Pam Robson

Very interesting. Thanks.

Er....you go first.

I have to hope that Entain realise - if they haven't already - what a lame duck they are supporting. Increased funding is great for we stakeholders, we are lucky to have the chance to run for real money...but this continued ineptitude has to be pulled into line.

Seems so. Hard to fathom.

It's correct.

Very nice area, and going ahead in leaps and bounds

In short - improve programming/date structure, fix tracks, and upgrade jockey standards. Has been thrashed around here and elsewhere, but all the money currently thrown around [ and it is great for the beleaguered owner/trainer, make no mistake about that ] as the headpost states, isn't stopping nice horses being sold offshore. Also mentioned here and elsewhere, throwing money at a flawed business model isn't overly clever.

Can do. But very much an individual matter, horses are not peas in a pod. Some may not be able to perform at their best above a certain impost, others don't seem to be fazed at all. There's no doubt that the weights allocated and carried decades ago did matter...but that's when handicaps were, well, handicaps.

They show no inclination to fix the system because they don't think it needs fixing. Wasn't so long ago there was a handicapping review where weights - in certain circumstances - were compressed even further.

I have to wade into this discussion, but NOT from a betting perspective. Barriers definitely make a difference from the horse's point of view. Some horses dislike being in tight quarters, and for them, an inside draw is a disadvantage. Others can't manage to sit wide and do extra work, so outside draws don't suit at all. Just depends.

Entain will need to shake up more than stakemoney for that to happen .

Was a really good idea, scuttling Gisborne/Wairoa in favour of Hastings.

When we had the four day NZ Cup meeting?

Good to hear. Tough lady.

No, nor me.

Not her. I checked already!

Tony doesn't have a S.I base....not yet anyway

The lot 5 filly is listed as Pike/Canterbury. How does that work?

Words don't fail me, often...

I feel that vendors were possibly more realistic in their expectations under the older format of Premier, Select and Festival. Lower offers, although disappointing for breeders, were expected in Festival at least. Many of the offerings I saw yesterday would have been more realistically sold on Gavelhouse, at a fraction of the preparation costs. Surprising, as said, to see Ribchester seemingly not wanted.

There doesn't have to be a legitimate slip to abandon Reefton.

They've kept the Guineas

It just gets worse.

They do realise. Thats why Kylie, Tina and Sam get asked to come up.

Used to be done almost to prescription before racing/travelling. Some still do it regularly, and most have a pre-race veterinary treatment regime routinely. Quite a few years ago I asked my vet to come and saline a traveller before heading to [ I think ] Dunedin. He was a personal friend as well as our practitioner at the time. I'll do it, he said, if that's what you want. But your horse has normal electrolyte levels as evidenced by his recent blood test. If salined, he will then have to excrete it, as he doesn't need it. You can't be better than normal, he explained, grinning. They don't have a reservoir for excess fluid/electrolytes just in case! But, of course, administering these pre-race preparations mean a good and consistent income for vets. They aren't going to refuse the work. But it must add enormous cost overall for the owners. Before someone jumps on me, I'm not anti-vet. Not at all. I trained briefly with that career in mind, but life takes turns that aren't always anticipated so I do what I do, with very moderate success, but love it nonetheless. Administering a drench post-race is much more sensible, to help the animal re-hydrate after racing and travelling. Or just do a Myers and toss them in a grass paddock for a few days. They'll re-balance themselves.