Leaderboard

For goodness sake Trump; I am in no doubt that NZ's two most unheralded currently active champion sportmen are CWJ and Simon Mannering. Anyone who doesn't appreciate how good CWJ is has no real feel for racing. The man has been so good for so long, we are incredibly lucky to have seen his like in action for so long. Others have come and gone, but CWJ has endured and shared his skills with several generations of punters and other racing participants. We often don't appreciate such people until they have gone. In any other country he would be a superstar. My own favourite CWJ ride will always be his Oaks on Domino. I'm sure other fans have their favourite rides as well.

Recently, the central districts coverage by Trackside has featured Bevan Sweeny and Tony Lee providing a runner by runner summary of the individual ..how it's presented today and the merits and or detriments of it's recent starts. This is simply brilliant coverage and a long time overdue..made possible by the fluencies of Tony Lee and his fine concise vocabulary...which encourages Bevan Sweeney's speils to fit in well 'on the volley'. Top marks and don't forget the paramount importance of those preliminaries..keep it up Trackside, it is mighty fine T.V., and deserves the praise of our appreciations.

George is no loss to racing. God help the Warriors.

Slim that isn't true the time almost always adjusts faster. The reason being is that the beam across the track on the finish line is quite small and is broken by whatever part of the dog's body that hits the exact spot of the beam first, moreoften than not this is the dog's head or chest area. With the advent of the Lynx technology the timer is linked to Lynx and the time is then be accurately corrected to the dog's nose hence why it is generally two to three hundredths faster.For it to be the other way would mean that the dog's outstretched foot, leg or wrist would have to break the beam first thus the time would be a little slower.

The above is very user friendly. I am sure Auckland Racing Club officials ( including George ) attended the same public relations school as United Airlines !!

Hi Insider, We would love to have you come over to Harness Racing, and see below what the conditions are when you have a horse racing. I copy an email received a short time ago Addington Raceway for your perusal . Addington Raceway Health and Safety Information Guide This Information Guide is relevant for trainers, drivers, stable hands and owners whilst at Addington Raceway. The New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club (NZMTC) is committed to providing a safe facility for all guests by ensuring Health and Safety legislation is complied with at all times. The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 requires all trainers, stable hands, drivers and owners to be familiar with Addington Raceway's Health and Safety policies that need to be followed at our race and trial meetings, and private workouts, throughout the year. Please take time to read the information below to assist in your safety and well-being while on our site. Responsibilities You are responsible for taking reasonable care of your own health and safety and also the health and safety of those that work for you, and those you work with. Where you identify a health and safety issue in the areas you work in, you are required to inform the Racing Secretary as soon as you are able.You are required to comply, so far as is reasonably practicable, with all reasonable instructions relating to health and safety, including any instructions given by the Racing Secretary, Club officials or staff members of Addington Raceway to permit the Club to comply with their health and safety duties and obligations. Restricted Access Access to the Stables will only be provided to; Licenced participants (trainers, drivers, stable hands) Owners holding and carrying a valid Stables Access Pass Supervised children aged 6 to 14 years of age that have passed a Stabling Area Awareness Course (SAAC) and can present their SAAC pass on request Addington Raceway officials, staff and approved contractors. Wheelchairs without an attendant pushchairs/strollers and people on crutches are not permitted in the Stables. All persons responsible for handling horses must wear appropriate footwear - fully enclosed leather shoes or boots. Drivers must wear approved safety vest, helmet and safety glasses.Under the direction of Club officials, owners are permitted into the presentation area after the winning horse has been positioned in the correct space for the photographs and presentation. When the presentation is complete, owners must not leave the presentation area until the horse has been safely escorted out the gate.

Lines should be drawn in the sand by racing industry. This is when we are having our meetings and thats that. For far to long rugby has been treated like the only games in town. How can you create a following of a carnival when dates change.

As the CEO of Ellerslie in this day and age he can be liable for what happens at a venue that he is ultimately responsible for. You can be the judge or your own risk areas at your own property. I am just trying to point out the world we live in.

I know box 6 well. Irinka Darcy, Sunday I've got her in box 6 for the 4th time running. Last 8 starts: 577376666 15 starts, 10 outside box 5 & she likes to drop to the rail.

