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Golly gosh, it is unbelievable. A day in which we had to wait until the last race for our turn. Met a lovely couple from Hokitika who are in the Griffin Syndicate( Majestic Man and Dark Horse) at the lunch table, going to visit our horse before the race, and seeing the race unfold, and the excitement and disbelief of actually winning, was a joy to behold. Whatever the after race wash up is from other runners in the event, we won the race. Oh, it the reason to be involved in ownership, as sometimes the dream does come true. Thank you Racecafers for your support, and may your turn be not far away. Cheers. Robert.

Craig, I am amazed that your post has resulted in very little comment. I think the ruling is strange and I was interested to see what the general populace thought about it. Do you think it is that no one really cares or everyone is afraid of the new Social Media Policy. To see if the latter may be true I followed the instructions in the current magazine and went to the dogs/rules and policies and althought the new Alcohol and Drug Testing is there I can not find the Social Media Policy. Can anyone enlighten me as to it's content as I may very well be in breach of it. The heading social Media policy makes me uneasy at the best of times. Censuring comment not in line with Party policy has been a nefarious tool of dictators throughout history. I liken it to the discussion at an AGM of the association I attended where the Drug and Alcohol policy was being discussed and the RIU advocated that the stipendary steward should decide who gets tested for whatever reasons they feel warrants it. I argued that this could lead to victimization of a lisenced person. The unfortunate Ross Neal answered for the RIU that he give an absolute guarantee that there was no chance of an overzealous Steward. I disagreed as I have had experience of just that. I'm willing to bet I am not the only one.

"Anyone that wants whips banned or likes horses not to have the whip used on a horse is not a serious punter." This is not about the serious punter and nor is it about being politically correct. This is about the horses and providing entertainment that does not involve them being whipped. This is the future.

The highlight was the post race interview with John Gosden, I've never heard a trainer talk so much sense, so eloquently, with such detailed understanding and interpretation of each of his horses efforts, and all with extraordinary clarity and insight. The trainer of the Vela horse was impressive too, but Gosden was special. It's worth watching the best English racing just to immerse yourself in their knowledge and passion. I wish the lobotomised muppets infesting the Trackside studios could listen to the Gosden interview, firstly so they could learn from it ( fat chance ) and secondly, so they might just realize how infantile and ignorant their understanding is of horses as animals, the idiosyncrasies of tracks, and the actual racing. No chance though, NZ racing has long been hijacked by people who know nothing useful about racing, and hence the accelerating slide into oblivion.

It is the insidious affliction of our bloated bureaucracies, mostly in the public sector--NO ONE IS ACCOUNTABLE. At least our sufferance is temporary and financial only--imagine the grief of those affected by Cave Creek, CTV Building, Pike River ---

They just don't care - go offshore - very simple answer - these clowns will never learn - just a joke but no-one laughing

They were beaten by a better one in the last race, he showed great gate speed and worked hard in the early burn, and yes he got a nice trail but certainly earn't it, no excuses for the opposition in my book.

For crying out loud. They have 3/4 of the country's best horses in their own back yard, so if they can't organise their own "race like" workouts to get horses ready to race, then maybe they aren't as good a trainers as they'd have us believe they are! To make matters even more shameful, by blaming the handicapping system for their defeat, he's belittling his own brothers effort in winning the race - a man who has operated under the exact same handicapping system for considerably longer! It would appear that the All Stars team now think they are bigger than the game!

I have not read the all star website comments about lack of suitable racing effecting their top 3y olds performances but if that is what they are saying then it is just another example of fake news. They can say it as much as they want, mickey g likes repeating it but they are talking rubbish. Point in case. More the better has had one run in a rating race against the older horses. Remember all the moaning from mickey g about it being not fair for him. Well what happened in that race. Heaven rocks won, More the better ran 2nd, The orange agent and Christen me ran 3rd and 4th. Given that ultimate machete is better than More the better there is no doubt the all star 3y olds are very very competitive against the best. The truth is what the the all stars want are races in which their best 3 y olds can have some easy kills without over extending themselves. They don't want to have to run their best against their best, even if they are all competitive. Their owners of multiple horses don't want it. I don't blame them. But enough of the fake news about the rating system. When is anyone in the media or administrators ever going to say that. If they were a race run short then why did they not run in that 6 horse sprint race they had at addington about 3 weeks ago. Was it because they wanted Piccadilly princess to earn enough money? Understandable but the new system is there for the greater good. I don't blame the all stars for being pro active in protecting their owners interests, just they are creating a smoke screen when they do it.

Bet Cameron George was wishing his Warriors Johnson was going half as good as Chris .

Betfair!!! I wish more people would start migrating to using betfair, would love more liquidity in those markets.

