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They should run a poor man's race on the Karaka Million night for Book 3 only purchases, pay say $500 when purchasing them that goes into a pool for that race.

Read this guys and gals and tell me why the NZTR, RITA and Harness Racing NZ are not on-side. If I was in charge, this would be at the very top of my "to achieve today" ....... before it's too late. https://thoroughbredracing.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8f27b48b2f6f46ee70b93ed7d&id=c4faa767cc&e=4cc1cfdc61 If they cant see the world closing in on us, then none of them should have a job in our once outstanding industry/sport. Liz

I notice 16 of the ballots at Wingatui today failed to gain entry into the fields. In fact only 3 ballots gained a start. Add this to those already eliminated. About 50 of the acceptors had to travel all the way from Canterbury as they have no opportunities locally. Five hours to travel to race for $10,000. Interesting to see a maiden stayer having to race in the open race at Riccarton on Saturday as there are no other opportunities. Helps to fill up what would otherwise have been a six horse race. One maiden race in the greater Canterbury area in a seven week period; quite bizarre.. Contrast this with the four feature meetings this weekend at Riccarton, Ellerslie, Te Aroha and Trentham, which have 12 races between them with 8 or fewer starters. One $100,000 race at Ellerslie with six starters. This all indicates to me that the thoroughbred industry in particular is appallingly badly run. And shutting down some minor tracks won't do anything to fix this problem. And I can't see anything rita is doing that will fix anything. Why can rita not send a "please explain" message to NZTR?

More and more highly respected racing people are coming out in favour of a ban on whip use , or severe restrictions . The whip abusers are going to get very lonely . John Francome very strong in his views that it needs to go , not many better horseman than him .

Remember when cindy signed up to the UN refugee pact . The UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a commitment to eradicating poverty worldwide, the Compact was drafted to address all aspects of international migration . Reality is take immigrants when told to , this is what happens when you try to protect your country , your heritage . " French intellectual Renaud Camus has been given a 2 month suspended prison sentence for stating that mass immigration in Europe represents an “invasion.” , Camus will only avoid jail by paying 1800 euros to two “anti-racist” organizations, SOS Racisme and the LICRA (International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism). The writer, who is the author of Le Grand Remplacement (The Great Replacement), was charged with “public incitement to hate or violence on the basis of origin, ethnicity, nationality, race or religion.” The conviction stems from a November 2017 speech in Colombey-les-deux Eglises to the National Council of European Resistance in which Camus declared, “Immigration has become an invasion.” “The irreversible colonization is demographic colonization, by the replacement of the population,” said the author, adding, “The ethnic substitution, the great replacement, is the most important event in the history of our nation since it has existed; as with other people, if the story continues, it will not be that of France.”

6 races 4k 2to 3 points for winner every 20 minutes.alex park Tuesday.whhy not. Alex park would be the most underused track of its quality, location in the world.over 52 weeks prob 7 races a week..its nonsense.

More racing needed cheap Tuesday meetings at park .4k 2 to 3 point winner.justnot enough races.

Very quiet from cafers leading up to the big day. I thought some of the students out there might have voiced their opinions on various prospective top lots on the first two days at least. Just an observation. I could be a player on the last day but I’m surprised that, given the technology we have and its importance in marketing that only about a third of final day catalogue have pics up. I thought it would be just as important there as any other day. Some have Facebook pics of early day entries but not the later ones and several websites have yet to update from their 2019 drafts. In one case I have asked for pics but nothing has been forthcoming. I realise it’s a very busy time for sellers but surely these things are all a part of the process.

In writing this firstly let me point out that I fully agree with Tim Vince as regards the current Ratings System I don't care for it and the sheer number of changes, trials and tweaking merely confirm it isn't working However, with any system at all be it the previous class system or a Ratings system, or a $ based system, no matter what the system is there will still be the same number of winners today as there was yesterday unless more races are run If New Zealand runs 2000 harness events there are 2000 winners Under one system Tim might win 100 races, Eljay 20, Herlihy 50, Green 70 and so on and on Changing the system might mean that Eljay's previously average horses (in terms of wins) suddenly can drop down and race poorer horses and instead of 20 Eljay might win 60 races (great effort Eljay) But someone else must then train 40 less winners, so they won't be happy! It sounds pretty simple, but I think most posters don't get it You can never keep everyone happy Mikie

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If it is successful in oz ,and the guy responsible ( messara) tells us to start cutting and pasting his successful formula why is it not working ? what is different here ? it is broken and it does need fixing and we have got the instruction manual to do so .So stick to the plan ffs.it seems they have done nothing but argue over appointments to do a simple job that has been done before SUCCESSFULLY ALREADY

The mind boggles where the next overseas product going to come in from . Maybe Banei Racing from Japan , great for problem gamblers as you lose money real real slow , kind of Ying to Quarter Horse racing's Yang . I just wouldn't be surprised if it does get beamed in , nothing off limits nowdays .

Just listened to Dean at Pukekohe. He is very likeable, definitely understands racing and great speaker. It was an informative couple of hours. He believes that the bill is 90% right. He said they have had a fair crack of the whip. Two areas he sees that needs work is the TAB mechanism to be competitive and the bet levy (I think). He is happy with the TAB taking NZTR intellectual property. He is happy the government appoints the wagering board. This will be based on nominations from the racing codes. Ie each code has one representative. He said the wagering board is all about maximising profit. This could mean more overseas product and less NZ racing if this makes commercial sense.

All these gimickey promotions get tiresome after a while.

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Really TM...?? These “young people” haven’t been targetted correctly for the last ten years.....too many other options to spend money elsewhere.

