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Today was a shining light the total opposite to what we’d get on a mundane artificial surface with the same trainers and horses going around and around.

Thats not very charitable Portfolio. Cubes can have his horses wherever he wants. The man who does the paying does the saying. Good luck with your horses Cubes. I hope the next one is a dead set champion whoever trains it. Clearly you have a sense of humour and I would love to see you at Reefton one day.

lol. but weight Theirs more

The Abuse of Perception Part 1 By Dick Ciampa I love greyhounds and support adoption of retired racers. I donate to adoption groups and toward hauls to move adoption-bound greyhounds where ever they need to go. I am a racing greyhound owner, and there are many, in fact most, who are just like me. We make sure our hounds are well cared for from birth to adoption. Not long ago it looked like a failed adoption might go bad. When the racing kennel owner heard about the problem they moved heaven and earth to arrange to get the dog safely back. Ultimately the situation was resolved by the adoption group, but that owner knew, remembered, and cared deeply about the welfare of that hound. This kind of caring isn’t very newsworthy because it reflects the norm. Good news doesn’t sell. Does any of this surprise you? Then you may know less about racing greyhound owners and caregivers than you think. What we think we know depends on the sources we depend on for information. Who do you depend on? If you are skeptical regarding what I’ve just said, your source is probably an organization with a strong anti-racing stance, like Grey2K. In spite of your skepticism, if you have an open mind, consider some of the following things. Contrary to the perception carefully cultivated by self-interested fundraising campaigns, cases of wrongdoing are the exception. None are more outraged in such situations than those in the racing community itself. When a problem arises, those who discover it work with the proper authorities to ensure the situation is dealt with. We do not simply lament the issue on the Internet, nor do we characterize an exception as the general rule. We take constructive action. Since its inception 14 years ago, how many complaints has Grey2K, who constantly alleges abuse in their fundraising materials, filed with an animal control agency or with the National Greyhound Association? Ask them for a specific number. If Grey2K is outraged by alleged mistreatment they claim to have observed, why haven’t they vigorously pursued it? After all, their organization’s president is a lawyer whose salary, along with her executive director husband’s is paid by donations from people who want to help greyhounds. Have you ever considered why greyhounds in photos that appear in Grey2K material show little expression? Perhaps it is because they take advantage of how doe-eyed relaxed hounds look, or the sleepiness of a new greyhound mom. Why are there no photos, among the many available, of pups being hugged and kissed by their owners, and held close by their children and grandchildren? Of pups growing strong, running and playing with their littermates, sharing common food bowls, jumping for joy when someone passes by? Where are the photos of racers being massaged by their caregivers, being fed treats, and cuddled in their crates; photos of caregivers in tears when their hounds leave the kennel for another track or for a new life in adoption? Those photos do not appear because they don’t work well with the endlessly repeated messages of greed and mistreatment that work so well in raising funds. As a community we care about the welfare of animals, especially those we readily identify with, like the magnificent greyhounds so many of us have in our homes. The emotional bond that makes us to want to help a creature in distress leaves us vulnerable to impulse and manipulation by fundraising organizations. With emotions at the forefront, it is easy to discard the idea that we should do a little fact checking. Most people do research before making a purchase or investment. Have you done any independent research about the lives of racing greyhounds, beyond what you are told by self-interested organizations with a Donate button on almost every website page? Is the anti-racing organization you support confident enough to suggest you do some research of your own before sending them money? It isn’t hard to do. Visit a farm or racing kennel. If you don’t want to go on your own, contact an adoption group that organizes visits, or can refer you to fact-based resources. Contrary to what you may believe, there are many adoption groups who work collaboratively with farms and kennels, and know first-hand how their hounds are treated. If you can, visit a track, watch the post parade and see for yourself the magnificent condition of the greyhounds, then feel the exhilaration of watching them race for the lure. See the wagging tails at the end of the race, as the lead-outs come to collect them. Eric Jackson, who is on the Grey2K Board of Directors, and indicated he had never been on a farm, was invited to visit one. The closest farm to him was a couple hundred miles away. He said it was too far to travel; however, he travelled from New Mexico to Florida for a Grey2K meeting. I don’t know about you, but that leaves me shaking my head. What those who take the trouble to learn will discover, is that people involved in racing are passionate, and driven by respect, admiration and love for their dogs. Contrary to the greed-motivated portrayal of organizations like Grey2K, racing greyhounds are not a primary source of income for most owners, and in fact for many it is a money losing hobby. Greyhound owners are as diverse as the folks reading this article. They are parents and grandparents, many are veterans, and they have jobs in all walks of life. Many adopters discover their hound’s racing owner is thrilled to receive news of their retirees and happy to share information about their earlier lives. Friendships have formed starting with a simple enquiry, or a shared photo. Before you condemn a group of people you don’t really know, please do a little research of your own. As a greyhound owner, I urge you to, I want you to. Does the organization you are relying on for information ask you to do the same? If not, doesn’t it beg the question, why not?

