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I see Sky TV annouces the loss of another 57000 customers this past 12 months, so this will no doubt be another big chunk of viewers not viewing trackside. Maybe it is tme the racing board/Tab took it back over again and while doing so go back to the old format or at least have one channel soley for NZ races. I certainly dont watch it as much as I used to as I am not particularly interested in aussie racing and cannot abide the cutting short of NZ coverage to watch some obscure race in the back blocks of never never land.

I'm a small time player in this game, I punt, I breed , I race , I'm involved in the local club ,a member of some associations,I go on the Stallion Parades, I buy the odd horse, I look forward to the summer race days , it's a huge part of my life and has been for decades. I'm worried there are several persons in the sport just like me. Well I'm totally disillusioned with it dumbfounded by the lack of respect for the persons like my self who have been kicked to the pavement with very little regard. I'm told not to worry as the racing game will replace me with the 18-40yo syndicate crowd and it will be the better for it. I'd like to be out of the game tomorrow if this all proceeds , now in the greater scheme of things I don't matter and the racing industry won't be impacted by losing me, but I wonder if there are 50 to 100 or 200 persons across the country out there just like me who feel the same way if that's the case I don't think racing will recover without its hardcore. The manner in which the changes have been suggested feels like waking up one morning and finding out your lover isn't the person you thought they were.

You are a tough bugger and will come out a winner as you always do...all the best in your upcoming operation and recovery, good luck saturday hope she slays them for you.Thanks for putting this out there we all should be aware of this...health and family are the most important things in life.

How ever the final complete story ends out, racing's administration must fire those responsible for the Te Rapa debacle. As I understand it, this is the situation. As Elerslie was under reconstruction, some of the iconic races were to be run at Te Rapa. In an attempt to improve the Te Rapa track surface, advice was given to apply sand to the track. This begs the question as to who was involved in that consultation process because this is actually where the responsibility chain starts. My understanding is that there was an attempt to improve the track surface not that long ago so why was this latest action necessary? The decision was to sand slit. This is where slits are cut into the track and sand would be placed into the slits. The theory of this technique is that the sand in the slits drains the water through the slits much quicker as theoretically the water drains through the soil profile and into the nova flow drainage under the track. What of course they don't understand is if you don't do analysis of the soil type and grass types with the rooting profile, the slitting may in fact destroy the stability of the surface and the kick back can be like a Sahara sand storm. But when you've got mediocre management, from the top down, the best thing you could do to prove your mediocraty is have no one at the track to see the sand arrive, which means no-one was there to check the quality and type of sand (dimensions), and the sand was dumped at a spot that wasn't specified. The sand was spread. It was of poor quality. It's specifications weren't checked, it was spread incorrectly. The outcome.....all the drains got blocked, a sink hole appeared in the track and a lake that is the next "Noosa" of the Waikato formed that has got the ducks changing their winter plans. I have been told that the track may not be used for the next 6 months.What the cost to the industry/ jobs/ contracts/ sponsorship's? Put this together with the debacle of 6 months ago during summer, when on a major race day, the food and beverage ran out (which was substandard in the first place) and that the track has been progressively degraded during the reign of both the current chairman and CEO (who hides in his office during race days) and you've got the targets for the "You're Fired Stakes". If any member of the NZTR were involved in this debacle, then they should also be in the noms for the same race. Grow some balls leaders. This is simply not acceptable in terms of incompetence and mis management. Heads must Roll

The more I read this the more I realize Massarra hasn’t an original idea in his head...rather he’s done a lap of the country listening to the fuckwits who’ve already driven the industry into the ground and then amalgamated their useless ideas and produced this pile of shite. Hard to understand why he’d listen to those who’ve already fucked the industry up, I’d have started with some visionary thinking myself.

Thefixer surely has to be the omen bet for the cup this year. Too soon?!