Morning all, I shouldn't be doing this as l don't go to good in Brian's comp but I'll be busy on the tractor most of day with The radio so stuck $9 FF win on my picks. r1. 6 pays 34.20 r2. 1. 18.90 r3. 1. 28.80 r4 6 45.00 r5 1 34.20 r6 3 28.80 r7 2 21.60 r8 2 18.00 r9 9 45.00 I'll spend my lucky last buck later, Good luck Sir1G. Have a great day all .

Basically we all agree what's needed, unfortunately HRNZ and the stipes are incompetent. Nothing has changed since Dillon Dean got dealt too in the Northern Derby all those years ago.

I wish I had a girlfriend like the TAB

Just on that drug and alcohol testing, was it a one off in Christchurch ? And when is the hair testing coming in for the dogs ?

Stipe's Report Allstars Stable As pointed out by 45. The stipes just got lead down the garden path. A lawyer would have a field day with this contradictory crap. The stipes should drag Rasmussen in and say 'what is with these 2 stories'?

Chris Johnson 90 Danielle Johnson 89

They did identify those responsible for Cave Creek Chevy but it has led to a real bad trait in Public Servant types - paranoia at making a mistake and being held accountable for a mistake. Anyone who has tried to build a house and had to deal with the Council knows the phenomena. Similarly the Resource Management Act and the Health and Safety legislation - all set up to stop people trying to get ahead from doing so. I terms of the TAB well when you insist on appointing people who know nothing of the industry.... Glenda and John are probably lying on the couch on the long weekend thinking 'they can fix it Tuesday'. I'm not much of an exotic punter (each way usually maybe the odd trifecta) but to me the software seems Ok (takeout far too high still of course) - why the hell are they not updating the hardware to handle the increased volumes and changed mix of betting to more Internet?

It's a case of just turning up next week for the final.

A proper jumps day at the end of the season sounds exciting! Nice run from Mandalay, 4yr mare, good future for her. Probably not many would expect to see a "Showcasing" looking like a good jumper!

Invariably the Neanderthal TAB system crashes on Holiday Weekends. Expect the same tomorrow Queen's Birthday Monday. The much vaunted Paddy Power platform will probably suffer the same fate as the Typhoon debacle. The six figure salaried heads of the TAB should venture out and man a TAB terminal every so often. They might learn something from Joe Blow punters!

Should go to the lead today Mr Rumpole - game on

I heard that clip the other day and thought, here's a guy who's getting his salary paid for by punters betting on a show put on by owners who have stuff all chance of breaking even, trainers and their staff working often for less than minimum wage and little people risking life and limb and he's talking about other people being parasites. Takes one to know one, I guess.

After the race fields legislation is passed will they still demand a fee for bets placed with offshore operators when there site crashes?

This is one of the finest moments in the history of this proud organisation. Brown and his cohorts DID sign a contract to buy Typhoon, but there was just one small problem. It didn't work. And instead of costing them $5 million over five years it ended up costing them $14 million and forcing them to close their Auckland phone betting operation and sell their building in Ellerslie. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10873532 Could this have been avoided? Well, obviously. The Typhoon people also approached the Tasmanian TAB who asked a well known Australian bookie to have a look at it. After one meeting and a few pertinent questions he told the Tassie TAB that Typhoon was not suitable. The New Zealand Racing Board, however, in their infinite wisdom, gleefully signed on the dotted line, spending money that wasn't theirs, and proclaimed to the world they were about to morph into a major player in the betting industry. Unfortunately the lessons of this tragic tale were not learned. After replacing Brown with a banker who proceeded to hire as many of his banker mates as he could, they are now pinning their faith on a former Postman and his ex-cop sidekick to lead them to the promised land, again in an industry that neither of them has the slightest clue about. And with the Race Fields legislation hype and the Paddy Power deal and the deal with this New York company who no one in the industry has heard of, again we are getting the corporate rhetoric that the outlook is rosy and apparently ridiculous targets are well within reach. The reality of the situation could not be more different, They are the worst run betting organisation in the world, whose ancient system can't handle even their dwindling customer base, despite being rebooted every 24 hours!

Not much doing tomorrow so let's have a one day LOTD special for those who are able to participate. POST YOUR ENTRY ON THIS THREAD Same basic rules and scoring as other LOTD comp that is nearing completion, with the following variations: - you are required to pick a (losing) runner in all 9 races at Ellerslie - first winner you lose 40 points, second winner you are out - you can choose one runner as your Joker play - double points but double penalty (ie. -80 points and two lives). You don't have to use Joker if you don't wish. - if your horse runs last you will get double points. If your joker play runs last you will get four times (2x2). This double points for last only applies where all horses finish the race. Horses falling or pulled up in a race will mean no double points awarded for last in that race - picking a regular scratching is the same as picking a winner so check scratchings first or post subs if you have to post before scratchings come out. If we get 10 or more entries the winner will get a $20 bet on Houston Astros to win MLB's American League - will be a long wait but these guys are fun to follow.

