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It is a slow day in the small Oklahoma town of Pumphandle, and streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit. A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk, saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night. As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the - Co-op. The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit. The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner. The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves. No one produced anything. No one earned anything... However, the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a Stimulus package works.

We have to run racing on a shoe string and we can start here. We obviously can't afford the huge numbers presently employed in administering racing. I say get rid of the 21 people in the JCA. Go back to the old system where committee members from outside Clubs did the job the JCA do and they did it for free. I know back then there were claims of bad decisions and bias, but look at what the so called professionals are giving us. Anyone that believes that the decisions now are better than back then. That there is no bias now and the people making the decisions that change people lives know the industry. If you believe that you deserves to remain in Lock Up. Twenty years ago you would be judged by somebody with a passion for racing. They had been involved in racing for a considerable amount of time. They would know horses. They would understand the people in the industry. They would have been successful business men or women running what would now be multi million dollar businesses. What do we have now and who are these people. Take the Central Districts. One of our Chairman is a part time school teacher with a part time position on the Local Council and a JCA Chairman. I wonder which of the 3 pays the most. He has no racing experience. The closest he's been to a horse is in the Birdcage. Some of his decisions show that he just goes by what ever the Stipes recommend. He has no knowledge of how a stable is run, feeding regimes etc. yet he is able to damage peoples livelihoods and careers. I think it is irresponsible to put people like this in charge. Again nobody is accountable. At a meeting 2 years ago Noel McCutheon was speaking about RIU and JCA. I asked Noel "where do you get these people from" I think he may have been slightly offended by the question but his answer was"Tony these people are intelligent intellectuals". I rest my case. There are plenty of free lunches in the education sector. Let them go back there.

And here endith the lesson , " how to keep more horses in work to help increase turnover in NZ racing " . Start paying starter incentives , a no brainer .

The most important need, right now, is to run races at where horse populations are Invercargill-really, Wingatui, Timaru, Ashburton, Riccarton Central Awapuni, Wanganui, New Plymouth, Hastings- carnival Northern Te Rapa, Pukekohe, Taupo-good track conditions, Tauranga, Ellerslie??, Matamata

I would have thought that the landscape had changed years ago!

Correct Gary, but when you cant deposit funds into your account, it leaves you with the problem i had. When the TAB becomes more competitive and wants to look after its customers, I will change back to support our Industry. The other issue, i got a lot more value on my bets.It is human nature to get the best deal available. When any business has competition, they must compete and the NZ TAB has a lot of ground to make up.

It's on me. BGP asked for my tips and I assumed Randwick was featured. However, they weren't.

and small regional tracks aren't as far away as the ones youre claiming? Racing can't keep doing what it been doing , it needs a new way of looking at the landscape probably from every sphere in the industry, trying to make NZ racing like Flemington, Caulfield racing/hospitality etc is and always has been a pipe dream and it will never get there now. Time the industry looked for the most financially/operationally sustainable way of racing, this approach should also apply to training.

No apparently here. Keep digging. After the theft of the voucher saga I didn't think your reputation could get any lower. But you just continue to embarrass yourself on this chat site. Keep digging.

Not in China..maybe just worry about your own business and not everyone else's. Who cares about what they do..maybe just focus on your own problems ..you seem to have a dug a deep hole here for yourself. Biased opinion..no its called a FACT. Your record speaks for itself.

Read again Huey, Dooey or Luey Te Rapa how far away are Cambridge, Te Awamutu, etc TR close to large horse population and they don't race at Cambridge.. Ellerslie?? Taupo runs trials and race meetings at this time of the year and is very central to all NI training centres, get a map of NZ out and have a good look!!!! The draft racing dates and stakes come out Mon/Tues will be interesting.

Yesterday, I gave my son $200 to put into his Bet 365 account for some bets, as i am over this monopoly called the TAB. Well what a user-friendly site, you get the best odds offered, you can cancel your bets, not sure how long before the start of a race, as I didn't use that facility. I just found the whole experience so much better than our $50m platform, so unlikely i will use our TAB again in the near future.