Remember it’s not a level playing field top end yards get the 100 k plus horses and the rest of us make do with lower end horses in dollar terms . Smaller stables have just as much commitment and horsemanship but are at a disadvantage with the quality of horse that first arrives if your talking numbers.Great game as one out of the box can turn up in any stable no matter the breeding or price it was purchased for.Hoping you get one Cubes you deserve it .

I have had one of those weekends that has me seriously considering giving up the punt... ...until the next meeting of course!!

I guess it depends on the quality of horse the trainers get. Big trainers attract big owners, overseas owners & studs who want to have their stock purchased by the bigger trainers. Smaller trainers are often more reliant on breeders wanting to race their progeny and horses that they have purchased, normally on a small budget. Hats off for the small trainers that stick with the game waiting for that good horse to show up.

Your a tough judge. Laz has won NZ cup,intercom final plus a few bits and pieces in between. It's a horse thats been in work for a long time racing the best not a machine.

Long live the country circuit.taking racing to the people .

Spare a thought for the owners of Zacada. His jockey said, and I kid you not, "they went too slow so I only came eighth." That is the sort of logic that would make her a brilliant cost accountant for Fletcher Building.

It is good that Trackside provides the pedigrees of horses winning feature races. However, It would be great if they delved thoroughly into the pedigrees rather than just giving the Sire and Dam of the winning horse. For example after yesterday's Avondale Guineas if they had researched more fully they would have seen that the grand dam of On The Rocks is Refused The Dance who is the Dam of VRC Derby and Melbourne Cup winner, Efficient. I used to enjoy Alexander Fields how he did his home work on breeding and used to go into the pedigrees of well bred horses prior to races..

Rich Billy Marsh always goes out in front, but usually 6/8 lengths,and those jockeys letting her go out by the margin she did, in a 1200m race, should have been hauled over the coals. Bloody ridiculous especially seeing she was in form,ran second last start. The Stipes not doing their job. Would have been a different story in Aust.

Jesus that post above was hard work.....Fraser Auret would have one of the best strike rates in the Country.

He was a lovely colt but from memory was very big, much like UM. Most of the money comes for those that have the page and type to make natural 2yos. We are young (ish) owners but decided against buying any at the sales this year. Main reasons - we don't feel there's a level playing field for all participants and a number of key administrators appear more interested in furthering their own interests than doing what's best for the future of the game. We'll focus on current horses and watch on with interest, but there will need to be changes before we buy or breed again. Hard to bring friends on the journey in the current environment - they think we're mad and probably right!

Quality horses too, as some “hot shots” didn’t “blouse” them as was expected. In fact the majority failed to win! The surface looked fantastic and the crowd was something special. I say give the club back their “Spring” day too.

That must be the opposite to Race 2 when the rest of the jockeys must have said "Rich Billy Marsh went too fast, so we let her go to a 15 length lead and win by 2 lengths". Didn't even rate a mention in the stipe's report.

