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Sandown facebook page on Ring The Bell race footage from Otago. 165 comments 140 shares 10k views Does anyone else apart from me think that grnz need to get a tad more busy with social media???

Am I the only one that thinks it strange that the NZGRA advertises frozen semen on it's website but not NZ stud dogs? Is that promoting our industry?

Spyro, the surface isn't that flash nowadays, as they have not kept up with the sand slitting that was done a good few years ago now. I spoke with the stipes and they told me they couldn't get to the 1400m mark to place the barriers as the tractor wasn't powerful enough to get them there. Couldnt get traction! This is a joke and once again, why were we not informed earlier, rather than wasting money to get there, another NZ racing joke! I wasnt told until a fellow trainer informed me. I am not sure what float company you use, but Ruakaka is not that dear from Cambridge. I am reluctant to go to Ruakaka as it usually turns out to be a benefit day for local trainers, and good on them, as they have to travel to all other destinations. As i have said so many times before, why do we have to drive past the best track in NZ through the winter, when it should have a surface we can race on every second Saturday! Come on Ellerslie, all this money you have in the bank, use it to get a decent track!

well The McCook family have had a great spell and ready to go for Club 15. So onto week 1 and Sarah & I have $380 to spend between us ( probably $190 each or some combined brain work )

its the faster dogs who cannot get a run !! the clubs cater for squib races heaps of c1/2. cut the stakes of squib c1/2 give the stakes to 457/500 & beyond. go back to 4 misses once a dog reaches c2 no down grade for 300 m squibs the above will get rid of all the slow 300m squibs.

The GRAND FINAL Sat July 15 This is it ! The Ultimate Showdown for the Winter Comp honours. Two great teams enter, only one will leave as Champions ! Race 1 - Trentham Race 3 - 1.20pm - Anuka Smoker Wellington Hurdles (PJR) - $75k - 3400m - open hdl Race 2 - Trentham Race 5 - 2.30pm - Dixon & Dunlop Parliamentary Hdcp - $40k - 2200m - open hdcp Race 3 - Trentham Race 6 - 3.05pm - Grant Plumbing Wellington Steeplechase (PJR) - $75k - 5500m - open stpl Race 4 - Trentham Race 7 - 3.40pm - Happy 80th Kevin Gray From Hanley Formula Whyte Hdcp - $40k - 1600m - open hdcp Race 5 - Trentham Race 8 - 4.20pm - The Green Man Pub Hdcp - $20k - 1400m - R65 Race 6 - Sunshine Coast Race 5 - 4.42pm - Become A Pool Pro Stockist Class 6 Hdcp - $60k - 1600m - Class 6 hdcp Race 7 - Rosehill Race 7 - 5.10pm - ATC Winter Stks (LR) - $150k - 1400m - qlty hdcp Race 8 - Caulfield Race 7 - 5.30pm - PFD Food Services Monash Stks (Gr3) - $150k - 1100m - WFA Race 9 - Sunshine Coast Race 7 - 6.02pm - Pool Pro Queensland Cup (LR) - $150k -3200m - qlty hdcp Race 10 - Caulfield Race 9 - 6.45pm - OTI Racing Hdcp - $100k - 1400m - hdcp Race 1A - Te Rapa Race 4 - 1.38pm - Gallagher 1600 - $30k - 1600m - open hdcp Race 2A - Te Rapa Race 5 - 2.13pm - Group One Turf Bar 1200 - $30k - 1200m - open hdcp Race 3A - Te Rapa Race 6 - 2.48pm - BGP Battlers 2100 - $25k - 2100m - R85 Race 4A - Te Rapa Race 7 - 3.23pm - Crossroads Waikato's No.1 Pub TAB 1400 - $20k - 1400m - R65 Race 5A - Te Rapa Race 8 - 3.58pm - Lisa Chittick Foxbridge Plate Day 19th August 1600 - $22k - 1600m - R75 DON'T FORGET - one BB allowed in each country (for the round). Please don't post subs with your original post as they will not be accepted. Only post subs if you have a scratching. Good luck everyone ! THE REDS vs THE PRETEND GERS Lloyd (6/5-2783.80) v Casper (5/6-2060.80) Gordy (7/4-2563.40) v Tom (5/6-4412.00) John (7/4-3045.80) v Kay (5/6-2501.20) Sarah (7/4-2051.20) v Ian (7/4-3294.60) The Crucible (8/3-2921.80) v Maria (4/7-2198.20) THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 4412.00 Tom (The Pretend Gers) 4071.00* Cam (The Grim Reapers) 3294.60 Ian (The Pretend Gers) 3254.80* Alan (The Dream Team) 3248.40 Isaac (The Habibies) 3206.00 Steve P (Zig's Warriors) 3191.60 PJ (The Anzac Armadillos) *10 matches only GOOD LUCK EVERYONE ! P.S. I have been offered a corporate box for Saturday's Arsenal FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers friendly at Sydney's Olympic Stadium. So once again I am asking for John or Maria or someone else to stand in as scorer. Just the one match to keep track of.....please let me know if you can help. Thanks in advance.