Hillary Clinton in NZ, Gets Another $5.5 Million of Your Money When Hillary Rodham Clinton is involved, it's a question of "What do you want first, the bad news or the really bad news?" Let's start with the worst bit of old news: over the last 5 years, your government has given $8 million to an affiliate of the Clinton Foundation, which is under FBI investigation for corruption. The next bit of bad news is that they're getting $5.5 million more of your money in the next year. Don't worry too much though, it's all going to help cure diarrhea in Africa. Promise. The Foundation is currently under investigation by the FBI over the way it obtained donations while Hillary Clinton was US Secretary of State – the same period in which the New Zealand Government began giving the initiative money. Peters is happier giving our hard earnt $$ to a woman who for many years backed her paedophile Chief of Staff than to help Racing

After looking at employment numbers and figures Rita is only now looking at all avenues to cut back costs which obviously shows the large amount of wastage through the organisation. They have inherited a lemon but have taken to long to weld the axe. The appalling debacle that John Allen left behind with the TAB platform costs that continue to suck the industry shows the idiot decisions that have been made and no accountability as they say easy to spend someone else's money

Won last night in HK , 31s and 6s . 3 wins up there now , just bobs around year after year and finds its mark at one point . Had few placings too this season .

More bloody rubbish from lunatic conspiracy theorists

Pre Alert Level 4 (March 22) A total recruitment freeze and a hold on RITA’s contract with its recruitment partner put in place Dean McKenzie must have thought that 600 employees were not enough and they needed more

I have not looked at the oxidation pond site for years, but jeaz.., Racecafe is really full of Boomers and Geriatrics who spend all their time on Infowars and Fox news conspiracy theories. This has no relevance to racing, and is part of Winston Peter's other responsibilities. Probably very well spent international aid with a very highly rated foundation. I am not particularly interested in Hillary Clinton, but as a fair observer of media manipulation, misinformation cyber wars being fought, mostly not for the New Zealand audience, so why would you get emotionally involved. Hillary Clinton is always under investigation. It is just used as something for the right wing nutjobs to rail about, Hillary Clinton is under investigation by the FBI. She has been investigated so many times, and they all lead to nothing, but she is still needed as the boogey woman, to announce and rage some conspiracy theory, with she is under investigation. Even Barr and the DOJ, released again recently, that their latest investigation of Hillary Clinton had nothing. Like something like 20 other investigations. Benghazi nothing after something like 7, where she openly stood before congress or the house, for 12-16hours of questioning from Republicans, and answered everything clearly and openly. Imagine Trump answering questions under oath? Emails, nothing. All boring, standard government communication. Go read them all, nothing. She is al most irrelevant now, so AOC is becoming the new bogey woman for them to scream and rage about. Hillary Clinton is basically a boring, but competent and intelligent bureaucrat. Very well read and knowledgeable on the subjects. What they hate most, an intelligent woman. Investigation after investigation, nothing. Look at the pattern.

Hi Tasman Man 11..I think we would all like to support the TAB, but the problem is it is so far off the pace, in terms of user friendly platform, options, performance and customer service. If it was in line with its competitors it would get my funds everything. I support my local green grocer over a supermarket, but not if their fruit is out dated or poor quality.

A lot of it probably is

It’s impossible to believe that there are 92 people involved in the RIU!

