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I think you blokes might need your hankies after hearing this sad story .I know we are all getting a bit older and as we try ot outwit and out smart the other half 24 hours a day. Sometimes our old beer flooded brains only work 23 . Lets go way back 18 hours to when this error of befuddlement happened . We were cruising down the Desert Road dodging potholes when I said to the better half can you put a bet on for me in New Plymouth , after a few minutes later I here the words that make any conman shudder ,""Hey you have heaps in your account" I slid slowly down my black leather seat as i try to compose myself. She carries on " I wont need to give you any money for the Tauherenikau races you can use your own"" those words were bouncing off Ruapehu as I start to realize my Hide your balance had come up on the APP .So if you see a lonely old soldier at the races with tears running down his face mumbling about one little mistake .Come and tell him we have all been there. Cheers BH

Many apparent date ' anomalies ' are hangovers from a time when there were two distinct pools of horses/ jockeys in the S. I. They were effectively stand - alone areas, and seldom met apart from Cup time, National meeting. The hiatus in Canterbury over the five week holiday period reflects the traditional West Coast circuits of which there used to be two, a November one , followed by the January one . To adequately reflect the changing demographic there needs to be consultation with regard to requirements , numbers and grades etc of actual horses in training. Shouldn't be too difficult to retrieve such data with modern technology, it's not as if we are using pencils and paper. But it would take some thought and should have the buy - in of everyone, not a select few. And it shouldn't involve the forced closure of anything. Market forces should dictate which remains....genuine market forces, not artificial constraints applied due to flawed ideology.

And by "designated" tracks, what is left? Oamaru ,Waikouaiti?? How to drive people away from the races in one easy lesson.

I imagine that one day rita will come out and quantify the numerous benefits to the industry from closing Kurow. Just as they will explain how winter racing in the south will be better off now that Waimate has gone. I presume stakes at those meetings around where Waimate used to be will now increase because of increased efficiencies. And much the same when all that money is saved from closing Kurow. Just imagine what the Waikouaiti Cup will be worth when they close down Timaru. I presume the Timaru licence would have to remain in Canterbury as currently it is the only Canterbury race-meeting for 5 and a half weeks. Must be tough being a Riccarton based trainer if you don't want to travel for four or five hours to race in a $10,000 race, just to get a racing opportunity. As it was, the maiden 1,200m at Timaru had 28 noms, but only 14 got to start; no intention of splitting the field. And on that subject, 69 of the 86 acceptances at Waikouaiti come from Canterbury. Not much interest from Otago or Southland. I do think Otago is perhaps over raced at this time of year. Interesting too, no maiden stayers races at Wingatui, Timaru or Kurow, so 22 nominate at Waikouaiti and only 12 will get a start. But wait, there is another stayers maiden two days later at Omakau. That's clever isn't it. I actually blame the trainers for a lot of the problems in the South. South Island racing is so badly run when it comes to dates, racing programmes and the distribution of stakes money that I am stunned that the trainers haven't all got together and said "look, this is hopeless. You people couldn't run a piss up in a brewery". After all it is the trainers lives at stake. God knows how they manage to attract owners when they are surrounded by such gross incompetence. I used the think the average trainer was brighter than the average administrator, but I am beginning to wonder. What do the trainers say when their owners ask them which SI 2yo race they will be setting their syndicated 2yo for over Xmas so all the owners can turn up? It would be nice if rita could spot where the actual problems are rather than thinking closing Kurow, Waimate and Timaru will solve all of Racing's problems. I must admit, I have virtually given up on anything constructive happening, so for all I know rita may have come out and said something useful already, but I just haven't seen it.

There will be more racegoers lost to the industry, is all. How many holidaymakers will bother to go to the 'designated' track to attend the 'Kurow' races?

Gruff mentioned about the friendly and efficient tote operators at Matamata. They used to have a couple of tote operators who bore a marked resemblance to "broom factory test pilots". Thankfully they have resigned.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/118505389/crowds-enjoy-christmas-races-at-timarus-phar-lap-raceway

You are of course correct Pam, but perhaps rita needs to talk to NZTR and tell them they are doing a very poor job and rita is going to appoint their own manager to oversee NZTR, much the same as is done with dysfunctional schools and health boards. I have no idea if they have the power to do that but they should have. When you look at how badly NZTR manages dates, programmes and stakes in the SI, which are pretty basic concepts, who on earth would trust them to manage any difficult concepts. There are probably horses in the South that will go through the holiday period without a race, which is disgraceful, especially when you compare it to the likes of Tauherenikau, HB and Tauranga who are happy to go around with tiny fields.

Messara..Winston Peters and Dean McKenzie want to impose this disgrace upon the industry with support from NZTR and Rita., don't be fooled any other way!

Even had their own vehicle parking -

After last year's disappointing jumps season in the south, there were very serious high powered meetings to discuss the way forward. With the new season on the horizon, I am curious to know from industry insiders what specifically is going to change to try and recover jumps racing in the south. Or have the good intentions of the meetings faded?