Ok, let's get your attention. Gaol Time.......yes, I'm not kidding, if we are at all serious about the Messara Report then surely after reading and hearing about the figures being bandied about, eg, the value placed on NZ TAB by relative parties, compared to the value placed on it by TAB CORP....we need to look firstly at the years gone by, the massive losses the TAB has gone through, the massive, out of control costs incurred by NZRB/NZTR, and the misleading, inaccurate and fanciful forward projections released by NZTR/NZRB since 2011. Surely, there needs to be a forensic investigation into how the budgets were audited/approved/released. These were based on what? Who signed off on these figures? and what accounting firm put their names to the audit sheets? ....if any? Who in fact authorised the loan, the borrowing against cash reserves? The magic word here is who.....you see it leads to accountability! So far we have had no resignations, surely under the NZ companies and associations statute you have a compliance code? surely? I as a business owner cannot release to the public a knowingly misleading document relating to my business and it's future path, not it's solvency, to that I have to have my auditors sign off and authenticate my statements. By it's very actions, NZRB has placed it's support behind Mr Messara and Mr Peters, Mr Jackson has agreed to the recommendations, therefore the public/stakeholders have every right to know how we ended up at this point and who took it there. Was it taken there through incompetence or something else, poor investments, poor advice, mismanagement or another scenario? To move forward Mr Peters as the Racing Minister needs to show leadership, he has so far, but by calling the management of NZRB/NZTR to account is the ultimate commitment to our industry and the image New Zealand portrays on the international stage. On social media many are asking, what can we do, especially those within the industry itself, the answer is as clear as the nose on your face, disenfranchised stake/stockholders bring no confidence motions in the board/s......the ball is in your court. In closing I would like to say, I have after 30 years closed my international/Global marketing company, I would have liked to have supported my trainers in New Zealand for years to come, as an owner/breeder I am disgusted by the behaviour and denial by many involved and this effects my decisions moving forward re my future with New Zealand racing. Of course should Mr Peters and the people he empowers to oversee the re-building of NZRB bring those responsible to account, publicly and transparently I will reconsider my future. If you don't understand your past, and how we got to this point, then you cannot plan for your future! I hope those of you that can see past all this get your just rewards, and those of us at the twilight of our lives live to see another thriving New Zealand racing industry. La Zip.

My sentiments as well Huey. You feel totally shafted and the players that could benefit directly from our demise don’t give a rats arse.I am getting tired of these guys in the media saying it’s for the good of racing etc and those saying it aren’t affected aye Mr Coppins maybe if it was your course a different tune might be sung. I like many work an outside business and pump thousands into the industry so I’m another that would walk away if this pipe dream is put into action . I’m waiting for all the small clubs to have their meetings I’d expect a huge backlash forthcoming . It’s so disbelieving to think in NZ a plan to seize land and assets could even be thought about never mind acted upon.When is the Trainers Association going to stick up for ALL their members?

I'd be very surprised if any of the tracks that are to be closed aren't financially self sustainable , so what they are saying is we can't keep those ones open because the way we have structured racing in NZ they need to be sold to keep the ones open that have had to have financial input into them to already stay open not to mention the best of dates etc.

Show me one single idea in that report that hasn’t already been suggested, debated, and proved to be impractical then. And while you’re there help me understand how outsourcing to Tabcorp ( you can only sell the family jewellery once ) can help NZ, we need to retain all our profits for NZ, not just be the recipient of some margins generated by a listed company that’s accountable to Australian shareholders. How about Trackside, do you seriously think any Ozzie scheduler or producer is going to prioritise NZ Racing over theirs ? You’re pulling yourself if you do.

Pity John Messara didn’t think outside the square and propose new revenue streams to boost stakes such as a levy on exported horses and a levy on stallion fees. Elite breeders/ sellers would be aghast but these measures have reaped millions in England and Europe.

Agree things need to change.But in his short period here he’s obviously not got the feel of the country. Why on earth would you close Wairoa and race 1 day further up the coast in Gisborne. If a country track is self sufficient and is an asset to the local community why would you close it down ?

Morning Peter, Scooby, Leigh I am back home resting after the triple bypass surgery. first photo is me the day 3 and last photo is discharge time. Thanks for all your messages of support. The next 4-6 weeks crucial for my recovery. Look forward this weekend's racing. Regards and good luck. Roland and Jennifer.

Can you check my score please Peter. I seem to be a long way off the pace, surrounded by some very average punters and others with known limitations seem to be ahead of me. Surely that can’t be correct

I had one of those moments when I read about Timaru being closed as a racing AND training facility as it had no infrastructure. It has a sand, plough, jumps area, and course proper and supported 300 horses a week in training back in racings hey day. It is also a great winter track which Canterbury and Otago/Southland trainers alike supported. Provided a jumping venue and a plan b for Riccarton at different times.........