Miscounting Deaths from Coronavirus? by Marco Cáceres Published April 19, 2020 | Opinion On Mar. 19, 2020, the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Italy reached 3,405. The number was significant in that it surpassed the number of COVID-19 deaths in China, which stood at 3,245 at the time, and thus it was widely reported by the media.1 2 3 4 The following day, the president of the Italian Civil Protection Department, Angelo Borrelli, held a press briefing regarding the COVID-19 outbreak in the country and he specifically addressed the death count.5 6 7 Borrelli stressed… Borrelli was clarifying that the 3,405 people who died did not all die from COVID-19 even though they tested positive for the coronavirus that can cause the disease. He was making the distinction between dying with the virus and dying from the virus, which is not a negligible thing. Particularly when the perceived lethality of the virus may be the key factor behind public policy decisions to encourage “social distancing,” quarantine certain people and mandate the closure of large segments of society and even potentially institute martial law, suspend constitutional rights and violate basic civil liberties. Professor Walter Ricciardi, who is an adviser to Italy’s Ministry of Health, confirms Borrelli’s point. He recently noted that the way in which doctors code deaths in Italy is “very generous in the sense that all the people who die in hospitals with the coronavirus are deemed to be dying of the coronavirus.”7 8 9 10 So why offer what appears to be an inflated figure for COVID-19 deaths in Italy? Why not simply provide the actual number of people who died from COVID-19? In a health crisis where the public is already fearful, why put publish inaccurate information that can only serve to panic people further? Padding the numbers doesn’t make sense unless the goal is to create more fear and panic. So if 3,405 people reportedly died of COVID-19 in Italy by Mar. 19 and not all of them died with COVID-19 as the primary cause of death, then what was the real number? According to Prof. Ricciardi: If that’s true, then, of the 3,405 deaths initially reported in Italy as being solely caused by COVID-19, only 409 of them actually can be classified as COVID-19 deaths. That is a huge discrepancy, and one that can dramatically skew the public’s view of the impact of COVID-19 in Italy. What if this same dynamic were in play in the United States? What if only 12 percent of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S. were actually caused by the virus? It turns out that such a question may not be as implausible as some may think. On Apr. 7, 2020, Minnesota state senator and family physician Scott Jensen, MD said in an interview that he had received a seven-page document from the Minnesota Department of Health “coaching” him on how to fill out death certificates. He said he felt he was being told that he didn’t have to have a “confirmed laboratory test for COVID-19 in order to make the death certificate be COVID-19.12 Dr. Jensen expressed concern about this policy and how it misrepresents the deaths due to COVID-19. “When we start talking about the data that goes into the modeling, we have to ask ourselves a question. ‘Are we being forthright [with the public]?’ he said. “We don’t need to be having it sugarcoated.”12 When asked why he thought health authorities would want to skew the mortality numbers for COVID-19, Dr. Jensen said: Internal medicine specialist Annie Bukacek, MD of Hosanna Health Care in Kalispell, Montana also recently expressed concern about the way the U.S. health authorities are reporting COVID-19 deaths. “Is this death rate based on truth?”asked Dr. Bukacek. “Are the reported deaths from COVID-19 truly deaths from COVID-19?” Dr. Bukacek added: Dr. Bukacek believes that the “real number” of deaths from COVID-19 are “not what most people are told and what they then think.” She thinks that the real number is “anyone’s guess.”13 This is a stunning revelation. COVID-19 mortality figures have been used to institute unprecedented federal government guidelines for quarantining healthy people and state laws for restricting civil liberties. How can there be this level of inaccurate, incomplete mortality data on a health crisis of this apparent magnitude?

You awake yet??

same guy crusty. had first nz ride 1991 over jumps on happy bout that.racing.com au states he,s 62 now

Atrapar beat it a couple of times. Top fields in all of the sprints back then.

That had to be the coolest ride ive ever seen in a hurdle. You were counting your money a long way out and he left it soooo late Impressive alright

Yeah wee bit disappointed with Faltonius however for me he showed just enough to chase my money next time . Stable picked up 20k or so in prizemoney so far this month , best place finish couple 4ths so he ticks over as a stable .

If you can't get the present situation working then scrap it and start afresh Never had these problems when the codes ran the TAB. Dreams can be very pleasant. First problem to grapple with is the "appointee" system. Jobs for the boys and girls or friends or handouts for favours. It surely hasn't worked. ?Go back to the old Racing Board where it was totally run by the codes. A huge re-vamp of the RIU which appears to cost more than the Industry earns.

Doesnt search to well

Throw in what businesses like Air NZ , the Warehouse etc ,Rugby Unions etc etc are going to get then RITA must surely be able to at least get a hefty loan should that be the request ! Not only is it a drop in ocean as described above ,but it affects a whole Industry , the jobs ,the Associated jewels e.g. Breeding and exports....a perfect time to start with a clean sheet . Really is a good time to get ruthless....the redundancies for the dead wood will hardly be noticed. Also there could be some highly skilled racing /wagering types on the pile from other vocations !

