Thomass Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 (edited) Mary Burgess to be exact....long time racing officianado and now NZTR's Media guru... Tells it like it is Melbourne Cup: the industry's frustration Mary Burgess11:05, Nov 05 2019 Facebook Twitter Reddit Email Play Video 58s The Melbourne Cup is paraded through the city ahead of the world famous race Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp, and VRC Chairman Amanda Elliott escorting the Melbourne Cup along Swanston St in the parade ahead of tomorrow's famous race. OPINION: There is a scene in the recently released movie Ride Like A Girl which make me chuckle. Michelle Payne, frustrated at her inability to articulate how many fingers the nurse is holding up as her rehabilitation from one of her many falls progresses, responds instinctively – and correctly - to her father's Melbourne Cup trivia questions. That trivia was stored for so long in my memory banks because for me, like so many others within the thoroughbred racing industry, the Melbourne Cup is still the holy grail. The race which all owners, once merely in Australasia, but now world-wide, want to win. I understand that horse racing is not for everyone. But while I am happy to let those with opposing beliefs have their say, when they enter the realm of fantasy and, in the words of an old horse trainer of my acquaintance, "tell the truth carelessly" it is time to step up and defend our industry. MICHAEL DODGE/GETTY Jockey Kerrin McEvoy riding Cross Counter wins ahead of Jockey Hugh Bowman riding Marmelo in the Melbourne Cup 2018. READ MORE: * Kiwi connection to 2019 race that stops two nations * Melbourne Cup footage marred by killings * Who's responsible for the slaughtered ex-racehorses, and what can be done? * Taylor Swift's late Melbourne Cup scratching causes a major headache * Melbourne Cup: Animal welfare advocates call for change following horse death Full disclosure - I have grown up in racing. Along with his four brothers, my grandfather was a jockey and later turned his hand to training horses winning an NZ Derby, a couple of Wellington Cup and assorted other major races. He also lined two horses up in the Centennial Melbourne Cup, the 1960 event celebrated for its thoroughly New Zealand trifecta. Hi Jinx, Howsie and Ilumquh, the trio trained at Awapuni and Woodville filled the placings for trainers Trevor Knowles, Percy Burgess and Eric Ropiha, the Kiwis had a clean sweep. ADVERTISEMENT Advertise with Stuff That Kiwi domination of the Melbourne Cup continued over the years – if we didn't train, own or ride the winners, invariably they were bred here and thus a love affair was born on this side of the Tasman. Another sport where we could outdo the Aussies on their own soil. Over the years though, things have changed. There has been a shift in the way the public perceives racing, and, in the era of social media, figures are distorted, and opinion presented as fact is swallowed by the wannabe woke. MICHAEL DODGE/GETTY Racegoers cheer competitors at the 2018 Melbourne Cup at Flemington. A piece which appeared on Stuff last week quoted fatality figures from the 2017-18 racing season, despite the most recent 2018-19 figures being available for nearly three months. Presumably, 17 race day fatalities giving New Zealand a rate of 0.63 deaths per 1000 starts and making us one of the safest racing jurisdictions in the world, did not have the required impact. The rate is actually 0.58 deaths per 1000 starts across past eight years of NZ flat races. The reality is that sometimes horses do suffer catastrophic injuries in races. Likewise, horses suffer catastrophic injuries in other pursuits, even out in the paddock. The difference is, that when a horse is injured on a race day he or she has immediate access to expert veterinary care. They will also have access, at most New Zealand racetracks, to a state-of-the-art horse ambulance designed and built in Dunedin. The Horse Ambulance Trust, thanks to generous support from industry stakeholders, is rolling a fleet of these high-tech vehicles out across the country. The argument promoted via the Stuff story that problems are caused by racing horses too young and the statement that "most two-year-olds are retired after their first year due to injury" is unsupported by fact. Share your news and views Share your stories, photos and videos. CONTRIBUTE A Massey University study published in 2013 retrospectively examined data from a population of 4683 horses to investigate the association between attaining training milestones as two-year-olds, the length of career and racing success. (Tanner JC, Rogers CW, Firth EC) The findings of this study concluded that horses which were in training or racing as two-year-olds had positive racing career outcomes and may have better musculoskeletal health throughout life than horses that are first in training or racing at a later age. It is one of many studies which have come to similar conclusions and is supported by our own data. A prime example is last season's Horse of the Year Melody Belle, who as a five-year-old won the Group One Empire Rose Stakes at Flemington on Saturday. The winner of four of her seven two-year-old starts, including the Karaka Million, Melody Belle has now won four of her five starts this season, to give her 15 wins from her 25 career starts. There is a level of frustration experienced by those of us who work with these magnificent creatures at having to constantly defend our industry against well-intentioned folk who have instant access to