What a fantastic track gisbone is. Running thru the grapevines !!

Cubes doesn't know the Pitmeister very well at all ( we don't think he knows who Cubity is ) . The Cube stable is trained by others at Riccarton But in our limited dealings as a sponsor and CJC member we have always found him to be friendly , knowledgeable and engaging Apart from that , as a trainer who has won the South Island Premership about a million times and the National premiership as well , and trained in excess of 1000 winners , he has Cubinators respect

The Three Year Old Mile (1 Million) is a step forward. Personally I think that they should drop the two year old race and increase the Three Year Old one to 2 Million then watch the Aussies come over! The reason I would like the 2 Year Old one gone is that it is encouraging the inclusion of too many Australian Breed 2 Year Olds in the Sale and it’s not doing anything for the development of NZ breds trying to participate competitively.

Despite the fact she's a 7 year old her owner and trainer still consider her a professional racehorse so why, if they feel she's sound and fresh enough, should she not line up with a 7-10 day gap between races? It's usually a couple of weeks anyway.Agreed she would have been tired after her last race but she made a race of it and earned a bloody sight more than those who finished behind her. Give her three days off, trot her for half an hour the next two, breeze her up over 600 metres on Thursday and if you feel she's fresh and ready to go then line her up. Only the owner and trainer can make that call. Compare her situation with that of a managed syndicate who think their horse is actually better than what is is. $4,500 or more a month in training fees for six months and having just four starts before it';s eased and set for a bigger target which it might or might not be capable of.I have no connections with the horse at all but I think Cindy has a lot going for her and by her honesty alone must be a great source of pleasure to her owner. Racing needs more people how are prepared to actually "race" their horses.

Ignore him I Man, he has an obvious issue with AS team given how much he posts about them.

Dillo is correct on one thing - he echoed what I wrote here (almost word for word) re the first 5 home in the Avondale Guineas ! Shows he reads Racecafe!

Fraser would be one of the most articulate, well presented and talented trainers in the country, strike rate very impressive......would be a great success across the ditch....and doesn't cry at the drop of a hat.....so Aussies would welcome him, no worries mate!

314-909-1666 Call Today! Home FAST About USCSM Platelet Rich Plasma In the Media Blog Patient Forms Case Manager Contact Us Is Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy Blood Doping? June 6, 2011 By now you’ve probably heard of the experimental treatment known as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy used on ligament, muscle and tendon tears. It was made famous by both Tiger Woods and Super Bowl wide receiver Hines Ward when they both received PRP injections that supposedly allowed them to recover from injuries quickly and perform in top shape. As you can imagine, it’s creating quite a stir in the sports medicine community. That’s not surprising. Anytime a new treatment is used–and it’s extremely successful–people are suspicious and want to know if it’s legal. In fact, one of the most asked questions that I receive is this: “Is platelet rich plasma blood doping?” The short answer is no, it’s not blood doping. Let me explain. The Difference between PRP Therapy and Blood Doping True blood doping occurs when an athlete has some of his blood removed, waits for a period of time so that his body will restore that lost blood and then injecting the drawn blood back into his body. The benefit is a boost in oxygen-rich blood. Blood doping is illegal. PRP therapy, on the other hand, occurs within the time it takes a doctor to draw blood, spin down that blood in a centrifuge so the growth factors and the platelets are concentrated into a serum and then injecting that serum back into the injured area of the athlete’s body. And not only is this treatment completely legal but PRP therapy is one of the best ways to heal sports injuries without resorting to traditional methods like cortisone injections and surgery and the side-effects and long-term recovery periods these treatments demand. Want to know more about the benefits of PRP therapy and how they can heal your sports injury? Either give us a call or visit our office in St. Louis. We look forward to hearing from you.