Rangiora TAB closed, no other outlet closer than Kaiapoi. Closed 2 weeks ago for good. The people running this lost TAB which was the Plough Hotel, sited the reason for closing was, they were sick of being shafted by the TAB, no money for them, unprofitable. Now an area that has a large population, has no TAB. The TAB are fuckwitts, and shouldn't be in charge of a dairy, let alone running a racing and sports platform.

This is starting to read like a movie script for 'The Hindenburg'... Ok, back into it: Ellerslie race 1 - Another of these maiden hurdle lotteries with stacks of first-uppers. I'm going Joey Jonz, Likes a wet Ellerslie and should be well schooled. Race 3 - Confident that Noah John wants it longer, wetter, and generally tougher - he'll get that today. Mendoza was third in a very weak race at Waikato, and I can't have him on that. Race 4 - I'm going to give Ngatira Gold another shot. He ran poorly in the equivalent Waikato race last year, then came out and won at Ellerslie. The toppy gets a good penalty for a big win last time - too much for him? Race 7 - I like Wise Men Say, and obviously Crash Bandicoot, but I'm going for Liefting's Just Got Home. Had a hit-out on the course, and could have gone into the maiden, but I think they've targetted this race while he's low in the weights - will be a great chase!

Based on your recent form you should be winning this comp VS

1. Max 1 2. The Ice Knight 4 3. West End 3 4. The Names Bond 1 5. Long Harbour 5 6. Lacustre 3 7. Wise Men Say 3 8. Banbury Lad 5 Joker 9. Salted Caramel 4 Love the prize TC , i have tickets to an Astros Angels game in September

I did in regard to the PP affair and then Purdon /Rasmussen supply a different story in the stipes room! I simply cannot believe the contradictory nature of what she has said. I think the case against her should be reopened. I think it is also safe to assume on the race track in harness racing in NZ there are 2 levels of control. The junior drivers, amateurs and bit players in harness racing get a rough deal from the stipes. I think back to Jeremy Markham at Geraldine, Alistair Lowe on Sandra Keith at Ashburton and Geoff Martin on Danke, all excessively punished or hounded in comparison to the velvet glove treatment the likes of Purdon receive. As for the handicapping system complaint. To say you don't make excuses but then give one is weak. If you are going to say something on your website, have the balls to say it. Anyone one would think the producer of the All Stars website was the same person as the producer of the Box Seat.

Gee Gordy I would be happy to be able to get down the 2 flights of stairs to the TV! I commented on Racecafe a few months ago that NZ's worst tipster (yes Dillo is better ) would be Craig Baker (Executive General Manager) of the ARC. So when I saw this on Friday, it was too good to turn down and broke the tiebreaker between Dances in Heels and Break My Stride for my Lay of the Day. I didn't remember this until a few minutes ago. Damn, should have included Istimagic in my picks for today! Steelmasters Cornwall Handicap (R6, 2.54pm, $40,000, 2200m, OPN HCP) Doiknowyou (7) looks well placed to improve his already enviable record at Ellerslie in the Steelmasters Cornwall Handicap on Saturday. The son of Kashani has won three from eight starts at Ellerslie and importantly, has won three times on heavy tracks. The dangers include the Ralph Manning-trained warhorse Pump Up The Volume (1) and course specialist, Reka (3). Best Bet: R4 @ 1.44pm - Break My Stride (4) As a service to punters on Racecafe, here are his gems for today. Remember of course that a clock is right twice a day and he must break his duck some day month year. Whitecliffs Timber McGregor Grant Steeplechase (R7, 3.15pm, $50,000, 4150m, OPN STP) The dangers include last start winner Wise Men Say (3) and the John Wheeler-trained Fair Script (6). He looks well placed at 4150 metres. Crash Bandicoot (2) looks the hardest to beat. He ran third in the Pakuranga Hunt Cup and found the distance of the Meadow Fresh Great Northern Steeplechase beyond him. While there are only eight runners this year, the field is full of classy steeplechasers. Best Bet: R3 @ 12.50pm - Istimagic (7)

Cash is king Baz!!

Hsvman do you think the ATC would let Tim Vince bring his horses in for private trials?

they don't sacrifice? only because all the other horses in the race have had the shit knocked out of them and have nothing left to offer.. leaving the winner looking like a champion and the other runner looking as though it was beaten by a better horse.. no offence but we saw this stuff way back when roy purdon was at the helm. they had 4 or 5 horses in a race and dictated how the race fanned out.. not always with success but come on.. I might be dumb but i'm not BLIND.

