these days. 

FFS  - seven races with an average field size of 7.8

So many trainers have left the Auckland area or downsized or given up because of one reason or another and never been replaced by the younger generation.

Sign of the times with stakes not keeping pace with inflation. It is just not worth it for the guys with no big owners to keep paying the bills which go up every year. 

HRNZ are delusional if they think they can bring back the glory days using the plan they are currently going with. Stakes vs expenses coupled with a poor racing product for punters is a downward spiral that will take North Island racing out completely in the next 20 years if not sooner.