Huey

"Applicants are sought for appointement to NZTR Board......but the Members' Council is unlikely to make any changes"  😀
 

Because not everybody agrees The Hill should have been sold, but once it's gone it's gone. It can't come back. But that wasn't a question I asked of you, as it had no question mark after my sentence. It was a statement, my opinion and my opinion only. I thought I made that quite clear.
I feel that removing jumping races completely from Ellerslie is a tragedy, especially when they had the best steeplechase course in the country by far. But then there seems to be no appetite for keeping jumps races going these days anyway, anywhere in thre country, so maybe the timing was right. It'll certainly help kill it off anyway.  

The RIB rep. and regional track manager had been advised by some (moron in an office that lacks accountability but is allowed to make decisions that affect the earning ability of the participants )  of an impending HUGE THUNDERSTORM!!!!  that was due to hit Woodville that afternoon . Will it NEVER turned up!  . The Track would have been a very good winter soft/heavy track . The track has a great sole of grass on it , and with a deep grass root structure it will hold together very well compared to a lot of the over irrigated tracks that have the very shallow root structure causing those tracks to chop out quite badly.
Maybe the City Boys in head office are just looking for an extra reason to put another nail in coffin of a country club

In other words Leggy wouldn't it be beneficial to the horse if we could replicate the same surface on raceday as what it has experienced at the trials in a raceday situation. I do not think training and trialling on synthetic for over a year , then suddenly sending it to the races on a grass track would be in the best interests of the horse. 

Fully agree with your comments shane,would love to see some pics or someone with experience walked the track and there opinion
yesterday and see if it was actually unsafe for racing.
Grey Ghost what are you on about??
Everyone knows a slow track with 20mls on it shouldn't be leading to the meeting called off.
Like Aaron said it just stuffs everyone up when shit decisions like this are made 

The word Niller gets mentioned on here quite a bit so I’m wondering what constitutes a Niller and at what stage do you graduate from being a Niller to have “done something” in the game.
As a breeder, how many winners do you need to have bred and how many of them Group or Listed races.?
As an Owner, how many winners do you need to have had, how much % ownership in each of those horses and how many of those Group or Listed races won.?
As a Trainer, how many winners do you need to have trained and how many of those need to be Group or Listed races.?
As a jockey, how many winners do you need to have ridden and how many of them Group and Listed races.?
I think you get the drift….
So… I raced a horse that won 14 Group One races.
The horse was called Melody Belle. I didn’t have any involvement in the breeding or purchase of her, I just joined up and paid my $$ and was very lucky.
So, am I a niller or have I done something in the game.?
 
DECLARATION: I did not have any ownership in Melody Belle whatsoever, and have absolutely no intention of trying to devalue anyone on here who did…I wish I could have been involved in her and enjoyed the many great experiences you would have had.
I also did not race 50 horses. I had ownership in 3 horses, 2 of which made it to the races and I had the excitement of winning a maiden race at Tauranga in 2011. I proudly have hanging in my little office at home a photo of that alongside a very old photo of a horse owned and bred by my grandfather and ridden by my father…. as well a print by Alister Simpson of the Bonecrusher-Waverley Star duel from 1986…
So I’m proud to be called a niller if that’s what I am…

ATR have become  property development organisation and have forgotten to listen to the real racing folk !

TM, I personally admire Pam as she speaks her mind from the actual grass roots of day to day involvement at the coal face. Her comments I invariably find have value.
Sure, she ain't an apologist and on that alone I admire her input. 
Maybe, just maybe, if we didn't have the room so full of apologists and had more Pam's throwing down the challenge to leadership then possibly NZ Racing wouldn't be in the strife it is in.
IMHO we need more Pam's speaking up, as the free ride for *the leadership* has gone on for too long.
Think about it TM, there just may be value here if we had a room full of Pam's, *battling away at the coalface*, rather than full of apologists

The elephant in the room for NZTR, I suspect once the initial chase commences against a small club, the wagons will circle and a massive legal fight will commence and last for many years. The legal fees will be horrendous.
Seems fundamentally wrong that community clubs can be acquired by NZTR, and that be the battle.
A nightmare in every which way and I suspect NZTR know that hence no activity to date. I am sure NZTR would prefer a better pathway .... but was is it
 

You looking at the negative side  ONLY !
Seems enough positives there re trackwork and jumpouts etc  to build on their usefulness.
Only been in  less than 15 months in NZ and most of NZ top trainers support them .
RV has the luxury of being able to spend significantly to upgrade their grass surfaces which a majority of participants prefer ...this was always obvious..poor old NZ was technically bankrupt ,unable to pay their monthly creditors when Winston stepped in and gifted these tracks. 
They were never going to be a 'silver bullet ' but the local trainers should be at least be seen to be supporting them. The number of meetings in NZ to date has not been great and as the Messara Report emphasised NZ did not have one decent track....at the time of report he said all needed significant work !
I attended the first meeting at Cambridge and quite surprised at the venomous negative comments made by a few people close to the industry....the very people they were introduced to help.
Similar to Jumps racing in NZ [and South]. Many close to the industry want the races put on but make no attempt to produce horses to race in them.
I've been told that you are a battling trainer who spends far too much time  spreading negativity about the industry , don't know you from a bar of soap but if true I'd wonder why ? 

