Silver Collar meeting

[Special Agent]

Only negative comments re protest towards the major staying event today when the racing should be an industry highlight.

Does anyone have some positive stuff to share?

The stake is juicy.

[aquaman]

Best race by a country mile is the Silver Collar. True staying test over the 779 mtrs. One of my dogs Aqua Mouse won the Collar, and also holds the record for 967 mtrs, not a distance for squibs. The 1 dog should lead all the way.

[Special Agent]

What was the race worth when you won it Aqua?

[Yankiwi]

3 hours ago, aquaman said:

The 1 dog should lead all the way.

Possibly, if it's 100% fit.

 

Supplementary Report - Auckland GRC 4 June 2023

Trainer R Evans advised that GOLDSTAR CARLITO has shown no ill-effects from contacting the rail on Sunday and will continue with its current preparation.

 

Speaking of the rail, five different dogs made contact with it last week in Auckland, with four of those during the heats meeting.

If they haven't done anything to fix the ongoing problem & the trend continues, expect two dogs to contact the running rail today which will match the average over the last couple of months.

[Special Agent]

Let us assume the problem with the rail has been addressed.  The meeting is the best showcase greyhound racing could have, apart from the ones protesting.  Do none of them have jobs?

[Yankiwi]

The silver collar has been the protestors race meet of choice for many years now.

What I could make from it in the past was the wording used by official coms of the lead up to the race.

"Grueling" is one of those words often used, at least in the past, that drew their attention & gave them what they needed to gather support for their cause.

Words used this year just adds fuel to their fire.

https://www.grnz.co.nz/News/3046/Exciting-field-assembled-for-SENZ-Duke-of-Edinburgh-Silver-Collar-Final-

Exhilarating is the only way to describe the engrossing pair of SENZ Duke of Edinburgh Silver Collar heats, which now sets up Sunday’s keenly anticipated $80,000 Final over the extreme 779m distance at the Manukau Stadium

[Yankiwi]

8 hours ago, aquaman said:

The 1 dog should lead all the way.

He led when it matters the most.

Top run & well-deserved victory for the one dog.

[Yankiwi]

5 hours ago, Yankiwi said:

If they haven't done anything to fix the ongoing problem & the trend continues, expect two dogs to contact the running rail today which will match the average over the last couple of months.

 

[Chief Stipe]

52 minutes ago, Yankiwi said:

Exhilarating is the only way to describe the engrossing pair of SENZ Duke of Edinburgh Silver Collar heats, which now sets up Sunday’s keenly anticipated $80,000 Final over the extreme 779m distance at the Manukau Stadium

What you want some watered down woke description?

 

[Chief Stipe]

10 minutes ago, Yankiwi said:

 

So what should they do?

[Special Agent]

I think they should contact Dean and his team at Entain.  Greyhound racing is important to Entain and I am sure they could sponsor any alterations.  Or maybe buy the track and renovate it to a safe standard.

[Yankiwi]

54 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

What you want some watered down woke description?

 

I've made no statement on what I want.

I've only stated that the words they have used are used against them.

[Yankiwi]

57 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

So what should they do?

Well, these were installed at Wanganui 9 years ago as a trial prior to rolling them out to all the other tracks. Recently Wanganui underwent a complete refurb & they've put them back up in the new configuration.

 

Maybe just maybe GRNZ should turn back the clock 8 or 9 years & get a safety rail up in Auckland, like they said they were going to.

 

Over the last two months, this has been the chance of rail contact during any given race, per track.

Auckland = 17.0% (17% of 12 races = 2, which is the number I predicted hours before they happened today).

Chch = 3.3%

Wang = 3.7%

Palm = 4.9%

Southland = 2.0%

Get why I've been complaining about a problem with ONE track?

[Chief Stipe]

2 hours ago, Yankiwi said:

Well, these were installed at Wanganui 9 years ago as a trial prior to rolling them out to all the other tracks. Recently Wanganui underwent a complete refurb & they've put them back up in the new configuration.

 

Maybe just maybe GRNZ should turn back the clock 8 or 9 years & get a safety rail up in Auckland, like they said they were going to.

 

Over the last two months, this has been the chance of rail contact during any given race, per track.

Auckland = 17.0% (17% of 12 races = 2, which is the number I predicted hours before they happened today).

Chch = 3.3%

Wang = 3.7%

Palm = 4.9%

Southland = 2.0%

Get why I've been complaining about a problem with ONE track?

So they'd hit the safety rail instead?

[Special Agent]

So it appears to me GRNZ have dropped the ball.

In May 2014 the Steriline safety rail was installed at Hattrick with GRNZ stating these safety rails would be installed at all other venues by the end of June 2014.

From what I can gather the same principle as the galloping running rail applies in that they are flexible and give the dog a better eye line causing less collisions (particularly on the bends) and fewer injuries.  Safety rails in greyhound racing are proving successful in both Australia and the United Kingdom.

I am comparing again with galloping but, each code should be able to share successful ideas and thus avoid any pitfalls.  Running rails come under the Safety Fund and applications can be made to this fund by racing clubs.  Is this also available in greyhound racing?  If not, why not?

