Why???

[Joe Bloggs]

Isn't the Grand Tour when an ageing rock band does their last road trip? ......in that case this would explain everything.

[The Centaur]

7 hours ago, Freda said:

Yes.  Agree on that.  

In the more than thirty years I have been taking note of racing matters - as opposed to, in the beginning, just being a youngster enjoying working with horses and being involved - I haven't heard or seen one trainer or stakeholder [ apart from those who post here and a few elsewhere ] who has any idea about the bigger picture.

I can go back those thirty years, and recall sitting in a district committee meeting when it was decided that there were too many open handicaps.  Changing populations and the inexorable drift northwards of horses and people had to be taken into account, obviously.  But the decisions that were made even then started the downward spiral and it has never been reversed.

The Wyndham and Waikouaiti Cups were both run, then, on New Year's Day.  So, the Wyndham Cup became a Class 3 event.

So did the Westport Cup.  Others followed.  A close associate, a member of a very well-known racing family, had a very useful handicapper.  He won 7 and had another 21 placings. Very handy.  His owner said, that's me.  They're f###ing racing.  Most open handicappers will never win an Auckland or Wellington Cup.  So there will be stacks of horses, nice horses, with nowhere to race.

When Bob's finished, so am I.    I'll never race another horse.

So, even then, there were problems starting, and once the new  'Act' came into being in 2003, the rot increased.

The ratings system was supposed to help there, but we have seen the flaws in that, and the very good and detailed work on that and more,  given to NZTR was simply ignored.

One commentator who did have an idea, was former journalist Dave McCarthy.  But,  to be fair, he couldn't be arsed trying to beat his head against a brick wall.

 

You make some excellent points. When racing was based around the open handicap first leg of a double and the open sprint it meant the majority of public had something identifiable to follow. Every now and then a new high flyer would emerge adding interest to the mix. Its just too much for the public given time restraints too follow all the lower grade racing. The open grade racing in the deep south although not encouraged by the racing hierarchy still enjoys some enthusiasm even though many of the horses are castoffs from the north.

Look at the huge tech companies around today. Many were start ups from a garage or bedroom. The point is the great ideas come from the grassroots and not from the highly overpaid suited managers. Why a TAB CEO should be on $700,000 per years is just crazy. The craziness filters right down the industry. All the time those with the ideas can't get heard because those creaming the dollars would feel inadequate if the idea didn't come from them. 

[Shad]

7 hours ago, Freda said:

County Antrim

He was a very nice horse, and was one of my favourites back in the day, think paul falvey rode him a few times,,did Barry taggart train him or did you,also  another horse called polacca think Lynn melvile may have trained him he was by butty I think,you've certainly done the miles over the years Freda, I can remember you also training a tidy performer lord gizmo, not the right spelling, can't remember who you trained with at the time.An old fella said to me and it may have been in the late eighties, the game was on the slide then, saying paid officials would cripple the racing, I think he'd turn in his grave if he was alive to see the salaries that are paid out today, must also mention strange majic he was by quito, another very speedy horse that preformed very well around the coast.Be interested to know which horse in your opinion was the best you've trained.

[Doomed]

3 hours ago, The Centaur said:

You make some excellent points. When racing was based around the open handicap first leg of a double and the open sprint it meant the majority of public had something identifiable to follow. Every now and then a new high flyer would emerge adding interest to the mix. Its just too much for the public given time restraints too follow all the lower grade racing. The open grade racing in the deep south although not encouraged by the racing hierarchy still enjoys some enthusiasm even though many of the horses are castoffs from the north.

Look at the huge tech companies around today. Many were start ups from a garage or bedroom. The point is the great ideas come from the grassroots and not from the highly overpaid suited managers. Why a TAB CEO should be on $700,000 per years is just crazy. The craziness filters right down the industry. All the time those with the ideas can't get heard because those creaming the dollars would feel inadequate if the idea didn't come from them. 

We do have to accept that times change and we have to change with them. There is a lot of competition to racing these days. Unfortunately, virtually none of the changes the industry has made seem to have worked. And at the same time as the industry is contracting, management and salaries are exploding.

One problem is that we don't seem to have identified what are the industry's strengths and weaknesses. Something that some of us may consider a strength, others may consider a weakness.