Chris has hit at another point here which I think is very very important to help nz racing. Having racing on a regular day at the same place. I think Alexander Park benefits immensely from racing every Friday night. There are a lot of people in a population of 1.5M that like racing and the idea of a day at the races. But are never sure what day the races are on. Impulse decisions to just go to the races suffer when the goer has too look up and find the races are over an hour away.

As well as the Sir Ivor duplication, making the Wrote / Zabeel mating even hotter is the line breeding to 'Special " Zabeel being out of a Nureyev mare.

Hey there John, I'm happy for you to do it and I'll keep a score at the same time and then if you run away somewhere I can chip in with an update, how does that sound Fantastic opportunity PJ, and given that it's your fave team, you can't miss leaky leaky Arsenal in the flesh I'm a blues supporter but I've admired Arsene Wenger for a long time, and Arsenal's ability to hold on to a Manager more than my beloved Chelsea can do .. plus the chance to see Alexandre Lacazette is pretty special. Have a wonderful day!

Oh no Peter - I know it's a corporate box and I know you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, but dirty Arsenal - surely not?? Happy to score on Saturday, and should be able to update after most races, but can't guarantee prompt updates after every race, so more than happy to defer to Maria or one of the other finalists.

Its not a matter of clubs catering for any type of class. I believe there was 160 dogs on a monday at trails at Addington a few weeks back. Also finding a 457m+ dog to race is no easy task. Yes you can buy in from ozz at high costs. Buy the right breeding as a pup and wait abit on two years with the end result it finding a nice home after spending thousands. Ive got two coming though soon. One is having a season but mother ran middle distance and she went well in breakin. The other is 3-4weeks away from hitting the track, his mother could sprint and run middle distance but at this stage he looks like a sprinter - no exact science. Personally i like the 3 miss drop, worked well me as a owner in the past and i dont have issues with it.

Good luck Team McCook..get stuck in.

No.i said 23 and a half.

What do you think the races run at Wanganui are on a Wednesday, top tier programes. Punters such as yourself bet on anything. You could run whippet races over 100 mtrs, and the Big Stuffs of this world will bet on them. Its not welfare at all, but rather giving slower sound healthy dogs a chance to perform and live. Should be races for veterans as well.

Dr Marie Stewart ( Head of Animal Welfare) Costing us a fortune !!!!!~... We could have at least a hundred races at $1000 a pop per year for her salary... A huge job a head of you Doc??? I wish you well... Talk to her about: Animal Welfare Track Safety Adoption and retirement of Greyhounds Care of Racing Greyhounds Frozen Semen Policies

One would think with all the funding given to NZRS, breeders bonuses,etc etc they could spare some to support the few that do make the effort to stand a stud dog.Instead it costs about $2000 to register one these days. Unfortunately its becoming apparent to me that this once great industry is becoming elitest. How about some figures made public to show how many participants are benefiting from the NZRS? AC

Without even looking at it Mr Notts in my opinion the trouble with IRD is that those dreaming up the laws have never actually prepared a tax return or set of financial statements. They have no idea However there is a comparison that springs to mind........ Most of those making the rules in the Racing Industry have never raced a horse, gone to the races with a nag full of expectations and arrived home thoroughly deflated, cleaned the birdshit off the grandstand seats, picked out a hoof or for that matter even had a dollar on an outsider at Te Rapa. So the tragedy Mr Notts is that you and I have to deal with more than one of these sets of halfwits. We can growl all we like but in the short term nothing seems likely to change in either place.

Poor things - fastest walker might take it .. brings back memories of just trying to flatten out the mud at Trentham, tramping back between races, and more often than not leaving my gumboot behind trapped 9 inches deep in mud .. .

Thanks Maria - sounds like a good plan. Watch out for the horses that can swim on Saturday at Trentham. Track was Heavy11 this morning and the weather has been atrocious today (at least in the city and lower valley), and is expected to be worse tomorrow. Will be a hell of a slog and might be a case of first horse to the outside fence in the flat races.