Let’s make this clear right now: platelet-rich plasma therapy is not blood doping. In fact, PRP therapy, as it’s commonly called, is actually a safe and legal method to increase therecovery time from your sports injury. What does that mean to you, the athlete who’s injured? It means you can return to a superior performing condition a lot faster than you could if you opted to have the injured area operated on. In fact, PRP therapy is quickly becoming the gold standard for treating tendinitis, whether in the knee, shoulder or elbow.

Seems very similar to someone who was here before as someone else.....

Why is it at least once a week someone interested in Harness Racing has a bitch against the TAB. Today (Sunday) there are 9 (Nine) Dog meetings in Aussie covered yet only 2 (Two) Harness Meetings? They are not offering coverage of the meeting at Bathurst supposedly because there is no coverage from Sky - so bloody what! How often have we heard "this is a No TV coverage race" so that excuse doesn't wash. Surely people in NZ would be more interested in day harness in Bathurst than poopers in Darwin! Oh well, off for a coffee at the local Cafe - at least I can afford that!

That is what someone( I am not saying who) who would know told M Pitman at the time. I hope Michael does not mind me repeating the story. Bearing in mind that that deal was done before Kawi was even born. El Chico - a great success story for some of my favourite people in racing - John and Evelyn(who sadly passed away last year) Carran and MR Pitman.

I agree that the jury is still out as to whether Lazarus is as good a miler as he is a stayer (that would make him the best pacer of all time, without doubt!), but I'm not sure I'd use Sat night's 1.51.5 as an indicator. After all, he ran almost that fast for his *last* mile in the Hunter Cup. On Sat, he couldn't even keep up on a 29 second quarter down the back straight --- he clearly wasn't right.

Agreed , of course there are Aussie owners as part of the stable and Mark being the master horseman will look to place the horses to the benefit of the Owners. Last night Messini and Motu Meteor finished 1 and 2 in the A$30k Terang Cup ! I remember being in the Met Club synd about 10 years ago when MP trained a good horse called Texas Hold Em who had paid his way in 3 and 4 yr old season ,winning about 7 races and $90 k in stakes ,running in Group races and running places behind Auckland Reactor and co.I thought him a good horse. I remember Mark telling the manager during 4 yr old season........" I think you should sell THE ,I have 6 better 4 yr olds in my stable ! " And this was the time when S.Reid , G.Small , Tim Butt etc had some very good horses as well. We ignored his advice , the horse did have a setback but 2 x seasons later he won, i think only one minor race and about $14k and no resale from memory. He assesses horses ability and if a horse is limited it gives up its stable /box to one who may earn ,no matter who the owner.It's a business there is only so much room so fair enough. Some lesser trainers naturally enough string the owners along with positive reports even though the horse has little hope at winning a race let alone to pay its way !

Hi Rees, I will be there, so look forward to meeting you. Cheers. Robert.

Maybe it’s the cattle he’s sending his trainer ?

Not trying to offend cubes, don’t know him but seems a good bloke. But just saying, sometimes owners keep loyal a little longer than they should.

Just learning from you

Bizzare post IMHO

Your a loyal man cubes. Must admit, I think after the limited success you have had, I would have tried a different stable a long time ago.

Average day yesterday - 1 from 2. Endowment duly obliged by over-racing but Zacada over-raced even worse in the earlier race. Two today at Gisborne: R2 - Ellison paying $1.48 to finish ahead of Madam Makfi. Wouldn't normally take one this short but the trainer matchup sealed it for me. Madam Makfi has had 19 starts and has only finished within 5 lengths of the winner on 2 or 3 occasions. Needs a heavy track to bring the others back to it, and hasn't got that today. Admittedly Ellison hasn't finished within 5 lengths of the winner either but has a lot less convictions and went a reasonable trial before its last start when it ran down the track on that skating rink at Thames. R5 Bel Regazzo paying $1.85 to finish ahead of Pont Alma. Very nice run two starts back and then a nice finish last start when second up - looks like it won't mind 2000m. Pont Alma hasn't raced for over 4 weeks and might be better for the run today.