What hole is that exactly? I tip a winner such as Final Man or Rubisaki and there’s dead silence from you. I tip a horse that gets beat such as Funstar or Kementari and you scream blue murder. Those are the FACTS. Just remember this is a thoroughbred website where people share their opinions and should be encouraged to do so. Have a nice day

Looks like Wagga Wagga is his target meeting today , be interesting to see how he goes over a period of time on the OZ racing , most punters should improve slightly the more we punt on it regularly . More pundits doing the OZ thing , more punters getting into it daily , it's a worry for NZ racing . It is way better as well.

Fair enough Midget ......back when you were riding for a living ,then in recent years when you were training a few ,the races basically took part because , a little sponsorship aside and acceptance fees paid by owners , the show was largely funded because of Kiwis betting on the TAB. Without the funding from the TAB going back to the clubs NZ racing would be in far worse shape than it currently is.

CRAZY STUFF – $381,250 per week paid to top 135 RITA employees – and we have no racing! April 19, 2020 AAP by Brian de Lore Published 17 April 2020 We have no racing; we have no idea when Jacinda & friends will permit the resumption of racing; the TAB is likely to be in breach of the law for trading while insolvent; racing falls further into debt as each week passes. The 135 employees quoted in this headline is really 136 but because Executive Chair Dean McKenzie who took over from John Allen on January 1st is on an unknown remuneration, he is left out of the calculation. They are not my figures but come from a reputable accountant equally concerned about the current state of racing and its apparent inability to adjust to the moving floor beneath it. Salary Range Employees Cost per annum Average cost NZ$100k-$150k 98 11,690,000 122,000 NZ$150k-$200k 28 4,870,000 174,000 NZ$210k-$390k 11 3,265,000 297,000 Total 135 $19,825,000 The cost of the infamous gravy-train. If 50% of the cost of these employees were gone tonight it would save the stakeholders of racing enough money to run an extra Saturday weekly eight-race card at $24,000/race. A second, reputable and long-standing accountant in the industry, John Aubrey, has made an assessment of the fiscal state of the industry from last year’s Annual Report which is reproduced below. He also emphasises that the 2019 figures now have some age while expressing concern that the half-year result to January 31st has not yet surfaced despite the fact that we are now in the second half of April. You don’t have to be Einstein to understand that New Zealand racing right now is flyblown (as the Aussies would say), destitute, insolvent, impecunious, penniless, impoverished, broke or on the rocks. Everyone knows it, but whatever adjectival description you prefer, no one wants to say it. Let’s maintain the stiff-upper-lip they would say, as Kiwis with English and Scottish ancestors would have done; maintain your dignity, never say die and carry on to the bitter end. For NZ racing, however, the bitter end might be avoidable if we could only extract the truth and recognise those in charge are clueless. RITA is awaiting the outcome of an application for a Government bail-out, citing the COVID-19 as the issue, no doubt. Will the people at Treasury with the Minister of Racing pushing the issue buy into it and give racing an estimated $80 million hand-out/loan? If it was a level playing field the answer would probably be, no! But in New Zealand politics nothing much is on the level, I would suggest, and the forthcoming answer isn’t one to bet on without inside knowledge. NOTES ON RITA FINANCIALS by John Aubrey WHAT IS THE BOARD’S FINANCIAL POSITION? NOTE: The figures below have been taken from the 31 July 2019 Financial Statements. The statements for the half year to 31 January 2020 are not yet available. The financial statements of the NZ Racing Board (now called Racing Industry Transition Agency, or RITA ) do not show a strong position. As at 31 July 2019, the reported net profit before distributions was $136 million, down on 2018 by $9 million. Distributions to the Clubs and Gaming totalled just on $162 million.