Happy Sunrise Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 I know I shouldn't write this but I have had enough of being fed horseshit. From the Annual Report of 2018-2019 There is no escaping from the fact that we must be prepared to grasp the nettle and in some cases move away from our traditional approach if we are to deliver the meaningful change that is required to improve turnover and gross betting revenue. This will no doubt result in some angst for some in our industry, however we must have the courage to show the leadership required, and importantly not take the path of least resistance in an effort to appease the small, but vocal, sectors of our sport who are resistant to change. Well, you grasped the nettle in a panicked and reckless state pulling out the whole plant and causing more angst than necessary by changing things with no clear direction. More clueless than courage. Meaningful change? You are kidding. So, it goes without saying there has been no public media release or information from official channels that I can find about Geraldine getting their meeting back but it should sow discontent about what is going on this year and in previous ones about the way the industry is being handled. Covid 19 was only a convenient excuse to make up for the poor performance of recent years and therefore absolve themselves from blame. The ruthless cost cutting measures that were carried out under Covid were seemingly done without regard for the sustainability of the industry let alone consideration for the participants. It is a cheap shot to start getting rid of the lower to middle tier employees at the TAB as it should have started at the top. Where were HRNZ leaders standing up to the scorched earth policy? It should never have been done simply on cost cutting, that is just the easy and quick option in difficult times, it should have accounted for ability and contribution to the industry. Where would the top table people be if that was the case? The back flips on Timaru, Forbury etc and now Geraldine only show that nothing was really thought through and was opportunistic and reactionary. If you complain about amateur drivers then you should realise harness racing is being led by the equivalent or even worse. I get so pissed off as a punter and a person who really enjoys harness racing when I see the shambles before me. RIU? Hated and divisive. Clubs? Thrown aside. TAB? Treats harness like a smelly third cousin. HRNZ? Contradicted by RITA. Have you ever seen anything more dysfunctional? People are looking in the wrong direction for the answers to the decline of racing. Looking to new technology with a fancy website changes nothing. Looking to the leadership who are too busy 'managing change' and talking like politicians with a mouthful of jargon changes nothing. Let alone thinking the end of INCA will give harness racing a fillip and this mistaken belief that 'young' people are the saviours of racing..the list goes on. The question that needs to be answered is what makes harness racing different from all the rest on offer? Harness racing needs to find its own identity again with everyone going in the same direction and stop bemoaning today's society who 'don't like racing' Give them something to like. Harness racing obviously has some seriously invested people in it, lifers so to speak. Greg O'Connor getting backing for the Box Seat is evidence of that and there are plenty of others. Look at how other people have stepped up but that is mostly unpaid and the TAB are using them so they can save money. Isn't racing a simple collection of principles: Breeding - Racing - Betting? That has never changed since racing began. Of course, important elements go with these principles but it seems the peripheral things which contribute nothing positive to harness racing have taken over recently and most of it is self inflicted. The blueprint needs to be redrawn in a rational and practical way not under the influence of stress and in an odd sort of statement, harness racing needs to harness itself collectively (as its participants seems so fragmented and factional it is unbelievable to an outsider) so it can find the right direction for itself. Otherwise, harness punters might leave this listing ship and go and punt on a decent blueprint which is the packaged and presented Aussie gallops and comes with the added bonus of being able to get a bet on and that will be the end as turnover will go down and the whole harness racing game will be in jeopardy very soon. I hope people can pull this apart and tell me how off beam I am because that would be great. I do have hope some of the legislation being passed will be good for racing generally but there seems to be a mass of things that need to be sorted. I look forward to the 19/20 report. It will be a doozy if it is transparent and honest. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 5 hours ago, Happy Sunrise said: I know I shouldn't write this but I have had enough of being fed horseshit. From the Annual Report of 2018-2019 There is no escaping from the fact that we must be prepared to grasp the nettle and in some cases move away from our traditional approach if we are to deliver the meaningful change that is required to improve turnover and gross betting revenue. This will no doubt result in some angst for some in our industry, however we must have the courage to show the leadership required, and importantly not take the path of least resistance in an effort to appease the small, but vocal, sectors of our sport who are resistant to change. Well, you grasped the nettle in a panicked and reckless state pulling out the whole plant and causing more angst than necessary by changing things with no clear direction. More clueless than courage. Meaningful change? You are kidding. So, it goes without saying there has been