Typical of Auckland. Don't give a stuff about the rest of NZ.

Does anybody else feel this dog was lucky to get away with pulling up in a race on Wednesday after getting a check (which happens in almost every greyhound race) and not having to at least do a satisfactory trial? I see it pulled up with a minor injury (only 7 day stand down period) so it wasn't a good enough reason to spit the dummy and pull up was it? Thoughts?

4 Races gone at Marlborough today and no preliminaries have been shown. Wake Up and lift your game to deliver just the basics to the funders of this industry..the Punters.

kawiboy Danielle hit Miss Norway behind the saddle once and then several times on the neck. Blackgammon simply kicked to well. Note that Miss Norway had failed on her one previous heavy track start and on her two previous starts at Otaki. Note that she has won once from 22 starts. Not the sort of horse to put your hard earned on for a win!

Just a kick in the head. My point though is that if I can get tagged then it's dangerous, and it follows that if it's dangerous the likes of Liz and co are very vulnerable. I know owners think they have rights to go to the saddling area but it's just not safe and to allow them unlimited access would only be inviting trouble and putting owners at risk. The thoroughbred is a dangerous animal, far more so than those brain dead gypsy things, and we have to act responsibly not selfishly.

Note that Miss Norway was hanging out slightly in the run home. May not have been 100% happy on the Heavy 10 track. If Danielle had hit her behind the saddle once or twice more it probably would not have made much difference to the result. Going for the stick on Heavy 10 tracks can be counterproductive sometimes.

Then maybe the Trainer should have been rubbed out????

Pandemonium?? Ended up living in a gorse block!

Insider, this is why only very experienced people should be allowed around thoroughbreds. It's a bit of a scratch I got last year when I wasn't paying attention, and I think I'm fairly experienced. If it matters it would've killed every resident of Petone, every accountant, soccer player, social worker, or member of the Labour Party.

If u idoits thought boris was lucky today wait til he gets home tonite, n0?

steady as she goes n0?

Agree they are very good, knowledgeable presenters who do a good job discussing the subjects that they choose to present. However in my opinion they spend far too much time focusing on the same thing all the time. For example last night they seemed at a guess to spend about 8 or 9 minutes on lazarus, who even they agreed won a very boring race. They went over many of his previous wins.. While the all stars and lazarus and its connections quite rightly deserve recognition as the best ,last nights programme overdid it as usual in my opinion. Whenever I get the time to watch it on the Wednesday night I always feel the same. Its as if they live in a bubble going by their content.There is no real connection to the grass roots. The presenters they have on there have so much knowledge and information about so many other participants and aspects of the industry and it goes untapped when you watch the box seat. If they are going to do such a prolonged section on lazarus then show us something we have not seen before. For example we got the behind the scenes view with mark purdon one time,how about they do something similar with its owners. How come they always give us what the trainers or drivers say.How about they give us after race comments from the owners for a change. There should be more interviews with owners at all levels.

Just look at how successful the Warrnambool Carnival is - 3 days in a row !!! Also, the Melb Cup Carnival - Sat/Tues/Thurs/Sat, 4 days over one week!!!! Why doesn't Wellington race Sat/Mon and leave it at that? Market the event as a long weekend in Wellington and link up with a Sunday event for visitors ( a racing lunch in the city? Guest speakers from Trainers and Jockey ranks etc). That way, you can ask people from HBay/CD/Waikato etc to come for an "Event" over 3 days. If u have it over 2 or 3 weeks, people aren't going to stay on. That's what makes Warrnambool and MC carnivals so inviting. A 3 days in a row event or a MC week - a great holiday enticement.

It's my sport so why can't I do what I want to, so long as I do it sensibly. People are not stopped from climbing Mt Cook and dying, skiing and breaking legs, playing rugby and becoming paraplegic, so why shouldn't I be able to go in and pat my horse and whisper in his ear before he races? I will tell you why, it's because Boy George thought it was a good idea. Well stuff him! I now hope that he doesn't stuff my team. I live in hope. P.S. Yes there are too many work place accidents, especially in forestry and farming so toughen up on them, but sport is different isn't it? If not stop everything!!!!!

Has Boris gone all grandiose too Zelda? I would toss him outside in the lane, but don't dream it's over, he will probably come back with his mates making it a crowded house in number 8.

