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Bit Of A Yarn

Addington Starter


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52 minutes ago, Happy Sunrise said:

Getting kind of late in the day for it to be released isn't it? Especially with Show Day tomorrow.

Is it more like he has just been stood down for tomorrow to ease some of the pressure rather than a termination?

Not sure about this.

Perhaps the wording you suggest is na possibility Happy, maybe to soften the impact

However if you are right it will be only for that reason 

I'm told that the starter for Cup Day will never start another race at Addington

Seems fairly clear but hey, we will know for sure once JJ Flash posts 

Mikie

Edited by Mikie
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https://www.lincolnfarms.co.nz/stories/lamb-sacked-after-cup-start-shemozzle-ricky-donnelly-takes-over-on-friday/

I saw the other site R A C E - C A F E had posted Mikies word for word comments re Lamb fired and press release to follow.  Which is fine, have to get the up-to-date info from wherever the latest source is.

So here it is - Barry Lichter  from a public investigation journalist whom I enjoy very much reading his articles. 

 

 

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Watch Copy That as he went to line up both times and it was obvious he was not focused on going away fast. I backed him myself,but you could tell from the horses body language he was more interested in what was happening elsewhere than he was on going away.

Ray greens opinion that lamb should no longer work for the riu is ridiculous.

Green could not have cared less when punters did their money cold when his horse was pulled out of a race earlier in the season when a stinking hot favourite when it was striking the footrests. 

To me this is a very bad case of sour grapes from green.

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2 minutes ago, the galah said:

To me this is a very bad case of sour grapes from green.

Maybe, but what do you expect? He is sour like many punters.

I am tired of people being judged by their supposed negative reaction when the root cause of the problem is Lamb. Lamb made a mess of it, it wasn't fair to a majority of horses and benefited a few like Xmas had come early.  Add in his record of poor starts and lack of accountability by both him and the RIU I have no sympathy.

Next, I would like the new 'interpretation' of events at the start eg late scratchings to be spelt out for everyone by the RIU.

Drain the swamp....eh Brodie 😀

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3 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

Did he get one in the cup?

I haven't seen the start of the race but have seen a lot of standing starts that are not that flash,so will someone do any better than this Lamb guy remains to be seen,I'm not into personal criticism  of someone  as such but maybe someone newer with a fresher appetite for the job is worth a go,how manyyears has lamb been the starter?

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2 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

I haven't seen the start of the race but have seen a lot of standing starts that are not that flash,so will someone do any better than this Lamb guy remains to be seen,I'm not into personal criticism  of someone  as such but maybe someone newer with a fresher appetite for the job is worth a go,how manyyears has lamb been the starter?

Just like commentators and the guy doing the after race interviews sometimes it's not good,they are only human but it would a good deed though if the Tab refunded all the punters after every race that a horse had a bad start or got a bad run lol

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16 minutes ago, the galah said:

 

Watch Copy That as he went to line up both times and it was obvious he was not focused on going away fast. I backed him myself,but you could tell from the horses body language he was more interested in what was happening elsewhere than he was on going away.

Ray greens opinion that lamb should no longer work for the riu is ridiculous.

Green could not have cared less when punters did their money cold when his horse was pulled out of a race earlier in the season when a stinking hot favourite when it was striking the footrests. 

To me this is a very bad case of sour grapes from green.

Hey Galah,

I do not believe this is sour grapes from Green. The people have spoken. Power to the people. Stronger in numbers. There was a petition circulating, there was a lot of online chatter going on, there was dismay from horseman and drivers. And many more. Ill message you privately about a past post I want to give you facts on 🙂 Im was pleased you brought to attention.Back to subject, Rusty broke this news on here first. And Mikie followed it up. Please we collectively were on the money and not spreading mis-information. 

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Why has no one asked this question.   

If Lamb had not pulled the tapes when the horses on the outside had so much momentum then what?......Another aborted start?

I'm not making excuses for what clearly was a poor start.

However why weren't the drivers of the outside horses reprimanded for anticipating the start.Well the answer to that  i assume is because the stipes had no issue with them. 

I'm not saying i'm a fan of lamb's,just saying that Lambs termination from addington  will be seen as payback by some who had alterior motives. And no i'm not talking about punters. And yes i am talking about some licence holders. 

