slam dunk

I suppose NZ had a rep at the Asian Racing Conference. Anyone know where their report is or do they do reports? https://www.racingpost.com/news/5g-expansion-a-gamechanger-and-major-opportunity-for-racing-and-betting/423964

For most of the year racing is an online attraction which fits in with the current environment. Therefore the introduction of 5G is going to be a major development for racing. i've seen livestreaming of Tasmanian racing and feel that rather than viewers having to put up with material on TV they have no interest then a continual feed from one source is the way to go. However 5G is going to be big for sports betting as well and casinos will want to muscle in as well. i.e. plenty of competition. The big question is who owns Trackside and who owns the IP generated on the racetrack. Doing it right means getting rid of the shysters that have led racing to almost extinction. With fewer oncourse attendance racing clubs can raise capital by selling or redefining the use of their facilities. Dosen't mean they have to totally close down. Splitting Trackside away from TAB is a no brainer whilst making sure Trackside is run in the most efficient manner. There are obviously going to be the usual suspects like Tabcorp, NZTAB, Betfair, Sky Racing etc saying come with us we know best therefore its so important starting from club level that the best options are examined. https://www.telemediaonline.co.uk/boom-in-sports-betting-predicted-with-the-introduction-of-5g/

Obviously clubs combining. I got into IT back in 1970 so I've followed it's history right through. New technology should have reduced the cost of new development. Instead the TAB splashed out $50M which was crazy. If however we are only talking of betting on NZ racing only then it fits in with the historical pattern of reduced costs. Clubs would find the cost very reasonable with sensible evaluation of options and not be saddled with all the TAB extravaganzas.

TABCORP is just as big parasite as the other corporate bookies. The simple answer to NZ wagering is this. 1. allow clubs to run and develop their own pools direct to public. 2. run TAB as separate business offering betting on anything that moves. Like any business it will have the option of merging, selling or whatever. 3. Under no circumstances must clubs sign away their IP. Thats the most logical basis. No point in having countless, board meetings, select committees, conferences etc. Accept that and move on.

If GBR (Gross Betting revenue) last week was $3.7M then multiplied by 52 that is about $180M enough to payout for stakes. What is destroying it is the overheads and excess salaries. RITA is not responsible for what NZTR is doing so why the self adulation by RITA. There are no specifics in the "pay cuts". As I posted March 10 before the topic was fashionable all salaries have to scaled backwards from a maximum of $150,000 PA.

Fair comment but when grass root participants get on boards or influential bodies they seem to keel over and not confront the "business types" e.g. how much say has Bill Birnie had pushing sport over racing without a bleep from racing participants. Sir Peter Vela may know something about business, fishing, yearling sales and you would expect racing. Yet when has he come out with anything worthwhile? Perhaps he has but it hasn't been heard. Example what does he say about RITA salary structure?

Totally. Most businesses wages and salaries have to be fitted in between sales and cost of supplies. With TAB all they need do is shrink the return to suppliers.

Growing NRL greed exposed by virus, says former Kiwis coach Graham Lowe Rugby league great Graham Lowe says the coronavirus pandemic has unmasked a greed that has infiltrated the NRL and believes a fundamental re-set should take place. While adamant that sport "is insignificant behind humanity" in the problems caused by Covid-19, Lowe didn't hold back when asked to assess if a reincarnated NRL could be better structured. The successful former Manly, Queensland and Kiwis coach said too many stakeholders had clawed themselves an influential voice in the running of the game. Clubs and the NRL itself were now top-heavy with staff, Lowe said, and the imbalance was exposed by the pandemic, which has halted the competition and left it teetering financially. "We can all see it now, there's been a greed that's infected the game, a greed from players, from coaches, from player agents and clubs," Lowe told AAP. "I think it's been disgusting and whatever happens in the future, someone's got to be strong enough to make sure that greed never infects the game again. "For example, coaches have got to be totally de-powered. They're not the oracles they think they are on the game." Lowe, who was chief executive at Manly a decade ago, said he had to go back to more than 20 years ago when Ken Arthurson ran a tight rugby league ship in Australia for the ideal setup. Arthurson's hard-nosed attitude wouldn't have let struggling clubs be continually bailed out by grants and other support mechanisms, Lowe added, and that a central cash reserve would probably have been established. He said only clubs that can survive through their own crowd figures and sponsorship should remain in a new-look competition, hailing Brisbane Broncos as the only club currently that could be classified as strong. Lowe said the salary cap should be dispensed with and an English Premier League-style structure introduced, even if that results in a smaller number of teams. "I know that broadcasting has a major part to play but weak clubs shouldn't be allowed to be involved," he said. "You've got to have a situation where the clubs can actually stand on their own two feet, without the support of the governing body. "Most clubs would agree, they could run on a fraction of their staff for a start. You've got assistant coaches for the assistants." Lowe feared he would sound like a curmudgeon but he believed the influx of business people running rugby league had removed some of its essence for fans. "The game was embarrassed about itself because they felt there were too many blokes with broken noses and cauliflower ears in positions of control. "We've totally failed to recognise the wisdom of those blokes." AAP

C'mon Michael the best thing NZTR can do is just knock all jumps on the head for the season. Why give false hope, extra financial burdens, plus activate an unnecessary infrastructure. The idea of jumps racing used to be to give racegoers a spectacle. Most likely there won't be spectators and I doubt TV viewers will somehow be addicted to it. Certainly punters won't be interested. Lets face it someone has to mow the grass between the jumps or drive the ambulance and it won't be me.

The section NZTR saying Jumps racing returning 1 July in North is absurd. Now jumps racing in UK is huge whilst NZ wouldn't even register in comparison. Yet the British don't plan on resuming jumps racing until later. From British Racing Authority Operational Plan "With that in mind, we also expect any return to racing to begin, at least initially, with Flat racing, principally for reasons of safety and to minimise demands on emergency services. While every effort will be made to subsequently resume jumping at the earliest opportunity, possibly with the scheduling of some Jumpers’ Bumpers cards, it may assist jumps trainers to judge whether horses can/should be turned out or kept in training"

Yes he was and contributor here on Racecafe but got hounded away. Pity i thought he had some constructive ideas. Insider, Auckland selling land obviously first priority was to maintain exec jobs. I find so many in racing may be good at one thing but fail to see the whole picture. Creating a racing city complex I would have thought deserved some investigation and still does. Getting RITA and NZTR out of Wellington would be first step in a reorganisation.

When the Racing Board sold the Petone buliding they cheekily made sure to put in a 10 year lease agreement to stop any shift. Then setting up Trackside studios in Parnell occurred with not a bleep from racing bigwigs. Having a racetrack as the backdrop to TV presentation would have been a marketing plus. Rob McAnulty when he was involved with Auckland Racing club had the idea of creating a Racing city at Ellerslie with everything there e.g. breeders, TAB, NZTR , trackside, museum, cafes etc a place overseas visitors would treat as first stop. Closeness to airport being big plus.

For twenty years on Racecafe I've been advocating for Racing Head Offices to be moved to Ellerslie racecourse from Petone. The reasons are a no brainer yet little support instead abuse such as from Nerula in a recent thread.

OK but i'll rephrase as per value to discussion which includes past tense. Breeder-yes, owner-yes, owner-trainer-yes, rider-yes (rode own trackwork), publisher-yes, racing website-yes probably some more can't remember. Oh yes punter. Don't worry about yours I couldn't really care.

If you want to get personal start by outlining your involvement.