There is no $200million though, unless stealing land from a community group and selling it to developers is a viable strategy. It's greenbelt land, so can't be developed. Maybe you can force through multiple law changes at local and central level to change that. It belongs to a club who say they are part of the racing industry and the West Auckland community. They have pledged that, if they are kicked out of the racing industry, they're going to give their assets to the West Auckland community. Maybe you can figure out a way to coerce/force them into changing their mind. Ellerslie has a far inferior surface, where horses can end up knee deep in old stormwater drains during the running of a race. It's also far more valuable to developers than Avondale. So sell Ellerslie, put in a plastic track at Avondale, run meetings on the plastic track every Tuesday morning and Friday night (or whenever else suits for simulcasting vision into export markets; part of the appeal of plastic tracks is you can have the same horses running on the same track every week, giving you consistent form and therefore good betting a la Hong Kong). Put in a Strathyr at Avondale too, and in addition to the 50 or 100 meetings a year on the plastic you can have 40+ meetings a year on an outstanding turf surface. Take the rest of the Ellerslie proceeds, plus some money from the Regional Fund, plus some transport funding from central government, plus the proceeds from selling Trentham, and put them all into building Transmission Gully, including a bullet train that gets you from Wellington to Levin in 15 minutes. Then build a massive new setup near Levin with a 50m wide grass track with a straight mile, plus a whole bunch of training facilities for dozens of trainers and thousands of horses, and another plastic track. There's another 50 or 100 plastic track meetings per year, plus another 40 or 50 on the turf. The government get affordable housing by moving half the population of Wellington out of the (earthquake-prone) city and to the new 350,000 population city of Levin. They also get to spend money on trains, which they like. Winston gets some massive legacy project he can point to for the rest of his life and say "I did that". The racing industry gets to centralise a large chunk of the horse population at a location with state of the art training and racing (and broadcasting) facilities. Owners get reduced costs, thanks to being able to have their horses both trained and raced at the megatrack at Levin (no more transport from Cambridge to Ruakaka). The industry as a whole get reduced costs that come from scale and centralisation. Do the same thing with the Waikato Greenfields idea; massive track, training facilities for thousands of horses, bullet train from Auckland, mass Kiwibuild housing. Also, levies on exported horses and stud fees, as well as on offshore bookies offering betting on NZ races, will bring in more revenue. These should be the absolute first moves taken, before any rationalisation. Ideally, NZTR would put a 5% levy on all stud fees before the breeding season starts tomorrow. Though NZTR moving quickly is probably the most pie in the sky idea in this whole post.

Well, nearly 150 posts and still no one has commented on the Elephant in the room..that being the City of Suits that have been amassed by NZTR and NZ Racing and the T.A.B. When will you all learn that these cling-ons are suffocating the industry's coffers. Clearly, Messara has not had this pointed out to him judging by the 17 point plan divulged last evening. Just another Mickey Mouse outfit that will result in NZ's racing devolving into Big Business's control..that's Australis not NZ's

Why on earth would you retain Kumara, Blenheim and Waikouaiti and close Timaru and Oamaru. This chap has been getting some weird advice from somewhere.

Fuck. Mandatory over riding of club’s constitutions !! Gifting club land to the industry .....!!!!! Empowering the codes....more power to NZTR.....oh dear, has he not read their history ? Disbanding the TABs or effectively handing their management to an international entity.....so you potentially lose 500 million t/o and 20 million revenue from pokies ( not a bad thing ). Opening the door now for all sports ( come in Steve Hansen ) to take all their own proceeds from gambling sales. Using the RDF in a metropolitan area...illegal.... Be careful what you wish for NZ, I know our industry is largely made up of intellectual lightweights but this document is full of traps that could hurt the industry. I’d be proceeding with considerable caution. My guess is that Messara has listened to a small group of disenchanted people and cobbled some fairly tired ideas together, and whilst I wouldn’t dismiss it until it’s implemented I’d be really nervous about embracing it in the form described above.

Pretty ironic that all those preaching centralisation etc it’s a country club run by volunteers that’s come to the rescue of two so called big clubs with fully payed staff and CEO s.