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Just now, the galah said:

If Lamb had not pulled the tapes when the horses on the outside had so much momentum then what?......Another aborted start?

Yip, another one.

1 minute ago, the galah said:

However why weren't the drivers of the outside horses reprimanded for anticipating the start.

They were more than anticipating and in the inquiry into Lamb's previous large clanger in August they were going to hold drivers more accountable but they don't. The outside horses clearly put pressure on the starter and got away with it. They are not reprimanded because the stipes do not follow their own rulings or directions, eg late scratchings, standing down poorly behaved horses, horses going inside the marker pegs, drivers hitting wheels. 

Lamb is a fall guy in a partial kind of way because he is not supported by the stipes in their management of the starts and he is left to deal with the confusion.

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31 minutes ago, the galah said:

 

Watch Copy That as he went to line up both times and it was obvious he was not focused on going away fast. I backed him myself,but you could tell from the horses body language he was more interested in what was happening elsewhere than he was on going away.

Ray greens opinion that lamb should no longer work for the riu is ridiculous.

Green could not have cared less when punters did their money cold when his horse was pulled out of a race earlier in the season when a stinking hot favourite when it was striking the footrests. 

To me this is a very bad case of sour grapes from green.

Just watched it,looked like Copy That wasn't fully on the job but still wasn't a even start.

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Racing: Long-time harness starter Peter Lamb sacked following chaotic New Zealand Cup

12 Nov, 2020 07:30 PM2 minutes to read
Self Assured won the New Zealand Cup after the controversial start. Photo / Race Images Self Assured won the New Zealand Cup after the controversial start. Photo / Race Images
NZ Herald
By: Michael Guerin

 

 

The man in charge of Tuesday's controversial New Zealand Cup start has been replaced.

Long-time Canterbury harness racing starter Peter Lamb was informed by host club Addington he will no longer be their starter, with the role going to former assistant starter Ricky Donnelly.

The start of Tuesday's $540,000 Group 1 great race was widely criticised after the horses drawn wide were walking up to the start when the tapes were released while the horses drawn inside were standing still.

Punters were outraged by the unfairness, especially as hot favourite Copy That was the worst affected as he was so sluggish away from the ace draw he was never a chance after.

 

Lamb, a former trainer, has had a sometimes troubled relationship with several key horse people, undoubtedly not helped by the fact he also works for the Racing Integrity Unit as an investigator and has worked on the long-running Operation Inca.

It appears Tuesday's starting debacle was the straw that broke the camel's back as the Australasian-wide outcry in the harness industry made Lamb's position untenable.

Whether he keeps his role as starter for the other clubs in Canterbury, who have the right to employ whoever they want from Harness Racing New Zealand's officially registered pool of starters, remains to be seen.

Lamb was informed he will no longer be Addington's starter before today's Ashburton meeting.

But no official statement was made by Addington officials until tonight so as not to unfairly impact his ability to perform his duties at the Ashburton meeting.

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7 minutes ago, the galah said:

Why has no one asked this question.   

If Lamb had not pulled the tapes when the horses on the outside had so much momentum then what?......Another aborted start?

I'm not making excuses for what clearly was a poor start.

However why weren't the drivers of the outside horses reprimanded for anticipating the start.Well the answer to that  i assume is because the stipes had no issue with them. 

I'm not saying i'm a fan of lamb's,just saying that Lambs termination from addington  will be seen as payback by some who had alterior motives. And no i'm not talking about punters. And yes i am talking about some licence holders. 

Hey Im not going to engage further more than this. Its quite the hot topic, I did a bit of research myself today, found an article on harness link from 2014. Im not going to post it here, but it was interesting to say the least. The title was massive "Conflict of Interest". Here were parts of it

Peter Lamb continues to be both a starter and a steward on raceday and in our view he cannot be both. Peter works very closely with his fellow stewards for weeks on end and then when a complaint is made against his performance as a starter, the people to decide weather to charge him are the same people who he works very closely with at every race meeting. 

We have had numerous approaches from horsemen/trainers who are unhappy about the current situation but are reluctant to speak out for fear rightly or wrongly of antagonizing those who have control over how they earn their income.