media. Yet, when we provide media with positive content about our industry it is ignored. Late last month, for example, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing released its Thoroughbred Welfare Guidelines, a document which has been two-years in creation, with input from world-renowned scientist Professor Emeritus David Mellor. The animal activist groups who claim concern for our horses were strangely silent when this document was available for public consultation and did not make a submission. The week prior to this we were at Equidays in Hamilton, a celebration of the horse, holding a seminar to bring people up to speed with the developments in the area of welfare. At the same event, which was attended by 17,000 people over three-days, we also supported the Dunstan Ex-Factor event held by Beyond the Barriers, which is restricted to former racehorses. Far easier to stand on the side-lines, flinging accusations based on historic experiences than perhaps speak with some of the 34,768 * participants in the thoroughbred industry and gauge the reality. Among that number are the vets, farriers, chiropractors, masseurs, feed merchants, stable staff and others whose every working moment is geared towards ensuring the horses in their care are happy and healthy. Our horses are bred to do what they do, just watch any group of foals in a paddock. They are also able to "tell" us when they don't want to race – witness the brilliant Australian sprinter Chautauqua who retired on his own terms. Rather than blindly swallowing the information provided by an Australian-based protest group, we would welcome those with a genuine interest in thoroughbreds and their welfare to come along to a New Zealand race meeting and witness first-hand how our horses are treated. We have nothing to hide. * Size & Scope of NZ Racing Industry, IER, 2018. Mary Burgess is the corporate communications and media advisor for New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing. Qq Stuff FibreNeighbourlyDeath NoticesAdvertisingCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms & ConditionsContact Us Breaking news? Send your photos, videos and tip-offs to newstips@stuff.co.nz, or call us on 0800 697 8833 © 2019 Stuff Limited Edited November 6, 2019 by Thomass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Thanks Thommo. That's a very good piece from Mary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomass Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 It was...but Mary now needs to get off her office based ass and work the streets...So to speak... Avail herself to every media organisation and hunt down wherever the anti's are ...searching for a limp wristed sympathetic ear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 However sensible and fact based it sounds to us most (non-racing) people will regard it as merely counter spin and with the face we present to the public of old white male dinosaurs (mostly well off) - I know where the sympathies will lie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 PS and you Thomass regularly bring up examples that are contrary to Mary's narrative. Use of whips would be a prime example Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 And stories like this (and in doing a Google search for this particular story I was stunned how many other ones came up) don't help either https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/racing/117206318/race-horse-owner-and-trainer-lisa-corfield-convicted-after-neglecting-starving-horsess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 No, they certainly don't....but some balance and accuracy wouldn't hurt, these poor creatures weren't racehorses as far as I know. I'm with Thommo over the whips too. As for this maggot, repeatedly local horse girls offered to buy horses from her, but she refused. As for the impotent, incompetent and downright ignorant SPCA....they need to be held accountable too. To my knowledge Lisa has never been a 'trainer'....she did hold an amateur licence at one stage though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 True but the racing world is not alone in feeling that the facts about them are skewed not balanced etc etc Don't think that a massive "anti-racing" conspiracy exists - on the contrary for most of its existence the opposite has been true because of racings' connections to power. Hence when the tide turns a bit the antipathy towards the Greenies etc emerges. Don't these people know their place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 Old mate tells it like it is. Let's sort it and not just blame the tracks and the trainers. http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/podcast/tdn-writers-room-for-nov-6-2019-with-todd-pletcher/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomass Posted November 7, 2019 Author Share Posted November 7, 2019 On 7/11/2019 at 9:19 AM, Mark D said: PS and you Thomass regularly bring up examples that are contrary to Mary's narrative. Use of whips would be a prime example That's true...and dear Mary was completely ignorant when I told her Jockeys like Parkes were using a whip 35 times in a race without breaking the rules... NZTR were HOPELESS reacting to the World wide Whip Debate...still are You could say she's the other extreme that also needs airing equally though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 Sure but don't expect for that opinion to be popular among the proletariat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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