You jest, I trust!

Oh no it's not - it happens all the time with the current Selection Criteria in place. A weighted pointscore would be a step in the right direction not just locally but it should be implemented nationally.

I enjoy McIntosh as a race caller. He is something different and his calls are genuinely passionate.

WOW did u idoits see Z M ?? what a race, n0? (nz) does it again at the bool, I had to stop Boris jumping off the lounge chair screaming all up its gunna be a long day.

It would add insult to injury if you owned louie and read the reports in the media that your horse caused the serious fall . You would be rather upset the correct information was not disclosed. It seems the stipes report may inadvertently be partly responsible for this due to its initial failure to detail what happened .. Maybe they did not anticipate that being a consequence, but probably they should have.

Apparently the stipes are going to interview drivers and review race tapes to try and work out what caused the smash. As What a Post said, Blind Freddy could see who caused in as it happened in real time, and Stevie Wonder could tell from the replay! Why they still even interview drivers is beyond me, The stipes already have videos from every angle possible, and I've yet to see a driver that tells the truth in the room anyway!

And when you finally get a start, they give you box 6 again. He seems to have a mortgage on it.

I think you should be allowed an undo with naming. There is nothing worse than finding you have a great name to give to your trial winner and find the name never leaves maiden class :-)

Lets hope he is ok. One of those things that happens which most of the time just results in a bit of interference..Interesting media reports state the fall was a result of the horse louie faltering. Even blind freddy could see that was not the case and what the cause was. Very sad and unfortunate for everyone involved including the connections of the horse who started the chain reaction.

Its not just NZ that has that problem. Part of the reason is young TV smarties who get into racing and believe studying the form and prices is all thats required. It takes a number of years till they finally turn the corner and realize just how important viewing the horse is. Some years ago whilst talking to a very successful Hong Kong operator I queried why the betting syndicate wasn't taking enough notice of paddock reports. Well this syndicate only does things that are proven so they employed several paddock spotters and then analysed the results. Well the outcome was they employed them permanently. I like Jenny's Hong Kong reports but still can't figure out her "walkers". Other commentators just pick paddock standouts just for the sake of picking them. THey aren't reliable. The context i.e. freshup, backup etc goes alongside paddock tips so its not just picking the one with the flashy mane. Myself I look for demenour realizing that the application of "the needle" can be a giveaway with appearance.

At least if Waikiki Beach was trained by someone else we might actually get to see a race, instead of the choreographed workouts that we've beem presented with of late. Yes it's wonderful to see great horses in action, but that's nothing compared to seeing them in great races. Two laps of warm up for a 700-800m sprint isn't even a race, let alone a great race. When our best go out and run repeated mid race quarters around 33 seconds - which would get you fined on many Australian tracks for not meeting the minimim sectional speed in a maiden race - you're not doing the industry any favours. To put things in perspective, there were two other 2700m races run on the night - one for 3yo trotters, and the other an intermediate grade stand - and they both went considerably faster! We need great horses, but more importantly we need those great horses to do great thing. I'm afraid for most people the Taylor Mile and the Messenger were both borefests that would have done nothing to bring a single person back to the track.

Was always at least a top place bet for me. Never further back than fourth in fourteen starts and rarely done a thing wrong. You can't say that about many trotters. Someone criticised him for getting a cosy run but that's the luck of the draw. I'll predict now though that he can't win the Jewels if he starts. Would be running on like he did last year (though most the field flew apart) but can't go hard early.

I don't believe a lot of these bets actually are real, what idiot would risk 10k on a maiden trotter who had 2 starts and pulled up both times? Yes, it just got beaten but its manners let it down the last bit again, they deserve to lose it if it was an actual bet.

Kumai was mentioned in the very first post by Final Luca and also by Belinda. Will never forget him, as came from my area down south, and won many open class flat races, including at Trentham. Another couple to throw in the mix, Terex and Nearco Note (who I think was gifted to either the Queen or the Queen Mother).

john was one of the best, if it weren't for your gumboots were would you be, was always a great pleasure to watch. sadly missed R.I.P

Wasn't Barrellan by High Rank ? Trained by Bill Sanders. Won heaps.