[Freda]

Yes.  

And as S.A has pointed out, there is no disgrace in having second thoughts about a plan or strategy that doesn't seem to be working.

That indicates strength and integrity,  but to blunder on with what isn't working is cringeworthy.

[Doomed]

6 minutes ago, Freda said:

Yes.  

And as S.A has pointed out, there is no disgrace in having second thoughts about a plan or strategy that doesn't seem to be working.

That indicates strength and integrity,  but to blunder on with what isn't working is cringeworthy.

I think that has been the biggest disappointment to me. Someone on a  massive salary should have the confidence and decency to be able to come out and say "look , we got that one wrong". To act as if they have never made a single mistake is just arrogance and incompetence of the highest order.

Even Cindy comes out occasionally and admits she got something wrong. NZTR and the TAB haven't acknowledged a single mistake in 20 odd years.

[Freda]

2 hours ago, Shad said:

He was a very nice horse, and was one of my favourites back in the day, think paul falvey rode him a few times,,did Barry taggart train him or did you,also  another horse called polacca think Lynn melvile may have trained him he was by butty I think,you've certainly done the miles over the years Freda, I can remember you also training a tidy performer lord gizmo, not the right spelling, can't remember who you trained with at the time.An old fella said to me and it may have been in the late eighties, the game was on the slide then, saying paid officials would cripple the racing, I think he'd turn in his grave if he was alive to see the salaries that are paid out today, must also mention strange majic he was by quito, another very speedy horse that preformed very well around the coast.Be interested to know which horse in your opinion was the best you've trained.

Yes, my old boss Barry Taggart trained County Antrim, he was owned by his brother Richard.

I think you might be right about Polacca and Lynnette Melville.

Lord Gesmo was the horse to which you refer, he would, I suppose, have to be the best.  He raced against some very tidy performers:    Seamist, St James, Navajo Brave, finished second to Seamist in the Hazlett Stakes, then over a mile [ and worth 25k THEN - a long time ago ].

I had to accept that he wasn't quite up to defeating those classy performers over 1400 - 1600 m, so decided that he would have to step up in distance to try and get a decent one.

He had the very good performer Reyjkavik to contend with, Prince Haze, Carlton King, Aquidity [ who subsequently went on to compete in a Cox Plate I think ]   but finished third in the Easter Classic [ then 2000m ] and won the Grt Autumn Hcp of 2400m. 

A huge thrill for his loyal group of owners, all patrons of the Mitre Tavern in Lyttelton.  Which hostelry has its own history too.

Probably Oxford Aunt was potentially the best, though, but brought down in the 1000 Gns when rated a live chance.

[Shad]

59 minutes ago, Freda said:

Yes, my old boss Barry Taggart trained County Antrim, he was owned by his brother Richard.

I think you might be right about Polacca and Lynnette Melville.

Lord Gesmo was the horse to which you refer, he would, I suppose, have to be the best.  He raced against some very tidy performers:    Seamist, St James, Navajo Brave, finished second to Seamist in the Hazlett Stakes, then over a mile [ and worth 25k THEN - a long time ago ].

I had to accept that he wasn't quite up to defeating those classy performers over 1400 - 1600 m, so decided that he would have to step up in distance to try and get a decent one.

He had the very good performer Reyjkavik to contend with, Prince Haze, Carlton King, Aquidity [ who subsequently went on to compete in a Cox Plate I think ]   but finished third in the Easter Classic [ then 2000m ] and won the Grt Autumn Hcp of 2400m. 

A huge thrill for his loyal group of owners, all patrons of the Mitre Tavern in Lyttelton.  Which hostelry has its own history too.

Probably Oxford Aunt was potentially the best, though, but brought down in the 1000 Gns when rated a live chance.

Quite a golden era you could say, im sure your right about aquidity, Reykjavik by Icelandic trained by Helen preston I think,,I remember her big black horse ernest,,and seamist by Beaufort sea a very underrated sire around that time, from memory lord gesmo had a couple of radio hosts as owners to, interesting oxford aunts progeny brother will had a start at timaru last week, if only he had an ounce of ability the his big brother had, I'll fated son of zac, a tragic end for him,Cheers for the post, and all the best with the team tomorrow.