(2018, $159 million) The equity or capital (assets less liabilities) of RITA has at 31 July 2019 dropped to a disturbing $24.8 million. In 2016 the comparable figure was $74 million. Go back to 2011 and the equity was $81 million. Where have the funds gone ? The accounts disclose that some $105 million was spent on computer software. Presumably, most of this is on the fixed odds betting platform. This author’s calculation differs from that set out in the notes to the financial statements. Of the total cost, $65 million has been amortised to date leaving a book value at 31 July 2019 of $40 million. In addition to expenditure on betting software RITA was propping up the codes/clubs by payments exceeding the available profit. In 2019 the payments to the codes and sports bodies exceeded the net profit by $28 million and in 2018 by $16 million. The question that must now be asked is simply “is a second-hand betting software worth the $40 million?” Note 19 to the financial statements states that the software has an estimated useful life of 3-7 years and the amortisation is charged annually on a straight-line basis. Note 19 also states that “Intangible assets are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.” Given the current liquidity issues and the COVID 19 outbreak would the auditors insist on an increased amortisation sum? If the amortisation was for some reason to be “speeded up” the equity of RITA would be getting close to zero, or worse. On a straight assets less debts calculation, the TAB, or RITA, is worth nothing, However, the real asset is the monopoly right to conduct betting in New Zealand. This comes in two forms. Firstly, the sole or exclusive right for this country. Secondly, the ability to conduct betting over a number of years. In Australia this latter sum is huge, but most of the funds paid have gone to Government for payment of a gaming licensing fee for 20 or 30 years. The value of this intangible asset can be realised only by an outsourcing arrangement or an outright sale of the TAB to another operator. The notes to the 2019 RITA financial statements say only that the broadcasting licences are carried at cost less accumulated amortisation and impairment losses. There is no mention of the term of the licences but the original costs amounted to $2.9 million. The current book value, cost less depreciation or amortisation, is just over $1 million. The RITA has an unsecured revolving credit facility totalling $45 million. $10 million was drawn in the 2018 year and $25 million in 2019, leaving $10 million undrawn. Rumour in the industry has it that this has been drawn down subsequent to balance date. Disturbingly, the 2019 Statement of Financial Position discloses Current Assets of $49 million but Current Liabilities amount to $71 million. Quick Assets ratio. This is the ratio of liquid current assets ($18.1 million) to all current liabilities ($47.8 million). As at balance date 31 July 2019 the ratio is .38. This is very poor. The betting account deposit and vouchers, ($23.4 million) balanced by the trust term deposit of $25 million have been removed from this calculation. The RITA update of 2 April 2020, following the COVID 19 shutdown, makes distressing reading. RITA advise that the product available for betting is down about 75%. The telling comment is on page 2 – “…when we can’t sell any bets we can’t make any money and in fact with the fixed costs of the business (rent, insurance etc) continuing we are losing money.“ Not making a profit means no funds for the clubs. RITA obviously have grave financial issues. If betting cannot be restored to reasonable levels in the next couple of months RITA must surely be close to insolvency. One definition of insolvency is “unable to pay debts as they fall due in the normal course of business” and another, “having liabilities in excess of a reasonable market value of assets held”.

