Jefferson

How have Ellerslie got sectional times up and running (well done) and other clubs still lagging behind?

I loved Retro and still really like Thoroughbred Weekly. Their honesty, good & bad, and humour is refreshing, A must watch show each week, "taped" (mySky) to watch later in the day. Long may the Australian show continue.

Racing has for decades sold land to clear deficits from Committee mismanagement over many years. Ellerslie has at least generated a cash flow for racing from it's asset sales, most other clubs sold just to clear debt. What will happen in the future as mismanagement puts some clubs under pressure with nothing to sell. Goodbye club. We know rationalisation is necessary, the only problem is we have no control over which clubs will go. We saw Awapuni and Trentham go ever so close to disappearing. In the ideal world land would have been retained and used as security for loans, that money used to gain a valuable return to repay the debt. If the business model didn't guarantee that then the money wouldn't be borrowed, Unfortunately clubs have sold or are selling land and when clubs hit the wall in the future, as we know they will, history time and again have shown they will, there will be no food in the pantry to eat or cars in the shed to sell.

I don't disagree with the comments being made, however we can't begrudge breeders and trainers selling offshore if the money is better then offered in NZ, that aids their survival. We need to ensure we continue to have a results driven NZ breeding industry and advertising to the World the great results with the NZ suffix overseas. If numbers racing in NZ drop, more broodmare owners currently not sending their mare(s) to stallions may reconsider.

Tony Pike is without a doubt an exceptional trainer. No big team, great strike rate, professional and an example for a number of trainers to study.

Don't worry chaps, our guys are going to double stakes.........oh yeah, the downside is we will only have half the number of races. Sounds like a rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic!! If the Australia/NZ gap widens any further and why won't it, we will race horses in NZ only to find out if they are fast enough to either sell to or take over and race in Australia. It must help having a supportive Government, instead of our flag changing, All Black chasing Prime Minister. Bring back Winston Peters.

Has anyone heard any updates on the NZ case? Anyone?

About time we started seeing outcomes to the long winded cobolt saga in Australasia. Will be good to get this blot off racing's radar. The speed will depend on the strength of the legal representation, so the next couple of cases in Australia will no doubt drag on. NZ as usual will remain lagging behind.

Kawi a certainty beaten, not the right handed track. Both of the first two were trapped in the running, but the experienced jockey got the winner out and won. Race that race 10 times and 10 different jockeys on Kawi, then Kawi wins for every jockey who uses his head, bad luck for Reese if it is 9 wins. Of course Reese is feeling bad and if he got his turn again, he would win, but with a horse like that you only get one chance, homework is the key. Bring on a right hand track.

It annoys me racing changes the rules to help mediocrity, slow horses, perform. Do they handicap the All Blacks, Usane Bolt, of course not and the public love seeing champions win and everyone loves playing/racing against them, wanting to be the one who defeats the champion. Mediocre slow horses don't get people through the gates. Black Caviar filled race courses to the point the gates had to be closed. If we want people to return to the races give them winners who keep winning. I remember Sunline filling the HB Racing course on a bitterly cold Mudgway Partsworld race day. Whatever the grade, punters want more certainty, instead of raising the top weight, making the spread wider, so to quote "those horses at the lower end of the weights scale will be more competitive". Let winners win and keep winning, that's life, that is what we want to see.

I can assure you my NZ TAB account is still waiting, after starting with Kawi in the first leg. It's the first thing I checked Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, by Wednesday I gave up!!

Gentlemen I hope no one took offence at my "Last 3 Cup" posts.. I am still burning my losing Cup bets, should have coupled up my picks for the last four!! Ha ha I'm turning the page and can't wait for next year. Won't be listening to Lee Freedman who says barrier draws don't make any difference, I now realise they are the words of trainers and owners who are p****d off about their wide draw!!

Speaking of the TAB, you take an all up on the 3 HB Racing Spring carnival Group 1 races, the first comes in, the second abandomed (later moved to after the third of the 3 Group 1's), I am still waiting for a refund. No refund, even though the contract the TAB and I had got drastically changed. The TAB were on a win win and they wonder why punters utilise Australian bookmakers, those Australian bookmakers refunded on the same deal because they realised the contract changed. More punting with the moralistic Australian bookmakers I say.

The whole Rating system is geared to taking good horses on the up out of contention and encouraging trainers to pull pull pull until the weight, race and stake are right and wham bam thank you Ma'am. No wonder we can't encourage new participants into a legally corrupt industry!!!

Well done, only one off the trifecta!! LOL

You damn near got the trifecta, best you stick to race cafe and not race punting!! LOL