Honestly? racing at Matamata is hardly capitalising on holiday destinations at Xmas time. I went along and it was a pitiful crowd and it was a boring meeting with no atmosphere at all, what a joke waste of an opportunity at this time of the yr.

Agree BH. Might there be a middle way with all this consolidation? Keep the successful holiday venues (Rotorua etc) but only run there sparingly. Have Te Rapa or TA as the main Waikato track, but surely the only real advantage in closing is the $$$$ from Avondale. If they could realise the money locked up there that has got to go a long way to helping the industry. Something has surely got to give. One of our premier sprints is worth $200k (Railway) I believe while on the same day at Flemington their main sprint of the say, Standish, is for $160k AUS. There would have to be 30 Aus sprints worth more than that. If you had a half decent horse how could you afford to keep running it in NZ? The numbers just don't stack up.

I hadnt Boss Your possibly right but if Holly can get her into Rhythm looks home, keep it under your hat

I personally think there joining a world TAB pool is worth investigating. This would attract large punters, knowing two things: 1. They can get big bets on which is. It the case with most bookmakers 2. the market could absorb their bets, and price not drastically change. Are we looking at possibility of joining a world betting pool?

If you had the decision making power, what specific changes would you like to see to this programming of 5 meetings in 9 days in the south?

That's been exactly my point for ages. How can they possibly be trusted to make the right decisions given their track record.? And as for your earlier comment about trainers, just think about herding cats.

Mate I just received an email this arvo saying exactly that. I don't know, it could be good oil like you say, or it could just be spam.

People make errors, it could be a typo. Try and cheer up, it's Xmas. Oh and a bit of festive advice, try not to sit in the dark, in your underpants, critiquing all of racing supposed woes. Have a shower, put some fresh kit on and go outside and breath the air in our beautiful country. Happy New Year, good wishes to you Ebeneser....

Here is a question that I hope you can answer,the bookies here in nz are run as a monopoly by the tab and bookies cut you off if you are a winner, they target losers (possibly contrary to 3 b as above ) whereas tote betting is absolutely fair to all but apart from the rank failure of triple trio , no innovations have been tried for tote betting.Bookies markets are bad value in all ways compared to the tote ( recent headlines about big punters say it all) Are there any tote upgrades or new bet types specific to tote betting planned? The only choice is through the bookies.One bet I would like to see developed is a cross code multi type bet done through the tote pools as well as cross code poker type bets, they are only available with bookies whose odds are crap ,we as punters have nothing to lose by betting through the tote. Million$ was spent on upgrading systems for the bookies so they can gouge us more efficiently ,how about some fair betting options for the rank and file punters.

You seem to have the good oil Rusty , now due to the nature of issues at Kumara are there likely to be value for money , bacon sammys , hog roasts and losing tickets draws for hams , I certainly hope so .

Hello Dean, I wish to open a bar where I would be the bookmaker. I wish to take win/place, quinella, trifecta and doubles. at my odds. Of course I would pay to use the local racing action.. Is this possible? I plan to build a clientele. , do my own marketing and run my own specials. Is this possible?

matamata is a crazy venue for this time of year...i would go so far to say it should be closed as a racing venue and remain a training facility only..spend money on te aroha to make it a main racecourse..i realise rotorua is a tourist town , but it is an awful racetrack ,wouldnt be a drama to say goodbye...give ellerslie's old middle day to tauranga ,ruakaka or back to ellerslie....remember the last day at ellerslie jan 2 ,it was the best day of the carnival ,with all the hangover of jan 1 ...oh for the good old days ,the real auckland cup...who says change is always good or progressive ,bullshit.

All it will benefit for the 'powers that be' is continue their snouts in troughs at the bigger tracks.

Great meeting. Once a year, track well maintained by local cockies. The whole town and environs are there and it's a great day out, and a great day's racing. We raced there a couple of years back and managed a win. Closing this track would be a shame. There's no reason to do so: it's an iconic part of South Island holiday festivities.

They should do it now, (immediately,) ban the whip before it’s too late.

Check out Taupo or Tauranga this week for your answer.

Trackside terrible Westport coverage. They cut race 2 to go to yankee land where$300 on a race noone gives a stuff about. They havent got a clue! Rank bloody amateurs

Mike as I have stated before Northern Greyhound racing is in a slow decline as you have stated dog numbers are falling away fields are being prop up by southern kennels unwanted dogs if it wasnt for these dogs the situation would be dire. Look at the number of races carded for the Xmas eve meeting at Waikato 12 races up to last year it was always a 20 race card. If it wasnt for strangled hold kennels heats for some of the feature races wouldnt happen. The grey hair bridgre numbers a becoming more common behind the boxes and some of these must be on the count down to hanging up the collar and leads. Yes the future doesnt look to bright up north.

Enough pork eyes to see you though the week.They may even have borris the bull from the wild foods on course.