Pet or working dog question. While some will be questioning asking this question due to lack of qualification, it is relevant on more than one level. 1. Council dog registrations fees: These vary across the country and need to be standardised. Some councils charge per dog, others a flat kennel fee. The charges for any registered grey older than 3 months should be the same, raced, unraced, or retired. Example, dogs awaiting adoption after being deregistered are being charged higher fees by some councils. Dogs never named also incurring higher fees. Greyhounds do not cause issues for councils and that should be reflected in any fees charged. 2. When dogs, in general, were reclassified as sentient beings, we drew a raft of criticism from our detractors. The public with no knowledge of the sport jumped on the "all dogs" should be pets bandwagon. While greys can be pet capable and rehomed, they are for the first part of their lives working dogs. Some continue to work after race retirement. They need to be classified correctly and promoted as such. 3. There needs to be more public education around the life of a working grey. A grey doesn't care whether it sleeps in a warm dry kennel or on a couch. It just wants to sleep in a safe environment. The idea that a kennel environment is somehow detrimental is a fallacy and should be challenged at every opportunity. Our detractors will say that greys make fabulous pets, and they can, but the part we play in creating these wonderful pets is never promoted by our sport. That needs to change. 4. MPI animal welfare legislation. While we needed to overhaul our own rules and regulations, and have done so, some will argue that the new MPI regulations have not taken our specific needs into account. I'm not going to go further into this subject.

If i start paddle boarding now i should be there by 2019. Long way to go.Easily beatable.

Gofta thank you for your comments about my post on stallion levies. Since 1983 the European Breeders Fund have allocated over £100,000,000 to horse racing stakes. I suggest you do a bit of research on what actually works overseas and could be duplicated here albeit in a scaled down version. It is churlish of you to suggest that myself and others who want NZ Racing to flourish want to destroy racing and or breeding.

Point by point 1. We will take our most valuable asset, the TAB, and all its associated IP, and transfer control of it to the Australians, because we can trust them, and we’ve had a great run with Australians involvement in NZ Racing. 2. We’ll take what we don’t own, all the provincial tracks and associated real estate, and Auckland’s best racing track, Avondale, and we’ll just tear up their constitutions, tell the hard working members that their asset is now ours, turn those assets into cash because selling the family silver always works, then we’ll give the cash to the thoroughbred code to use at their will because they’ve been very successful running the code to date. 3. We’ll empower Alan Jackson and his team to determine our future because Alan Jackson has done so many amazing things since he’s been involved in NZ Racing politics over the last 12+ years. 4. We will hand over all our scheduling rights and media control to the Australians because we know they’d never relegate a decent group race from NZ behind an insignificant event from Toowoomba, nor would they abbreviate our lead in time to our big races, and they’d never never cut away from a post race human interest interview to another camel race from Ayers Rock. 5. We’ll bend over and part our cheeks for the big breeders because they’ve done such a marvelous job themselves completely rogering their own breeding sector and now they deserve to be subsidized by raping the Racing assets. 6. We’ll build three synthetic tracks ( not that silly authentic Strathayr rubbish ) using tax payers money because we know that synthetic track Racing is easy to sell abroad, and horses with nice actions like synthetic tracks. Tax payers won’t resent us spending their money illegally in metropolitan areas because we’ve got enough Police, teachers, nurses etc.already...and money spent illegally on a wax based track in CHCH is money well spent, and more worthy than the repatriation of a comatosed tax paying mother lying in intensive care in Bali or another couple of nurses in A&E. 7. Let’s say something really limp and pathetic ( for the Green Party ) about homing all the old retired racehorses now, the whole bloody herd, because every new Kiwibuild home needs a tired old horse in its backyard, and if nothing else our NZ breeders have proved they’re experts at breeding lots and lots of very slow racehorses that need homes for life. There we go, that’ll take about five years to activate, and a number of legislative changes, and in the meantime the well soaked idiot who orchestrated it will have disappeared over the horizon, we’ll have a new government, and the 94% of NZers who don’t like us now will hate us even more, and we’ll be finished. 7.

What I don’t like is this Aussie wants to close down financial country clubs and strip them off their assets to prop up these chosen clubs .See he wants to give Waipuk 11 meetings over two years as a volunteer club then give them them the middle finger and close them down .