The RACE by Grins. Big race on Friday worth $1,000,000.

[Gammalite]

Best of Luck to All the competitors including 2 Aussie Raiders. Here's the Barrier draw. 

Form	Name	Age	Sex	Rating	Draw	Hcp	Driver	Trainer
Notifiable Gear Changes: Akuta: BL-Off, Old Town Road: BL-On, Self Assured: BL-Off, Triple Eight: SL-Off   Legend Horse Movements: Triple Eight to Steve & Amanda Telfer & Hayden Cullen at Papakura, Better Eclipse to Steve & Amanda Telfer & Hayden Cullen
1		P31X11	No Matter Wat	4	m	R65	1	Ft	Tony Herlihy	Mark & Nathan Purdon
2		X66237	Smiffy's Terror  (E1)	5	g	R79	2	Ft	John Dunn	Robert & Jenna Dunn
3		635344	Old Town Road	5	g	R85	3	Ft	Zachary Butcher	John Dickie
4		21P312	Copy That	6	h	R120	4	Ft	Blair Orange	Ray Green
5		381633	Triple Eight	8	g	R108	5	Ft		Jess Tubbs
6		518726	B D Joe	5	g	R105	6	Ft	Tim Williams	Steve & Amanda Telfer & Hayden Cullen
7		214041	Better Eclipse	5	g	R104	7	Ft		Jess Tubbs
8		053425	Kango	6	g	R95	8	Ft	David Butcher	Arna Donnelly
------------------ Second Line ------------------
9		70X189	Nicholas Cage	4	g	R72	9	Ft	Matthew White	Andrew & Lyn Neal
10		122X61	Self Assured	7	g	R120	10	Ft	Natalie Rasmussen	Mark & Nathan Purdon
11		21X253	Akuta	4	g	R95	11	Ft	Mark Purdon	Mark & Nathan Purdon

[the galah]

2 hours ago, Gammalite said:

Best of Luck to All the competitors including 2 Aussie Raiders. Here's the Barrier draw. 

Form	Name	Age	Sex	Rating	Draw	Hcp	Driver	Trainer
Notifiable Gear Changes: Akuta: BL-Off, Old Town Road: BL-On, Self Assured: BL-Off, Triple Eight: SL-Off   Legend Horse Movements: Triple Eight to Steve & Amanda Telfer & Hayden Cullen at Papakura, Better Eclipse to Steve & Amanda Telfer & Hayden Cullen
1		P31X11	No Matter Wat	4	m	R65	1	Ft	Tony Herlihy	Mark & Nathan Purdon
2		X66237	Smiffy's Terror  (E1)	5	g	R79	2	Ft	John Dunn	Robert & Jenna Dunn
3		635344	Old Town Road	5	g	R85	3	Ft	Zachary Butcher	John Dickie
4		21P312	Copy That	6	h	R120	4	Ft	Blair Orange	Ray Green
5		381633	Triple Eight	8	g	R108	5	Ft		Jess Tubbs
6		518726	B D Joe	5	g	R105	6	Ft	Tim Williams	Steve & Amanda Telfer & Hayden Cullen
7		214041	Better Eclipse	5	g	R104	7	Ft		Jess Tubbs
8		053425	Kango	6	g	R95	8	Ft	David Butcher	Arna Donnelly
------------------ Second Line ------------------
9		70X189	Nicholas Cage	4	g	R72	9	Ft	Matthew White	Andrew & Lyn Neal
10		122X61	Self Assured	7	g	R120	10	Ft	Natalie Rasmussen	Mark & Nathan Purdon
11		21X253	Akuta	4	g	R95	11	Ft	Mark Purdon	Mark & Nathan Purdon

draws seem to play heavily in the favour of the 4 main chances. Looks like copy that takes the lead off old town road coming down the straight the first time. Self assured may punch through and sit parked as if he allows bd joe to get across he may struggle to pick copy that or old town road up. If he self assured does push through to sit parked then he mat set it up for akuta to get the 1/1 throughout and he becomes a chance of getting up late in the final straight. Every one else looks like they have no realistic winning chance.

[Brodie]

3 more sleeps till “The Race by Grins”

Can hardly wait!

Does this race really do anything beneficial for the harness industry?

If it does, would love to know?

[the galah]

1 hour ago, Brodie said:

3 more sleeps till “The Race by Grins”

Can hardly wait!

Does this race really do anything beneficial for the harness industry?

If it does, would love to know?

The question is how much is hrnz funding the race. 