Yet they let mark jones and other trainers if they wanted to join in those private workouts aswell also they allowed full coverage to trackside to fil, and time those workouts . Any trainer can ask alexandra park if they want to have a few work on the track before a pemier meeting and the club will allowed it if time suits (with construction ) . Their arent the only trainers complaining about the handicaping systems havent you seen the stories on harness express about 90 south island trainers at one meeting all complaining about the system, why is it only purdon says something you jump up and down .?

At least Kim was doing her utmost to get a result for owners and punters. Contrast Kims drives with the drive on Audi Hare in race 9 at Forbury- There would seem to be reasons for the drive on this horse as the reintroduction of the whip was a gear change on this horse for this race and it did a truck load of work early. It did still merit a query from the stipes in charge which was not forthcoming. If you had backed Audi Hare , how would you feel watching the last 200 m of this race? This is the conundrum – we have the racing purist who loves horses and enjoys the racing for what it is and you have the punter who like to or not contributes in no small way to the finances of the racing industry and expects maximum effort from horse and driver to achieve a winning result. I would say most punters who backed Audi Hare would be livid and say the race and harness racing is rigged. This was mentioned as a common perception by people in another thread here recently and one I hear all the time . Serious punters will desert horse racing in droves if you take the whip away and it looks like drivers are not trying in the last 200 m of a race by playing statues. If you take the whip away from racing, you had better find another way to fund it.

Why restrict them to one runner per race, if there good enough to buy get given the best horses why penalties them. You said you haven't gotten over the blue magic saga but remember he never produced a positive for blue magic he simply went to the stipes and told all his owner look he's used it a few and will cop what ever penalty is given to him even tho had he fought it with no positive he could not have been charged. They got beaten fair and square in the last by a great drive from zac , however they couldve easily set the race up and have Natalie hand up to mark down the back and put zac 3back the fence and have the lead trail with there best two chances but they didn't maybe they underestimated zacs horse or maybe just the fact they felt they they could win it with trying dirty team tactics. Spankems race they could've easily had mark hand up the front to dexter and have another runner of theirs come around and soften dexter up but yet again they didn't you could try and say mark sacrificed spankem leaving it set up for the swoopers but that's drawer a long bow as yet again even tho he parked dexter he still beat him home and only just got caught late. They drive to give there horses the best chance of earning top dollar, they don't drive to sacrifice one for the better of another as (Geoff small used to ) They have the luxury which is earned by thier record to have people buy and send them horses who in another stable would be the stables star and horse that would be wrapped in cotton will, yet as they have /get offered so many good horses they can pick and choose which ones they want to train .

He is going well Mr Rumpole - January New Years day Honours List is a no brainer

may be we should restrict the purdon/Rasmussen barn to only having one horse in each jewels race now I know that would be totally unfair but really all we the people want to see is the best okay they could put several of their horses in each race and one would/could think they are the best on offer. like I said in an earlier posting, for me it comes down to trust.. well call me old school. I still have not moved on/got over BLUE MAGIC. I am not saying that this is the case this time, no,no.no that would be wrong.. when I see a P/R horse running I either don't bet or I look for something at big odds that would be a boil over.. yep..i'd rather donate a $2 coin to the tab than back one otf theirs. I am not saying I do not respect mark . Christ his hole family have been great to me betting wise for decades. but I like to see owners, trainers and drivers do their best with what they have and be honest and up front when they stuff up. I am sorry but I have not seen this in this case.. it has been well and truly sugar coated.. it gave me great pleasure seeing jack's legend win on Saturday, and with style. shows me that some of the smaller stables can compete with the all stars ms Rasmussen, it takes a big man to admit he/she stuffed up. you really want to try it some day .

That's what I mean, they contradict each other, one says the horse was ok, the other says it was not. was in agreement with your comments!

Gotta agree. Purchased the Uk racing monthly pass for live viewing of most of the Uk races. Great coverage the whole night, they sure know how to do a premier race meeting right, great interviews, coverage of the prelims, just top notch.

Gee al. A nose cost us a couple grand

While on the subject I also note in the CEO update that he says 'the recent announcement we made about the lift in stakes for sprinting will be sustainable'!!!!! where and when was this announcement made.

Morning all, Wingatui r1 quaddie , 1/1 2/1 6/1 3 $8 100% r5 quaddie , 2 3/1 5/3 4 5/1 11 $24 100% $92 left.

Just a shame there's another track around it keeping you twenty meters away from the action though

I agree with you Craig, I am also not sure of the rules but if the rule does allow for this situation it is in need of urgent alteration. Common sense tells you the original starters must be in the rerun exactly the same as if the race had been rerun on the first day.

Danielle will have many more opportunties to achieve premierships than will Chris as the years tick by. Go the Magic Man !