no public media release or information from official channels that I can find about Geraldine getting their meeting back but it should sow discontent about what is going on this year and in previous ones about the way the industry is being handled. Covid 19 was only a convenient excuse to make up for the poor performance of recent years and therefore absolve themselves from blame. The ruthless cost cutting measures that were carried out under Covid were seemingly done without regard for the sustainability of the industry let alone consideration for the participants. It is a cheap shot to start getting rid of the lower to middle tier employees at the TAB as it should have started at the top. Where were HRNZ leaders standing up to the scorched earth policy? It should never have been done simply on cost cutting, that is just the easy and quick option in difficult times, it should have accounted for ability and contribution to the industry. Where would the top table people be if that was the case? The back flips on Timaru, Forbury etc and now Geraldine only show that nothing was really thought through and was opportunistic and reactionary. If you complain about amateur drivers then you should realise harness racing is being led by the equivalent or even worse. I get so pissed off as a punter and a person who really enjoys harness racing when I see the shambles before me. RIU? Hated and divisive. Clubs? Thrown aside. TAB? Treats harness like a smelly third cousin. HRNZ? Contradicted by RITA. Have you ever seen anything more dysfunctional? People are looking in the wrong direction for the answers to the decline of racing. Looking to new technology with a fancy website changes nothing. Looking to the leadership who are too busy 'managing change' and talking like politicians with a mouthful of jargon changes nothing. Let alone thinking the end of INCA will give harness racing a fillip and this mistaken belief that 'young' people are the saviours of racing..the list goes on. The question that needs to be answered is what makes harness racing different from all the rest on offer? Harness racing needs to find its own identity again with everyone going in the same direction and stop bemoaning today's society who 'don't like racing' Give them something to like. Harness racing obviously has some seriously invested people in it, lifers so to speak. Greg O'Connor getting backing for the Box Seat is evidence of that and there are plenty of others. Look at how other people have stepped up but that is mostly unpaid and the TAB are using them so they can save money. Isn't racing a simple collection of principles: Breeding - Racing - Betting? That has never changed since racing began. Of course, important elements go with these principles but it seems the peripheral things which contribute nothing positive to harness racing have taken over recently and most of it is self inflicted. The blueprint needs to be redrawn in a rational and practical way not under the influence of stress and in an odd sort of statement, harness racing needs to harness itself collectively (as its participants seems so fragmented and factional it is unbelievable to an outsider) so it can find the right direction for itself. Otherwise, harness punters might leave this listing ship and go and punt on a decent blueprint which is the packaged and presented Aussie gallops and comes with the added bonus of being able to get a bet on and that will be the end as turnover will go down and the whole harness racing game will be in jeopardy very soon. I hope people can pull this apart and tell me how off beam I am because that would be great. I do have hope some of the legislation being passed will be good for racing generally but there seems to be a mass of things that need to be sorted. I look forward to the 19/20 report. It will be a doozy if it is transparent and honest. The amount of time you spend on here,do you ever work?🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikie Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 7 hours ago, mikeynz said: The amount of time you spend on here,do you ever work?🙂 At least Happy Sunrise's posts are intelligent mikeynz Your enthusiasm is your only strong point Mikey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikie Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 (edited) 13 hours ago, Happy Sunrise said: I know I shouldn't write this but I have had enough of being fed horseshit. From the Annual Report of 2018-2019 There is no escaping from the fact that we must be prepared to grasp the nettle and in some cases move away from our traditional approach if we are to deliver the meaningful change that is required to improve turnover and gross betting revenue. This will no doubt result in some angst for some in our industry, however we must have the courage to show the leadership required, and importantly not take the path of least resistance in an effort to appease the small, but vocal, sectors of our sport who are resistant to change. Well, you grasped the nettle in a panicked and reckless state pulling out the whole plant and causing more angst than necessary by changing things with no clear direction. More clueless than courage. Meaningful change? You are kidding. So, it goes without saying there has been no public media release or information from official channels that I can find about Geraldine getting their meeting back but it should sow discontent about what is going on this year and in previous ones about the way the industry is being handled. Covid 19 was only a convenient excuse to make up for the poor performance of recent years and therefore absolve themselves from blame. The ruthless cost cutting measures that were carried out under Covid were seemingly done without regard for the sustainability of the industry let alone consideration for the