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4 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Copy That wouldn't have won that race.  He was off for some reason.

The cameras were on him prior to the start and he was standing still, sideways on the track looking back towards the stands. I asked myself what is he doing, I thought he reminded me of myself when I want to be somewhere else. He was definitely flat. 

 

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8 minutes ago, Karrots said:

Hey Im not going to engage further more than this. Its quite the hot topic, I did a bit of research myself today, found an article on harness link from 2014. Im not going to post it here, but it was interesting to say the least. The title was massive "Conflict of Interest". Here were parts of it

Peter Lamb continues to be both a starter and a steward on raceday and in our view he cannot be both. Peter works very closely with his fellow stewards for weeks on end and then when a complaint is made against his performance as a starter, the people to decide weather to charge him are the same people who he works very closely with at every race meeting. 

We have had numerous approaches from horsemen/trainers who are unhappy about the current situation but are reluctant to speak out for fear rightly or wrongly of antagonizing those who have control over how they earn their income.

Yep ,remember that article. Complete conflict of interests that was tolerated and condoned . Shameful .

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7 minutes ago, Karrots said:

Hey Im not going to engage further more than this. Its quite the hot topic, I did a bit of research myself today, found an article on harness link from 2014. Im not going to post it here, but it was interesting to say the least. The title was massive "Conflict of Interest". Here were parts of it

Peter Lamb continues to be both a starter and a steward on raceday and in our view he cannot be both. Peter works very closely with his fellow stewards for weeks on end and then when a complaint is made against his performance as a starter, the people to decide weather to charge him are the same people who he works very closely with at every race meeting. 

We have had numerous approaches from horsemen/trainers who are unhappy about the current situation but are reluctant to speak out for fear rightly or wrongly of antagonizing those who have control over how they earn their income.

I have always thought it has never been made clear by officialdom as to what Lambs duties as a steward are.

I have always assumed it was to do the likes of checking brands,numbers  when they come into the birdcage pre race and around at the start. I had assumed his duties as a stipendary steward were unrelated to,and completely separate from that of the stipes who officiate over the running of a race.

The failure of HRNZ or the RIU to clarify his duties and confirm there is complete separation i have thought is for one of two reasons. Either it is beacuse they are happy to see him undermined,(which would not surprise me),or that my assumption of his duties are not correct. I'm guessing it is the former,although may be wrong.

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58 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

I haven't seen the start of the race but have seen a lot of standing starts that are not that flash,so will someone do any better than this Lamb guy remains to be seen,I'm not into personal criticism  of someone  as such but maybe someone newer with a fresher appetite for the job is worth a go,how manyyears has lamb been the starter?

Far too long!

Personally believe that if someone is not competent  in a job then they need replacing!

As I have said several times that it  is nothing personal but Mr Lamb made far too many cockups and no one in officialdom had the balls to sack him!

Ricky Donnelly had been trained up but Mr Lamb wouldnt step aside.

If harness racing could not provide a competent starter then there should only be mobile starts!

No pressure whatsoever on Ricky Donnelly in the future but It must be a major improvement.

Well done to whoever made the decision however they were under major pressure to appease the many that were not happy.

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2 hours ago, the galah said:

 

Watch Copy That as he went to line up both times and it was obvious he was not focused on going away fast. I backed him myself,but you could tell from the horses body language he was more interested in what was happening elsewhere than he was on going away.

Ray greens opinion that lamb should no longer work for the riu is ridiculous.

Green could not have cared less when punters did their money cold when his horse was pulled out of a race earlier in the season when a stinking hot favourite when it was striking the footrests. 

To me this is a very bad case of sour grapes from green.

Are you Trumps brother.

Forget CT - just admit this start and many others were shit and the ex started has no humility , class or acceptance = fired !!!

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3 minutes ago, Rusty said:

I sincerely hope Mr Lamb is supported as well as he possibly can be in what may be a difficult time for him. We are all human afterall. 

I think now is a good time to perhaps put the past behind us, learn from it, and look forward to the future. 

Maybe he can visit the chaplain must like the IRU told Chris Johnson .

He as a member of the RIU has slaughtered many horseman and they you ask the public to cry - give me strength .

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