Cunnamulla

Not long after that Pakenham sandwich confrontation Crafty Cruiser won for him at Moonee Valley. He was much happier when he was presented with a full plate

Great choice of music there. The Killers are my favourite band, and Mr Brightside, on that album, is my favourite song ever. For that reason alone I hope the horse does well.

She's just another attention-seeking wannabe. Present on Trackside, date/marry a high-profile jockey, infiltrate TV rugby coverage. If she played in a netball team as a kid she would have wanted to be the captain, shoot all the goals, and take the ball home after the game. It's all about me, me, me ....

It looks like Hastings is making a big attempt to get rid of the few on-course patrons they have left. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11896962 What a lovely day at the track that will be. It sounds like they are going to having 'smoking nazis' roaming the course ejecting anyone who dares to light up. Maybe during Heart Foundation week they will ban the eating of pies on course. Oh no, on second thoughts that won't happen, Castles wouldn't make it through the day.

Hope you backed it boys ... won and paid $8.

The TAB formline comments are sadly lacking in accuracy. A prime example today at Canterbury. Race 1- Manicure, the TAB formline says "8th inner, plugged straight" whereas the replay actually shows the horse badly checked at the 200m, and it goes to the line under a big hold. Talk about misleading, better off having no comments rather than misleading ones !

The TAB's Australian form is a total let-down. Much of the time, out of a horse's last three starts, only one, or even none, of them will have a commentary. It's totally random. It's like the formline guy covers just the odd meeting here and there when he feels like it. It needs consistency.

I heard that call, the guy had Hugh Robinson's mobile number and email address and wanted to give it out on air so everyone could contact him directly to complain. You could almost hear Coppins choking while he thought up a reason not to give the details out. The caller had already complained to Robinson about breeding being omitted from form guides but got fobbed off. Then Coppins reveals he knows Robinson well, and that he's a really good guy. Predictably Coppins refused to put the contact details to air. Talk about protecting your mates !

Why doesn't Sarah Moody just shut up and be thankful her husband got off so lightly. She should grow up and act her age rather than acting like a spoiled teenage brat on social media. Didn't she once also attack Danny O'Brien on social media? She has a history of it.

This rorting of owners has been happening in New Zealand for years and years as well. It was even happening when I was working in the industry 20 years ago. Funny how in horse racing circles it's never seen for exactly what it is - a legitimate crime. If someone ripped off WINZ to the tune of $60,000 there would be a criminal conviction and the culprit would get a jail term. Maybe in the racing industry, because of the easy-come-easy-go nature of money, it waters down the seriousness, which of course is wrong.

Exactly! ... well said. That idea would be far too honest and simple for the TAB. They prefer more conniving and devious ideas. No wonder there is widespread mistrust in them

Interesting ... I think I know the guy you mean, he is/was operating on the North Shore. You could even expand that TAB-less Grey Lynn/Ponsonby area further west to include Avondale/Pt Chev/Mt Albert. They closed the Avondale TAB a couple of years ago, probably because the lease ran out, but never bothered opening another one.

You are absolutely right ... it is nothing more than legalised theft. The people betting into a particular pool deserve to be paid that money back, minus TAB deductions, no matter what the result. The TAB is a supposed to be a vehicle to place your bets, not to hold your money against your will and do what they like with it. It is simple to put a count-back system in place. The customers betting into a pool should be competing against each other to win that pool, not having to worry if it's all going to be taken away by the TAB.

Thanks What A Post, nice story by Bartley. He's one of the few who are willing to tell it how it is. The fourth paragraph made me chuckle - "For the third time this week Moody threatened to resign from racing .... by Thursday night he may be looking at a convenience store in Papua New Guinea."

Moody lost the plot in that interview. He stated that the stewards thought he was a cheat, but they couldn't prove it, so therefore they weren't doing their job properly, and it should be the stewards who are sacked and walk away from racing. That's the most irrational piece of bullshit I've heard in a long time.