The exact breakdown seems to be a bit hard to find,but someone must know.  

Obviously slot holders contributed ,hrnz,a raffle apparently and club funds one assumes.

The event does get a lot of publicity from the harness media,but their level of enthusiasm is not shared by many. 

For example i don't think i have bothered to read or ever listened to any of the pre race coverage. I have looked at the field today,but then again i took as much interest in this weeks addington,winton or methven non win race fields. 

Obviously it gives those who attend and promote it a good reason to have a good night out and gets more people on track at cambridge than normal and gives the 4 or so realistic chances something to look forward to.

At least those that came up with the idea are trying i suppose,so good luck to them,but i think its a concept that won't last.  Time will tell.

So i think to punters and most industry participants,their main interest this week will be on their local harness racing. 

 

[mikeynz]

Probably just making the rich get richer but it's still positive I guess.

[Gammalite]

2 hours ago, Brodie said:

3 more sleeps till “The Race by Grins”

Can hardly wait!

Does this race really do anything beneficial for the harness industry?

If it does, would love to know?

Me too. Is gunna be a beauty. yep.

The gallops get so many million dollar days , it's rediculous. Why should trotting be the poor cousin , and not get up and match it. The Miracle Mile is the best in Aus at $1,000,000 as well. Well done NZHR for matching it.

Nz Harness industry obvious getting international interest  , with the visiters both years. so that's good ? yep 

Nz Harness industry getting 'outside' interest with some companies being 'owners for a day' that mightn't of never had the opportunity to race a fine Pacer in partnership with the real owner. so that's good.? yep

Nz Harness industry 'struggling' is all I see on these threads (esp North Island) so someone is trying to actually break the shackles and get people involved again setting The Race Up. And party afterwards too lol !!  bloody excellent. yep.

I'd be there with bell's on but too far away . Roll on Interdominion Brisbane 😆 extra Prizemoney this year too . think they are trying to get up towards the million this year 😊🏆💰 better than those Vic 'Cheapskates' last year anyways 😆 think I Cast NoShadow only got $250,000 . Better to go to Cambridge ?? They done a good thing and people can't see it. An excellent reward for those involved in the Industry .Don't begrudge em it. lap it up . yep.

Good to see Cambridge (and Brisbane) giving the hard working Harness Industry People something to aspire too !! A bloody decent Prize for a fricken change 💰,.... instead of letting the gallopers lap it up all the time. 

absolutely yep.

[Brodie]

Would like to know how much this GRINS actually contribute for the naming rights????

As Galah states it is going to have a short shelf life as it is only for the Big Boys and Corporates and highly unlikely to bring new entrants into the harness industry.

It is also likely to be subsidised so hardly beneficial to the industry.

Look it is great that they are trying things to try and keep the industry going but this is not going to help one iota.

The positive about it is that they have listened and pushed the distance out to 2200 metres rather than the blatantly stupid mile!!!!!

I hope everything goes well for “The Race By Grins”  But as for interest from the enthusiasts it really is not worth the hype BS that the media try to push onto us!

As Galah says a non win race at Methven or Addington  has got far more interest as a punting proposition!

 

 

[the galah]

I didn't realise the distance of the race had changed to 2200.Thats how little interest i had taken in the pre race media coverage.

The reality is,if you were to ask industry participants whether they would prefer hrnz to use the funds they put towards the grins or instead put those  towargs more meetings with the with the racing rewards concept that they ran last week,i think you would find 99.999% would go for the later.Like brodie and i have both expressed,good on them for trying,but there seems to be a disconnect from reality as to what is important to maintain industry participation.

[Gammalite]

12 hours ago, the galah said:

The reality is,if you were to ask industry participants whether they would prefer hrnz to use the funds they put towards the grins or instead put those  towargs more meetings with the with the racing rewards concept that they ran last week,i think you would find 99.999% would go for the later.

Of course that is correct. Even in the galloping world the Big Group 1 's in Australia have continued to go up in Prizemoney every year . And only a few Industry participants are 'Forces ' in them . Gai, Waller, Goldolphin etc 

And if you asked them to reduce those prizes and 'Spread it around 'all the State reguler races to boost the stakes ,I'm sure All the small time trainers would agree with you guys , Thats a GREAT IDEA.

But lose the Quality Races ? don't have any Feature races ? So small regular races can have better prizes ? there goes any prestige and tradition.