So on one hand we have to go where the horse population is then on the other hand we have to go where the tracks are good, make your mind up. Te Rapa how many horses trained there? Tracks been good for what 2 meetings? Taupo 3 horses trained there? Ellerslie how does that help the industry participants increased transport costs , no horses trained there, nightmare traffic yippee !!! Racing needs to get its house in order its financially absolutely screwed , decisions need to be made according to what is feasibly sustainable.

Actually didn't see the little runts selections...Maybe too scared to get lapped which of course would have happened..... Have a good look at the horse I backed and tell me it was a good ride..

SOMETHING IS FISHY Wuhan to Shanghai = 839km Wuhan to Beijing = 1,152km Wuhan to Milan = 15,000km Wuhan to NY = 15,000km The Coronavirus started in Wuhan yet there is no effect of Coronavirus in nearby Beijing or Shanghai but many deaths in Italy, Iran, European countries and USA. All business areas of China are now safe. America is not just blaming China without a reason. Even today, India is locked down but all the cities of China are open. China has also announced the opening of Wuhan from April 08. Not a single leader in China has tested positive for the deadly Coronavirus. The virus has ruined many economies around the world. Many have had to close their borders in an attempt to contain and control the spread of the Coronavirus. Thousands have lost their lives, millions have now got this disease, countless people have been locked in their homes and many countries have placed their citizens on lock down. The Coronavirus orginated from the city of Wuhan in China and has now reached every corner of the world, but the virus did not reach China's capital Beijing and China's Economic Capital Shanghai, located in close proximity to Wuhan itself. Today Paris is closed, New York is closed, Berlin is closed, Delhi is closed, Mumbai is closed, Tokyo is closed, the world's major economic and political centers are closed, but Beijing and Shanghai are open. No Coronavirus effect is seen in either cities. There were only a few cases but the virus had no real effect on Beijing and Shanghai. Beijing is the city where all the leaders of China live, including their military leaders. There is no lock down in Beijing. Shanghai is the city that runs China's economy. It is the economic capital of China, where all the rich people of China live and run major industries. There is no lock down here, there is no effect of the Coronavirus there. Beijing and Shanghai are the areas adjoining Wuhan. The virus from Wuhan reached every corner of the world, but the virus did not affect Beijing and Shanghai. Another big thing is, that the worldwide share market has fallen by almost half. In India also the Nifty has gone from 12 thousand to 7 thousand, but the share market of China was at 3000 and just merely dropped to 2700. This leaves one to speculate that the Coronavirus is a bio-chemical weapon of China, which China used to carry out destruction in the world in order to gain economic supremacy. China has now put this virus under control, maybe they also have the antidote/ vaccine that they are not sharing with the world ever or will do when it is in their best interest to do so. Hollywood stars, Australia's Home Minister, Britain's Prime Minister and Health Minister, Spain's Prime Minister's wife, Canada's Prime Minister's wife, and Britain's Prince Charles, among others, have contracted the Coronavirus, but NOT A SINGLE POLITICAL LEADER IN CHINA, NOT A SINGLE MILITARY COMMANDER in China have tested positive for Coronavirus.

Yes we are in very difficult times, I am sure there will be a way out but it is going to be a long term response as this will take years and I cannot see us having racing as we once knew it. I fear the top echelon trainers will cross the ditch What a mess to sort out and we need racing brains and industry participants at the top table not the current regime

I've had enough of NZ TAB. A few weeks ago they sent me a message saying i was using their bonus bet offers too much and they wanted me to spend more on other types of bets or they would take the promotions away from me. They have had a lot of my money over the past 60yrs. but not any more. I am back betting on my Beteasy a/c in Aussie. 8 any race money back races yesterday with a bet up to $50.

It'll be a month or more before gets back to Aussie riding with all the quarantine he'll have to serve between country's. Makes sense though...all the best Opie!

The TAB Web-site like John Allen & Glenda Hughes is a complete DOG! $50 million + $17 million per year piece of

And of course Bridges and his team would have got it all right , christ when it comes to politics people can be so bloody one eyed , try look at the whole picture . Nobody was going to get this situation right , it was a damned it whatever way they went . I don't have any political affiliation .

Stick your spell check up your rrrsss tosser. Kingdome Come as opposed to kingdom come is a reference to a very good race horse of years gone by. Similarly "yakoont" is a polite way of referring to you as a **** but your spell checker obviously missed that. No, I'm neither Bert's mum or Neil's but right now I'm your Daddy... yakoont.

Good laying. My Betfair account says thanks.

From a farmer, jumps mad racing enthusiast, shareholder in a wet tracker, who I would love to see over fences, it's been such a dry summer and autumn, we're hoping like hell for a wet winter / spring to lift water levels before next summer! May the wet trackers still be running in October!!

About to, not much else to do once I've fed and mucked the paddocks. Still dont think that it is that silly of an idea. Gives those winter horses and riders at least a part of a season.

Could you allocate one track to jump racing in each region and put everything back 3 months and just keep watering that track with an aim for say slow 8 right through until end of November. Or say at Riccarton water the chase course and then an inside strip for hurdles.

You might have to remind him to fill it up first.