Huey

So how are you proposing to keep the 60 best horses racing in NZ instead of Aus? There will be 5 tracks left in 3-5 years time, they are going to destroy the breadth of the industry, no one will give a rats about it, interest and is dwindling at a pace I don't even think Nostradamus could have predicted , some are just too blind to see it.

Really? I'm surprised they are suggesting $100k.

The bottom will be just fine if lett alone, those are the people that really love the game and they'll probably do it anyway many of them. I always get a laugh out of people threatening to take horses to Australia like you just up and go and win races it isn't easy thats why most just threaten to go. Have a look at the fields at Ballarat today racing for 22.5k and think youre just going to win races for fun over there. Not to mention does the NZ TAB really care if you race them over there? After all you can still bet on them here.

Undoubtedly true, but then perhaps poor breeders can stop losing money on dumping them on the likes of Gavelhouse etc. I know the studs have got to make a quid as well , but some of the fees given our price money , participation levels and interest are insane, when we are mostly a breed to race venue and hope to sell.

Good point, you'd have to think there will be a massive PR campaigh around how much they have done for the industry etc

Agree and which fields justify more than those stakes in NZ, I can't think of any. Hopefully this begins to bring everything into line like yearling prices, stud fees etc etc

Leadership and self interest ... unfortunately.

Wow two breed to race stallions in NZ above 4k Wyndspelle & Ocean Emperor interesting pricing.

I like it, but got to say your observation appears to be fairly correct at the moment, has it something to do with some of the shorter straights there? Having said that Sandown play like that a fair bit, seems only the Saturday racing has many coming from behind?

From what I have seen they aren't capable to doing either, some of the most awkward/pointless interviews conducted in sport.

I'm sure they'll find a nice Dead4 somewhere in July to get their 100th winner.

Not really winter stables are they, Flash horses don't like the mud.

I agree they need to be given time, it would be fascinating to be involved. The area that really needs a fresh perspective on things is NZTR imo.

Has it ever been any different in July though?, Trentham another all hardwork but thats winter racing, quite looking forward to Pukekohe on Saturday strange but interesting fields in that makes sense.

Exactly and this mess plays into their "we need an AWT solution" !

Isn't the website a bit Old school now? Most trainers have reasonable Social Media accounts like FB or Twitter nowadays, seems much more functional , the website is dead .

I agree on the Saturday dates, but the clubs with 90% dates already have pretty good facilities & still no-one really goes. This weekend should be a decent crowd cause it's the return of racing like Rugby, but it won't consistently go on like that, nor has it anything to do with anything NZTR or RITA have done, but I'm sure we'll read some PR fluff on it.

Will they be back in those numbers over and over again, without the Covid19 celebration atmosphere/BB debut???

Good point, apart from Ellerslie,Trentham, Riccarton, Te Rapa, perhaps Tauranga are the facilities at any other tracks worth raving about? I'm always surprised at how clubs like Avondale constantly get bagged for their facitlies, Te Aroha has a G1 day and the facilities there are hardly worth raving about.

Racing is an aspirational type business, whether youre in a syndicate or not or have a 6 figure horse, one you've breed or something you picked up on Gavelhouse , you aspire for the horse to be good enough to make certain races or race at certain meetings, we already have that structure in place a Karaka Million,an Oaks, Telegraph, Guineas , Winter Cup whatever. They all have the sufficient facilities or at least should have given the industry assistance they have got to provide that experience. The other venues need to provide a decent enough product to get punters to bet on or to attend in that family summer type festival, those are the experiences that stick in peoples minds and get them hooked on the sport and they work, yet our leadership want to kill off those days, can't see much of a future in doing that. I just can't imagine young kids coming through in twenty years time saying I remember seeing such and such run on the AWT at Cambridge or Awapuni it was one of the 43 meetings they had that season, no they don't remember that or even get hooked on it with those race days , its the ones I've mentioned before that get people involved and participating. Racing loses a bit of its sould racing on AWT imho, I watched some from Packenham this afternoon ...awful I thought.

It's always going to be like that when a guy from Aus see it as his mission to shrink the industry here, why we needed someone imported from Aus. to do that I'll never know. What the likes of NZTR should be doing is assisting clubs where possible in reinvigorating their courses, training facilities etc instead of this dead end approach. They could put a set of metrics in place for these tracks to achieve over a given period of time and if they achieve them they can work with them in the industry, instead its so much easier to dump on them for the benefit of a few underachievers who for one reason or another are seen as strategic venues - It's a hopeless case really, of everything that worries me in this industry the thing that needs changing the most is the lack of vision and leadership.

Utterly pointless for industry style race meetings are stands/facilities, if so put something cheap up for $100k and spend money on the track. The argument for having nice stands and facilities for every track is presented by people in the industry who haven't been able to achieve much despite all the time and resources they've had, the same people go to Flemington on Derby day and think that's racing and how it should be every day. The Industry days are about generating revenue, bringing horses through the grades and generally turning the wheels of the industry, you do not need half million $ stands to cater for that but you need very good race tracks.

So true , hard to see how even having a K1 mare and selling in NZ is going to be a viable option for the forseeable future.

Another impressive addition to their roster, I really liked US Navy Flag in particular. But geez how anyone can justify $20k stud fees for unproven stallions when we will be lucky to be racing for $10k is beyond me.

Do you wobble when you read?