Good luck N1MUE - we r just peaki g at the right time (I hope) - great fun - bring on Saturday

Two Pretend Gers in the Mag Seven, highest team aggregate and they whomped us in the round robin. Looks like the Gers are firm favourites to win this one, but don't let that concern you fellow Reds - I have faith that we can overcome the odds and pull off one of the greatest upsets in the history of PJ's super comps

Agree, N.Z. based sires need coverage as well. It had happened in the small grnz monthly mag but no longer.

A positive for those that live there? Or a positive for those that get to bypass it? Not sure what it will bring. But for all Huntly's issues it is and will remain a great central location. Perfect for a Super track :-)

As one Waikato trainer said to me the other day still one of the best winter tracks anywhere. Run down maybe but still making a profit, more than a lot of racing clubs can manage.

I am fairly sure I heard 32 lengths referred to as well, Jason, but the official margin is actually 23 and a half lengths. I doubt that the difference would concern RTB very much. We often talk about second-phase acceleration when discussing greyhounds but this chappie has the best third-phase speed that I have seen.

Only bet on the feature/group races. Not a fan of the lower grade rubbish or sprint races to be frank so the dogs dont get much of my hard earned

My actual role was to point out when Brodie was inventing his OWN facts.

It may do if your understanding of grammar is at the level of a 5yr old.

BEST BET YOGI (R5, No.3 $2.15) Exciting staying prospect. Still learning but has a lot of upside. Sprinted home powerfully to win his last start over 1800m at Sandown Hillside. Step up to 2100m is ideal.

No argument from me there, he deserves it.

John has been very instrumental and key to CWJ's return and success - from zero to something quite outstanding - enjoy it Midge - a magnificent ride for those who turn their starting point around - Champion it, NZ racing has fuck all else to offer - CWJ is an amazing success story - sadly the negative pricks remain negative - but that is NZ racing as some choose to accept it - as long as they enjoy negativity and failure so be it - some of us like success and achievement - well done Chris

"Greyhound Racing New Zealand Supports KidsCan with a $3,000 Amazing Chase Donation"..... Your a legend Craig Rendle. :)... Just so amazing.... Iv'e got 20 kids here that need support....Gap can't help ...

Dear Captain Ziggy 09 , Steve P , Tony and Craig , Without a shadow of a doubt. It has been my pleasure to be a part of the Zig's Warriors Team in PJ's Winter World International Trans - Tasman Super Tipping Competition. I've played with some good players but this team is an exciting team and as i said , a pleasure to be a part of. My room was full of Family , Friends and Medical Staff for the last Flemington Race. We all had a good win on the actual race result. It would have been more profitable if Damien had got a run earlier on Duke of Brunswick :). PJ , you must be so proud how well your competition's are received Inter Nationally. Well done champ ! I hope you find your own Group (1) One Winning Filly / Mare soon and enjoy all the fun that goe's with that. Maria, i wish you well in the final. I know how wonderful it would be for you and your Team to be the 2017 PJ's Winter World International Trans - Tasman Super Tipping Competition Champion's. Young lady , sincere good luck with your Grand Final Game next Saturday :). I hope and trust their are no French Thorough Bred Racing Judges working on the Day at the various PJ's Tipping Competition Race Tracks :). Catch you all on a Race Track one day real soon :). Folks , God Bless you all.