Fancy that, even JJ Flash complimented me on a positive view of our AWT.
You must have forgotten that.. or perhaps it didn't suit your narrative.

From a betting angle I find the synthetic tracks a pain, and they now get minimal attention. Perhaps I'm just a piss poor punter. However Rogerson stated these tracks have a place and purpose, but he would not race a good horse on these surfaces, no further elaboration to that statement that I heard. I would imagine these synthetic tracks are a joy for trainers in winter, for punters, not so sure.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Pam and can report that she is one of the more intelligent people I have met in racing, and a deep thinker about all aspects of the industry with more knowledge and experience than most. We are very lucky that someone with her insight contributes on these forums. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism.

With our numbers in Cambridge, the track has been an absolute blessing once again through this winter period.
The set up was originally for 200 horses to be trained there, and we are now up to 1000 to utilise this fantastic complex.
Our grass surfaces are still there to be utilised throughout the year at a set fee over and above the monthly track fee.
Trainers utilise that with their better horses heading into the Spring, and the use being at their own discretion.
We have numerous other tracks to work on, and every trainer has their own theory on what surface suits their own needs, but the AW surface certainly has its avid followers.
 

i am staggered with the no deductions on fixed odds promotion (I use it).  I personally think this is a very risky strategy.  Especially in the greyhound and harness game where one stable dominates the runners.  

Great to read this , 
Auckland Thoroughbred Racing has confirmed that a $20,000 stake minimum will apply across all its race meetings in the 2022/23 season as part of its annual stakes announcement.
The amount is up $5,000 on ATR’s minimum of last season and is the highest minimum to have been offered by the club.
As part of its announcement, ATR has also confirmed it will be contributing $1.4 million of its own monies into stakes for the season, bringing the total stakes on offer for the Club’s season at Pukekohe Park to $9.57 million.
ATR chief executive Paul Wilcox said that early success with the Club’s new business model has been key to this outcome. “Following last year’s merger and stakes announcement we alluded to the fact that as we continued to implement our new business model, we hoped to be able to announce further stake increases in the future,” Wilcox said. 

Geez you are a bullshit apologist, it’s not the crooks they will be stopping with that. It’s the sharp punters whom price smarter than they do.
Read the article in the Herald today, sums it up saying that the vast majority will re-invest anything they win regardless, it’s a huge positive for the TAB, the sharp punters will be restricted quick smart as will your crooks.

Nothings changed Nerula, just the marketing dept has got a lot slicker.
Closing the door on offshore competition will hasten the decline of NZ Racing. interest is at an all time low now, removing choice will see more drift away. It seems ok to let Jocks, Trainers, Horses, Owners to play in Aus but not punters? not really an industry in tune with its major funders when the only option to survival is legislation.

IMAGINE....... A $10 TUI OR A $50 COLD DUCK ( Ha Ha )  IS COMING UP. !!
NOW IT REALLY WILL TASTE LIKE SH#@
 

What one has to consider to keep a balanced approach - if the bloke had been a girl, what would we think then?

He is not a young man at 35. You know where his proclivities lay..
Times gone by the offender would have been thumped and the matter would have ended there. Pity for racing though.

Brisbane sprinter Uncommon James brought his uncommon ability to Melbourne in Saturday's Regal Roller Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield.
Uncommon James built an enviable record of four wins from five starts in his home state but showed he would be a formidable sprinting proposition in the spring with his decisive Caulfield win.
Uncommon James didn’t have things his own way in the Regal Roller Stakes, getting into bumping duels with both the runner-up Ranges and the fourth placegetter Felicia before striding clear under jockey Damian Lane to score easily.
 
One of the most impressive ive seen in a while- raw as and still bolted in

Its had to cover other meetings recently so the chickens coming home to roost...no Awapuni for months has lead to this...sorry state of affairs the way the tracks have not been maintained over the past decade and this is where we are now at...and you wait and see they won't try to reprogram it as its more savings for them makes the bottom line look better.Until there is a massive shake up nothing will change....the weather is just a smoke screen and a added bonus for them...if Waverly had been only holding its allowed meetings this would not have happened.

I personally think we must develop tracks that can handle over 20 race meetings a year.  This requires investment (like ATR), hence why we need to figure out the tracks we are keeping for once and for all and invest in them so they can drain etc.
All these short term fixes are just plugging the dam, AND costing money.
 

Strath Ayr Tracks would fix this problem overnight!