slam dunk

Mine won't load at all. Just blank page. thats with Chrome and Opera however loads with Internet Explorer.

Well then lets try breeze ups. If NZB can do it then so can Stratford. Stratford would need an online TV deal and run breeze ups for online auction thus earning commission. The town get behind the scheme and welcome participants and buyers. A stumbling block could be pedigree catalogs which NZB have a monopoly over. However where there is a will there is a way

Thats what they told Kerry Packer and look what happened. One day cricket was born. If China was serious about horse racing they could purchase 100 horses have them trained and racing here at rebel meetings before export.

Lets say Stratford decided to run a racemeeting I daresay if requirements such as safety were met then they could. However then NZTR would ban any horse or jockey from participating at NZTR sanctioned meetings. Then it becomes a legal question is the ban equitable and fair. If Stratford decided to have betting the question would be how to get around the Racing Act and Gambling Act. Perhaps have an overseas agency provide betting to overseas customers only. If Stratford did somehow find a way the local support would be mammoth. Like shoving it up the status quo.

Its an issue for the advertiser to decide thats assuming advertisers are actually encouraged to advertise.

I know what you are saying Barry but still a bit of a mind teaser. Race 1 Tamworth. Odds on fav. plus 3 horses less than $10 then gap to rest. 8 starters. So there are three horses outside fav good chance running top 4. The fourth fav priced at $4.20 (WinInsurance top 4). Betting on it there is high chance of it running top 4 so perhaps worth the gamble.

I would like to know the formula the odds setters use. The big factor would be if there is an odds on favourite in the race. If there is then say a 20:1 outsider has far better chance running 2nd than 1st whereas if a $5 favourite the chance of running 2nd not much different to the win odds. Maybe there is a chink in the system us punters could latch on. As for TAB it just means less turnover in that only one bet placed instead of each way. Another own goal for TAB.

Maybe so but its a convenience type bet. I took several such bets and will work out the pro's/cons. However its worth noting that in the TAB's quest to emulate the overseas bookies with promotions they miss one vital point. The bookies there don't have tote betting therefore they are competing against the tote. I can't see the point of competing here in NZ against the tote unless you are trying to wean people off racing and onto sport.

Wasn't a plumbing firm the leading sponsor of the Hawkes Bay triple crown or was that auto parts? i.e. Mudgeway. Perhaps you could glean some insights from them?

Drawing the very outside a huge advantage at Wanganui in these conditions. Why then would D Bradley not use that advantage and dictate on Eagle County. Strange!!!

THats silly. Professional sport has numerous sponsorship sales agents who can give the sponsor better advice than part time amateurs. Many operate on 20% which isn't cheap. Most clubs can't afford a sponsorship manager so it makes sense outsourcing the function. Why should racing not compete on a level playing field with sport. Agree a bit that club officials not get on the train but at least their expenses can be accommodated.

Interesting snippet from Tim Barton's piece on Eric Temperton. Surely someone on racecafe must know or have a clue. "The win was especially popular with an un-named New Zealand punter who, more than three months earlier, spent $2,200 to couple Silver Knight with eight horses in the Caulfield Cup in the Caulfield-Melbourne Cups double market. In each case, the bets were to return $100,000, the same figure as the Melbourne Cup stake. Favourite Gay Icarus won the Caulfield Cup and Silver Knight, who started at 10-1, also did the right thing for the punter. Using the CPI index as a guide, the punter’s return was the equivalent of $1.5 million in today’s currency. Marsh was only 21 when he partnered Silver Knight to win the Cup and it was also the first time the race was broadcast live on television in New Zealand."

This is an area where some new thinking is required. Currently sponsorship means extra money for stakes. I contend that generally sponsors could get better mileage sponsoring punters. i.e. tag on sponsors products or services onto the tote betting pools. There may be some laws against this at the moment but that needs to change. An easy way for sponsors to get rid of excess or old stock without forking up cash. Adding on sponsors to betting pools is perhaps the best way to prevent betting leakage to foreign operators. Its an area where the overseas parasites can't compete.

When it comes to retail outlets TAB must think along the lines " how can we help retailer build business??" Perhaps contra deals but that is less practical as TAB getting rid of its media operations. Everything TAB does must be based on "how does it promote business" e,g, is it worthwhile screening races from Puerto Rico or could the TV time be better spent otherwise. Instead of any business inclination the TAB has been infiltrated with the old English betting shop mentality or civil service types who only know how to clip the ticket.

If we just look at the business angle. Not paying for form comments by TAB may be some sort of short term saving but then its destroying the value of the whole set of comments going back say 6 years. Is that smart business? I think not.