I'm sure if you asked ANY Brisbane Trainer later this year , should we be having a Million dollar Interdominion or put All that prize-money to the regular 5 meetings per week races  99.99% of those trainers would say the later option as you say ...... No Trainer I know even watches races they don't have a horse in . Bit like Punters who Can't watch a Race they don't have an investment on . Very common . 

But Lose the Interdominion ?? or other Features through the year ? Nz does a great job of running Features throughout the year still and you guys think that's not on? lol.  there's prizes for the little folks at their meetings. Don't think Grins is taking away from anyone is it ???  And looks an OUTstanding Betting race. IMO.

Aus just has plain harness racing week to week most of year. boring as bat-shit. No one bets on it much . Keep the Feature Races I say. Gotta have some tradition surely ??? and start new ones? get Aussie raiders to create even more interest? 

poor old Invercargill even got slammed for running a feature G1 Cup  .Goodness me..... It's like you DON"T WANT the locals to See any Star Horses, like they got/ getting to see, or something ??? didn't Krug win that ?

[the galah]

1 hour ago, Gammalite said:

Of course that is correct. Even in the galloping world the Big Group 1 's in Australia have continued to go up in Prizemoney every year . And only a few Industry participants are 'Forces ' in them . Gai, Waller, Goldolphin etc 

And if you asked them to reduce those prizes and 'Spread it around 'all the State reguler races to boost the stakes ,I'm sure All the small time trainers would agree with you guys , Thats a GREAT IDEA.

But lose the Quality Races ? don't have any Feature races ? So small regular races can have better prizes ? there goes any prestige and tradition.

I'm sure if you asked ANY Brisbane Trainer later this year , should we be having a Million dollar Interdominion or put All that prize-money to the regular 5 meetings per week races  99.99% of those trainers would say the later option as you say ...... No Trainer I know even watches races they don't have a horse in . Bit like Punters who Can't watch a Race they don't have an investment on . Very common . 

But Lose the Interdominion ?? or other Features through the year ? Nz does a great job of running Features throughout the year still and you guys think that's not on? lol.  there's prizes for the little folks at their meetings. Don't think Grins is taking away from anyone is it ???  And looks an OUTstanding Betting race. IMO.

Aus just has plain harness racing week to week most of year. boring as bat-shit. No one bets on it much . Keep the Feature Races I say. Gotta have some tradition surely ??? and start new ones? get Aussie raiders to create even more interest? 

poor old Invercargill even got slammed for running a feature G1 Cup  .Goodness me..... It's like you DON"T WANT the locals to See any Star Horses, like they got/ getting to see, or something ??? didn't Krug win that ?

 

No ones saying they shouldn't run the established races like the interdominions or nz cup type races.Not sure why you think anyone is suggesting that.

When you say 'its like you don't want the locals to see any star horses".

Well if it was the star horses that attract the patrons,then how come the crowds were so small for meetings at auckland or cambridge who had the star horses racing recently?

You say no trainer watches races they don't have horses in . I guess you mean that in queensland.

Well in canterbury or southland,or anywhere in nz for that matter, i'm sure you would be wrong. Maybe not everyone,but nearly all the drivers/trainers know the form. Maybe you need to factor in even the province(canterbury) with the most racing and horses,only has 2 meetings a week and theres only a total of 4 or 5 meetings in the whole of nz most weeks.

You think the Aussie raiders create more interest. Well they probably do.My interest in them is how much they get beaten by. If either ran in the top 4 it would be a surprise.Personally not sure why they bothered to turn up. Its not like they are trained by the fella from nsw who can get the nz horses to grow a leg and beat our best. The 2 aussie horses may be good horses,but they have come all this way,only to run against 4 or so better horses who now have better draws on a track thatalways favours the front runners. I think they are little chance. seems a waste of time and effort to me. But maybe they like a holiday.

As to tote turnover. Well with all the hype you would hope the tote turnover is 10 times what they get on a non win race in canterbury that gets zero hype or media coverage . I will let you know after the race what it was. But i doubt what you think it will be is anywhere near what will happen.

The meeting has been well promoted and will be well attended. Just the same as say a once a year grass track meeting at somewhere like gore,oamakau  or geraldine is. Its always nice to see a good crowd no matter where it may be,so i agree with that.

Edited April 12, 2023 by the galah

[Gammalite]

Some good points of your opinion there. most worthy of discussion.

I mentioned the Interdominion as was agreeing with the sentiment you guys seem to have about very large purses would be better shared around clubs and smaller stable trainers , as will be the sentiment here come December Interdominion. (and you already had there regarding Invercargill at an average prize 100k) But to me the upside was locals get to see some quality Nz racing . And the Best get some quality Prizemoney 💰.