participants. It is a cheap shot to start getting rid of the lower to middle tier employees at the TAB as it should have started at the top. Where were HRNZ leaders standing up to the scorched earth policy? It should never have been done simply on cost cutting, that is just the easy and quick option in difficult times, it should have accounted for ability and contribution to the industry. Where would the top table people be if that was the case? The back flips on Timaru, Forbury etc and now Geraldine only show that nothing was really thought through and was opportunistic and reactionary. If you complain about amateur drivers then you should realise harness racing is being led by the equivalent or even worse. I get so pissed off as a punter and a person who really enjoys harness racing when I see the shambles before me. RIU? Hated and divisive. Clubs? Thrown aside. TAB? Treats harness like a smelly third cousin. HRNZ? Contradicted by RITA. Have you ever seen anything more dysfunctional? People are looking in the wrong direction for the answers to the decline of racing. Looking to new technology with a fancy website changes nothing. Looking to the leadership who are too busy 'managing change' and talking like politicians with a mouthful of jargon changes nothing. Let alone thinking the end of INCA will give harness racing a fillip and this mistaken belief that 'young' people are the saviours of racing..the list goes on. The question that needs to be answered is what makes harness racing different from all the rest on offer? Harness racing needs to find its own identity again with everyone going in the same direction and stop bemoaning today's society who 'don't like racing' Give them something to like. Harness racing obviously has some seriously invested people in it, lifers so to speak. Greg O'Connor getting backing for the Box Seat is evidence of that and there are plenty of others. Look at how other people have stepped up but that is mostly unpaid and the TAB are using them so they can save money. Isn't racing a simple collection of principles: Breeding - Racing - Betting? That has never changed since racing began. Of course, important elements go with these principles but it seems the peripheral things which contribute nothing positive to harness racing have taken over recently and most of it is self inflicted. The blueprint needs to be redrawn in a rational and practical way not under the influence of stress and in an odd sort of statement, harness racing needs to harness itself collectively (as its participants seems so fragmented and factional it is unbelievable to an outsider) so it can find the right direction for itself. Otherwise, harness punters might leave this listing ship and go and punt on a decent blueprint which is the packaged and presented Aussie gallops and comes with the added bonus of being able to get a bet on and that will be the end as turnover will go down and the whole harness racing game will be in jeopardy very soon. I hope people can pull this apart and tell me how off beam I am because that would be great. I do have hope some of the legislation being passed will be good for racing generally but there seems to be a mass of things that need to be sorted. I look forward to the 19/20 report. It will be a doozy if it is transparent and honest. No, you are not off beam, you are 100% correct How many Clubs had their Funding increased after the Funding Policy was announced? Every Club that screamed is the answer And if you didn't scream until too late? Then you didn't get extra creating anomalies (but I doubt Tasman Man is well enough informed to even know this) Mikie Edited September 18, 2020 by Mikie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Happy, I totally agreed with everything until you went and ruined it by saying harness punters would go and bet on Ozzie gallops! Wash your mouth out, what harness punter would gamble on gallops when there is Korean baseball or Russian basketball? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Sunrise Posted September 19, 2020 Author Share Posted September 19, 2020 16 hours ago, mikeynz said: The amount of time you spend on here,do you ever work?🙂 I work in a different manner to what I wrote about so being organised means I have spare time. I just really detest bullshit. HRNZ eliminate clubs by taking away their dates causing great angst and a loss of social fabric in the local town and then reinstate them with no real explanation, let alone logic. The CEO gets appointed permanently in an update written by the appointed CEO and then realising the error of their ways and lack of process they have a proper announcement a few days later. And these people run the show? If you pay attention it is a mess. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Sunrise Posted September 19, 2020 Author Share Posted September 19, 2020 26 minutes ago, Brodie said: Happy, I totally agreed with everything until you went and ruined it by saying harness punters would go and bet on Ozzie gallops! Yeah, but I was in a frenzy! Unfortunately, I think a lot of punters will be heading towards Aussie gallops more than ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 16 hours ago, Happy Sunrise said: I work in a different manner to what I wrote about so being organised means I have spare time. I just really detest bullshit. HRNZ eliminate clubs by taking away their dates causing great angst and a loss of social fabric in the local town and then reinstate them with no real explanation, let alone logic. The CEO gets appointed permanently in an update written by the appointed CEO and then realising the error of their ways and lack of process they have a proper announcement a few days later. And these people run the show? If you pay attention it is a mess. True. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.