[Yankiwi]

5 hours ago, Special Agent said:

So it appears to me GRNZ have dropped the ball.

In May 2014 the Steriline safety rail was installed at Hattrick with GRNZ stating these safety rails would be installed at all other venues by the end of June 2014.

Exactly.

6 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

So they'd hit the safety rail instead?

Safety rails act as a visual aid more so than physical protection from getting too close near the lure rail. A visual aid can be critical for a sight dog chasing something they are fixated on, especially when the lure rail can come between a dog's sight line and the lure in the corner. The further behind the progression of the lure the dog is, the more likely the rail is directly between them.

Akl 17.0% - Seven instances requiring an injury stand-down.

Wang 3.7% - Zero instances requiring an injury stand-down.

Doing nothing in Auckland & hoping the problem goes away all by itself, is a glaring example of how the sport is actually being run, with words not actions.

 

 

[Yankiwi]

9 hours ago, Special Agent said:

So it appears to me GRNZ have dropped the ball.

In May 2014 the Steriline safety rail was installed at Hattrick with GRNZ stating these safety rails would be installed at all other venues by the end of June 2014.

Chief seems to like proof for everything.

 

https://www.grnz.co.nz/Files/Documents/Final - 2014 AGM Annual Report.pdf

[aquaman]

23 hours ago, Special Agent said:

What was the race worth when you won it Aqua?

Won it twice Agent. Year 2000 it Aqua Rattle and it was $12,000, then when Aqua Mouse won it in 2001 $15,000. The very next year it went to $100,000.  Yesterday was a rerun of Mouses win. Both won their heats, both drew box one in the final, both were favorite, both missed away, both got checked first bend, both had to weave their way through the field to snatch it on the line.

[Chief Stipe]

1 hour ago, Yankiwi said:

Chief seems to like proof for everything.

 

https://www.grnz.co.nz/Files/Documents/Final - 2014 AGM Annual Report.pdf

So you are suggesting Auckland put in a similar rail.  

What's the difference in injury rate?  Obviously the dogs still hit it.

[Yankiwi]

4 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

So you are suggesting Auckland put in a similar rail.  

What's the difference in injury rate?  Obviously the dogs still hit it.

I'm suggesting that at a minimum GRNZ follows through with what they said they were going to do.

At least that is something which could produce a positive outcome. If they don't produce a positive outcome, why did they reinstall the safety rail in Wanganui as part of the complete refurbishment?

The statistics from the last couple of months have proven that doing nothing hasn't fixed the problem. Funny that.

[Chief Stipe]

20 hours ago, Yankiwi said:

Over the last two months, this has been the chance of rail contact during any given race, per track.

Auckland = 17.0%.

Does GRNZ publish these stats?

[Special Agent]

Is the Safety Fund available for Greyhound Racing as in galloping?  If money is the hold up there is always a way around that.

If, as suggested under the J Cox harness thread, animal welfare is paramount and bad publicity of same must cease why are these fixable problems being ignored?

This is not rocket science!!

[Yankiwi]

17 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Does GRNZ publish these stats?

No.

The stats come from me trawling each individual Stewards Report, starting on 13 April until current.

I only assign a rail contact when the report states it, not via my personal observations.

I have formed my opinion as to why the numbers are so high in Auckland but have not yet revealed them on your forum.

I currently believe it's a combination of three differing things, and NO a safety rail will do nothing to correct any of them. I only harp on about the safety rail as GRNZ has clearly publicly stated in the past that it was a measure they were going to undertake to help prevent the issue, yet haven't, which was supposed to be completed eight years ago.

I personally know two people currently around the GRNZ board table. Either or both of them is more than welcome to contact me if they'd like to come around, get serious & be provided the information they need to begin fixing the issue. I'd prefer this route.

Beyond that, if anyone at GRNZ has balls enough to eat a bit of humble pie & contact me, I'd consider sharing the information I've complied, which is all from publicly available information, except for one tiny bit (a measurement) which I was unable to find publicly and have been privileged too. However, this offer is not extended to Mr. Dore, as in the one official previous correspondence chain I had with him, he acted like a spoiled little brat in a position of power. Therefore, I have absolutely no time for him under any circumstances.

They know who I am & will still have my contact details in their records, which haven't changed.

[Chief Stipe]

29 minutes ago, Yankiwi said:

I currently believe it's a combination of three differing things, and NO a safety rail will do nothing to correct any of them. I only harp on about the safety rail as GRNZ has clearly publicly stated in the past that it was a measure they were going to undertake to help prevent the issue, yet haven't, which was supposed to be completed eight years ago.

I suggest you formally send your analysis and suggestions to the GRNZ Management and Board.  They are obliged to respond.  They don't have to respond to posts on BOAY.  

However you could post an open letter on BOAY and see what happens.

[Chief Stipe]

31 minutes ago, Yankiwi said:

They know who I am & will still have my contact details in their records, which haven't changed.

We all know all you are and I'll give you one thing you haven't hidden.  I think though you would be better to take another approach that requires formal responses.