Shortly we have the Eureka at Menangle in September worth 2 mill ($1 mill to the winner) so same thing as your Grins. possibly be only a few chances. and could money be better spent elsewhere.

BUT the Best in the Sport DESERVE Rich rewards, Just like they get in every other sport . I'll do a thread on the best horse I've seen ever in 'Blacks A Fake' to demonstrate sometime in near future what I mean.

Sure !!! as you crowds are marginally bigger only , even when Features are on , compared to the gallops. because we don't have Enough Cup days, Interdominion Days , GRIN days, Eureka days to catch the attention .

goddamn tv With a '24 hour' non-stop racing channel and it Only puts on 4 harness nights per year free to Air. incredibly poor. we get 100 nights of Hong Kong racing per year on there. I hate that such little support for harness racing.. The Eureka (and Grins) and things like that are the only hope to keep some harness racing profile going. but it's nearly all criticism on these Nz forums. not able to embrace a new concept . 5000 will enjoy the day anyway 😉.

Aus visitors have gone pretty well there over the years. You do'nt win unless you try mates. And Flying to Nz about same as flying vic -QLD anyway so no big deal. Tubbs /Sugars have fairly good record and hope they do ok.

 

[the galah]

Well it was a good race. An outstanding horse,driver and trainer. 

The race turned out pretty much as expected and Copy That never looked like getting beaten. Cambridge a track that is so difficult to make ground wide so Self assured and Better eclipse went ok.

No matter what went well for such an inexperienced horse,but galloped like it can if pressured. The telfer runner BD joe dropped out badly,for a distant last. It looked like triple eight had broken gear,but was going to be no chance from where it was when that happened anyway.

The final tote win pool was $38,000 according to the tab website. Compare that to say the $13,000 that the non win races had at motukarara last sunday. So the punters bet more than a normal race,but the hype over such a long period of time didn't translate into much tote netting.

Overall looked a successful night,good to see a crowd having a good time with the weather helping. i suppose the million dollar stake was all about creating a perception(somewhat false),but in reality had it been promoted the same with half the stake then the result would still have been the same crowd wise and betting wise. But credit was due to those from the club who promoted it so well.

[Newmarket]

The guy doing the yapping with the whale was a bit over the top for mine

[mikeynz]

Newmarket, Evans has copied Davy Macs hair style, as I said before I think the tv coverage is a little bit rushed.

[Spatchcock]

On 12/04/2023 at 7:41 AM, the galah said:

I didn't realise the distance of the race had changed to 2200.Thats how little interest i had taken in the pre race media coverage.

The reality is,if you were to ask industry participants whether they would prefer hrnz to use the funds they put towards the grins or instead put those  towargs more meetings with the with the racing rewards concept that they ran last week,i think you would find 99.999% would go for the later.Like brodie and i have both expressed,good on them for trying,but there seems to be a disconnect from reality as to what is important to maintain industry participation.

it was 2200m last year. HRNZ contributed  next to nothing.

[Spatchcock]

1 hour ago, the galah said:

Well it was a good race. An outstanding horse,driver and trainer. 

The race turned out pretty much as expected and Copy That never looked like getting beaten. Cambridge a track that is so difficult to make ground wide so Self assured and Better eclipse went ok.

No matter what went well for such an inexperienced horse,but galloped like it can if pressured. The telfer runner BD joe dropped out badly,for a distant last. It looked like triple eight had broken gear,but was going to be no chance from where it was when that happened anyway.

The final tote win pool was $38,000 according to the tab website. Compare that to say the $13,000 that the non win races had at motukarara last sunday. So the punters bet more than a normal race,but the hype over such a long period of time didn't translate into much tote netting.

Overall looked a successful night,good to see a crowd having a good time with the weather helping. i suppose the million dollar stake was all about creating a perception(somewhat false),but in reality had it been promoted the same with half the stake then the result would still have been the same crowd wise and betting wise. But credit was due to those from the club who promoted it so well.

Geez how do you get through the day?

[the galah]

 

8 hours ago, Spatchcock said:

it was 2200m last year. HRNZ contributed  next to nothing.

HRNZ contributed next to nothing?Are you channeling joe biden? 

 

8 hours ago, Spatchcock said:

Geez how do you get through the day?

I look up your old posts as i eat breakfast and have a good laugh. Thats always a good starting point for me. .

Edited April 14, 2023 by the galah