Off The Pace: how our industry must change July 3, 2017 Ask anyone in horse racing how the Australian horse racing industry is going and they would answer ‘pretty darn well’. Our prizemoney is relatively sustainable across all levels, our bloodstock prices are among the highest in the world and our racehorse quality is now appropriately recognised by international standards. We have Winx, Chautauqua and a national treasure called the Melbourne Cup. However, the startling reality is that the majority of Australians wouldn’t know that Winx is a horse - let alone what a Chautauqua is, and have a waning interest (at best) in the Melbourne Cup. The most concerning thing? Not only are we not addressing it, those of us immersed in horse racing don’t actually realise how irrelevant the industry is, especially to young Australians. Horse racing is my life. I spend my weekends at Randwick or Rosehill (or at the pub watching Randwick or Rosehill); my Twitter feed is filled with racing journalists, my Instagram with horse photographers and Longines, and I’ve culled any anti-racing commentators from my Facebook page. However around nine months ago, about the time of Premier Baird’s incredible (since reverted) decision to suddenly ban Greyhound Racing in NSW, I was forced into a fairly depressing realisation. I’m currently studying part-time and in class we were asked to discuss our jobs. Everyone was at first surprised, then very interested, when I said I work for a horse stud – not being a lawyer, engineer or project manager like the rest of my 40 classmates, it was rather exotic, especially for a 30 year old female. At first the questions they asked seemed innocent enough, but then things got a bit heated. ‘What do you do with the slow horses?’ ‘How long do you think until thoroughbred horse racing is banned like greyhound racing?’ ‘ How many horses die racing each year?’ At first I was annoyed, so I went on the defensive. I couldn’t understand their ignorance. But their questions stemmed from genuine perplexity about why I would work in such a “controversial, antiquated industry”. My classmates, comprised of a well-educated, gender and culturally diverse mix of under-35’s, simply had little to no knowledge of horse racing. When pressed on their reasons why, it was because they had limited interaction with the sport; it rarely hit their radar. When it did, the content was so negative they didn’t like what they saw. Their perception of horse racing was that it either challenged their moral compass on social issues, or they thought it was outdated: a sport for old men in dingy pubs. I left that class rather dejected, but still hopeful that perhaps my classmates were not representative of the typical young Australian. So I went on a fact-finding mission. First stop iSentia, a media monitoring company who have detailed access to traditional and social media content. iSentia completed an analysis to determine the attitude of young Australians toward horse racing, during the 2016 Spring Carnival when maximum attention was on the sport. iSentia found that Australia’s horse racing industry is in perception crisis and its future is under threat. We’re losing our audience. Our supporter base is getting older every year, and the number of Australians who percieve racing negatively is increasing. Young Australians – up to 35 years old – either have no opinion about the sport, or if they do, it’s more likely to be negative than positive. A lot of their concerns relate to animal welfare. Despite being the biggest Facebook users, 18 to 34 year olds were the least engaged least on horse racing topics. 47.5% of horse racing social media content during the period was unfavourable in tone, while 28.7% was favourable and 23.8% neutral. In total there were 248,000 mentions of horse racing in association with animal cruelty. Users aged 18–24 had the highest proportion of interactions on negative posts about animal cruelty. When Roy Morgan Research published its annual analysis of Melbourne Cup viewership and wagering, the findings were equally concerning: The Melbourne Cup audience has declined by 39%, almost 1 million Australians, over the last decade. Ten years ago, one in four Australians placed a bet on the cup; today it is one in six. Audience age of the Melbourne Cup flipped from majority under 50 in 2006 to a majority over 50 in 2016. Fewer than one-quarter (22%) of 14 – 49 year olds are ‘occasional’ Cup viewers, down from more than one-third (34%) in 2006. Finally, a scan of NUVI Social Media Intelligence metrics revealed that in January 2017 alone, there were more than 9,495 negative mentions online in association with horse racing. The horse racing industry hasn’t changed much over the years – if anything it has become better regulated, and there have been positive animal welfare initiatives of late. For example, Racing NSW and Racing Victoria have been proactive in their rehoming initatives, dedicating significant resources to addressing this issue. But positive efforts like these aren’t shared with the right audiences beyond the industry choir. Expectations of society have changed, whether we choose to accept that or not, it will guide our future progress. Social media is killing us. iSentia found that as an industry, we’re good at ensuring messages are favourable (or at least neutral) when they’re promoted through traditional media outlets such as newspapers, television and radio, because historically we have been able to control the narrative. The problem is that traditional media coverage does not reach young Australians, who are unlikely to engage with it, and are sceptical about any messaging from it. Young people are most active on social media, where content is often inflammatory and not scrutinised for factual accuracy. It’s where animal welfare groups recruit ambassadors for their cause through emotionally shocking material and largely fabricated statistics. It’s a given that our industry will be vulnerable to criticism from certain sectors of the population. We’re unlikely to convert animal rights activists into race-goers, punters or owners. But there are 10 million Australians who feel neutral about the industry – we just need to give them the right information to become supporters. Those who have a strong positive opinion of horse racing can influence their own social media communities if they’re given the right tools and information. We need a new plan. The horse racing industry needs to show Australians how wonderful it is. Tell the stories of the horses, and the people who dedicate their lives lovingly tending to them. Share accurate statistics on thoroughbreds being rehomed post racing. Show the farms where the horses are raised, the high level of care and attention they are given, and explain the regulation and integrity processes that protect them. Teach people about the incredible biomechanics of the thoroughbred and how they are trained like high performance athletes. Our goal should be to give those who are indifferent to horse racing a reason to care, and to respond well to positive messages about the sport. Negative messages are currently dominating the discussion – especially where it occurs online. We need to work together as an industry to create a shared vision that will safeguard the future of horse racing. We must achieve nothing less than a radical shift in the perception of horse racing in modern society, and we must focus our efforts on young Australians. If you work in the racing industry and feel as I do about the horses, the racing community and the sport, then you are sick of defending racing against fabricated statistics and slanderous innuendo. It's time we did something proactive about it. Vicky Leonard

Belinda Middlewood......i am sure Chris would not be where he is today without her amazing efforts. She has done a fantastic job in my opinion.