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Just read that Martina H has died, so sad, she was put to sleep at the grand ol age of 22 due to injury......thanks for the memories girl Cheers Iraklis

Just grab a bargain off gavelhouse, you got just as much chance of getting a winner.After all luck usually plays a big part.

Bernard is against the Bill and knows it’s implications, I find him to be a decent bloke, and he has inherited a sinking ship.

For those who have not seen what might be occurring under Racing Bill before Parliament, this is from RITA Racing Integrity Board There has been significant discussion about the structure of New Zealand racing’s integrity functions and performance over recent years, which is unsurprising given the paramount importance in ensuring there is confidence in the integrity of racing. In undertaking a review of the structure and efficacy of the RIU and allied integrity bodies (as recommended by Mr Messara), Malcolm Burgess (who was commissioned by the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC)) engaged extensively with industry participants and administrators and with experts in the area of integrity - in New Zealand and Australia. His independent report made a number of recommendations, including the establishment of a new single governance Racing Integrity Board (RIB), which will be responsible for compliance and adjudicative functions. This recommendation has been adopted in the Bill and is one which RITA supports (the combined structure is not unique in the New Zealand context). In order for the industry and punters to have confidence in the integrity of racing, independence from the industry is vital. Accordingly, in RITA’s view, an independent, streamlined model (as proposed in the Bill) can only be a good thing for racing. HRNZ contends that there needs to be a separation between the adjudicative powers of the JCA and the functions of the RIU. As HRNZ recognises, the Bill specifically requires the new Board to ensure that the compliance and adjudicative functions are performed independent of each other and in, RITA’s view, the details of how that will be achieved is a matter for the RIB Board and not one for legislation. Further, the RIB members will be appointed by the Minister on nominations from codes and will be independent of the codes, which is an important feature of the new independent model and is a structure commonly found across a number of industries in New Zealand. Greg

Things have changed. I remember watching Joker Man win the Morrinsville juvenile stakes in 2.02 in Sept 1986 against a full field. This early racing didn't appear to hurt his long term career as he went on to be a top horse. So as long as a horse is a "natural" 2yo and the trainer puts the horse's best interests first, I'm entirely happy with 2yo racing. I am envious of the level of stakes on offer for the young gun pacers but do commend ATC for "keeping the faith". As owner of past juvenile trotters it was extremely annoying when time and again a programmed race was downgraded to a $2K non-tote even if 6 or so starters. In the end we gave up and don't bother trying to race our 2yos anymore (though if Jewels in the North may be tempted late in season).

Sunday will do.any day but more races.better hhandicapping

I’m a slow learner so perhaps a few of the more intelligent Cafers might be able to enlighten me. The term “Roadshow” is now a regular theme when it comes to NZ racing. John Allen was a “Roadshow” man. Apparently, it’s a term used when someone rocks up to a venue, say Awapuni, and has a talk Fest with 15 or 20 tea drinkers, enlightening those gathered on progress with reform in the Racing Industry. Is that correct? My attendance numbers might be wrong and maybe a few more could be added. But what’s the point of them? What has been achieved by them that could not be more widely reported by way of press releases via social media and have far more reach? If POTUS (Donald Trump) can talk policy, achievement, comment etc via social media, for all the world to see, why can’t NZTR? Perhaps Racecafe could open a special Forum for “exclusive” use by NZTR (Call it NZTR PROGRESS REPORTS) and let them post for all to see and read - on a weekly basis. This would not only cut back expense but would have a wider reach within the Industry and enable ALL racing people to have instant info at their fingertips - via their iphones, pads etc. It would also be open and transparent. Just a thought.

It's all a bloody mess. I don't have the answer, but I think the dangerous ones are those who do think they have the answer. I'm not really impressed with any of the suggested reforms I have seen so far, and I do worry for those who think all will come right once the proposed reforms are implemented. It looks to me like everything is being run by Winston and a few no-names in his racing department. Having Racing run by those intimately involved in the game didn't work. Having it run by those with absolutely no knowledge of or interest in the industry was even a bigger disaster. Where to next? I do think a lack of leadership since the early 90s has led to this situation, and I just don't see a white knight on the horizon at the moment.

Flapping, pony racing, many great jockeys started there. It is possible that the breeding survives and racing dies in this country...

Look on brightside, 5k will be less incentive for some of these jocks to get into a whip frenzy . 5k if it comes to that will mean it will be over , simple economics will kill game here . A bit of flapping Irish style that's all that might be left after few years if that's the case .That's if there's enough die hards still about and authorities don't get wind of it .

I promise you I won’t be......

U r an optimist baz.rob mcnulty famously said a sack of kumara. Sounds like maiden races at ellerslie.optimism will abound at sales.any trainer thinking of ringing me lose my number.

I would like to see HRNZ survey owners that sold/ retired horses last year as to the reasons they did so. I'm sure they can access the names of the contact owners and organise it so responses are anonymous. Such a survey may put proof in front of decision makers as to where to target their efforts to retain racing stock. Sure some horses go unsound, owners want to breed from a mare while still relatively young or the money is just too good to refuse. But how many of us who pay real money to trainers have sold/retired our horse because it is rated uncompetitively and we can't afford to keep on racing it? The curse of repeatedly running 4th or 5th with no rating change is soul destroying. With sadness we sold our good horse after a whole year with just a single 3rd placing. He still has plenty of racing in him as since sold has had Group placings and Group 3 win in Aussie in the last couple of months. We would have liked to race him till his teens ourselves but he just wasn't paying his way.

Why does NZTR dilly dally around on the whip issue? Surely they could set the world on fire by banning whips? Show leadership etc. it won’t make any difference to NZ racing will it - other than chalk up at least one good move that will have the World of Racing sit up and follow little ole NZ’s lead. The Trainer’s lobby can’t be so strong that they might offer any meaningful objection.