Alot of the Allstars horses are tried and then shipped to Aus if not up to top tier NZ rscing.Most of the time still under same ownership. This is successful for the owners as winning 10 races and 60k in Aussie much easier than in NZ. Couple weeks ago at Geelong there were 9 ex Purdonn horses racing same night

TAB Futures Win market is a joke. Scott Base and Danzdanzdance both at $4.50; On The Rocks and Vin De Dance at $6.50. You'll get very close to, or better than, those prices on the day of the race and you're not taking the risk that something goes wrong beforehand.

Haha yeah Hesi it was rather large but I’m at the hotel not hospital or jail well done Al. Avondale Wednesday. We will sort one each and I’ll put bet on, copy you ticket and post selection in on this thread. Thanks all for having a crack.

I agree Iraklis,all the information was out there and were cleared by vet,so i have no problems with them starting. In hindsight maybe they shouldnt have started,but easy to say now

MapleH, keep your ugliness to yourself!...... Oh dear, twas shit night at the office for AllStars, still two 3rds and a 4th was summit I spose.....FlagU, understand your sentiments re horses welfare but AllStars posted on their website early yesterday that they had been battlin with an illness issue in aus stable, however horses were cleared to run by vets, as for punters they choose to bet...... cheers Iraklis

What a load of tripe... some of the biggest load of bollocks seen for a while...keep pushing your Aussie agenda.

Good to see Tiger Tara get a big one. Took quad on crownbet, paid $7905, had a good slice. Tab div $1800?? Thank god I opened up overseas accounts a few years back

Thanks i used to ride him work when Noel trained him..i lelt to go overseas before he raced..often wonder how he turned out..In fact he was a handful and was gelded. .Stref Christmas i think broke him in..No won in the stable wanted to ride him (Jake) so Noel asked me one morning if i would like to "have a go"...me a seaman taking time off only being riding track work for a few months and i was about to be untrusted with this half brothr to Golden Defoe. .any how we clicked and he became my best friend. .it was a difficult day that i walked out on him..I do no that Wayne who worked for Noel was chosen to ride him next morning and he didn't like him one bit and dropped him..so i gathered he must have missed me like i did him.. Thanks so much for the info.. Kindest Regards Graham Pascoe

I made my point , hard to knock Mr Pitman he’s got a fine record and is a bloody good guy even taking the time to reply personally to insignificants. Rare in this game , and in one of very few sports where the fans are not treated with the respect they deserve given their patronage and financial input to their own detriment in majority of cases . Grandstand critics, couch jockeys are a necessary evil unfortunately and there’s always someone somewhere grumbling about a ride .Respect where it’s due in a tough sport but come on scoob give those on the outside there little gripe from time to time we need to vent

You are a complete nutcase. You should be certified insane and locked up. Now I have intimated that I suspect you are a " bot". I may have erred on that presumption in light of some of the replies. Nevertheless, I have come to the conclusion you have problems associated with the mind. Aquaman has disappeared miraculously, and you have taken over the mantle of " soothsayer ". Albeit a somewhat indoctrinated /deluded "soothsayer " You still don't get it , do you.

Did this encroach on your NN ?

As a breeder of what is a middle distance to staying types. My lad by Zed is up to his 4th preparation... people that are at the track keep asking me when are you going to gallop him? My answer to them is he will show us when he is ready to step up. They answer with how old is he now and i reply with 3.... and hes the type of breed you dont rush, even thou he looks strong hes still got the baby thing going on. This 4th prep we may even gallop and get to the trials... who knows Why do people think they have to gallop a young horse early? Do any of breeders / owners think the same way?

Ha Credible! I have given you two the best possible information available(historic in fact) and you haven't had the decency to even read it let alone comment on the situation. Go watch Hannity ...at least he has been proven correct. Look back on old posts....You, Bloke and Ohoka are so far off the mark that a big shock is heading your way.