We're Doomed

I would be interested to know what the Race Planner part of the role involves; it doesn't seem to be covered much in the job description.

Interesting that he was given 4 weeks off when jockeys weren't supposed to be travelling between regions. Now he could be riding in the NI if he wished to, so has he been given three times the penalty he might have got if it had been determined this week? I do think Kiwi Ida missed his skills in those two runs up north. His patient approach might have helped her chances. Just imagine if he was an Australian in Australia about to break the record for race wins. They would be all over it. He doesn't get nearly the recognition he deserves over here. Dan Carter gets more coverage turning out for a club team than CWJ gets for riding in big races.

I am not going to engage in a debate with you 6. You seem to have a fairly fixed outlook on things. I imagine you are a big Trump fan as well. I will just comment that the Riccarton application was not actually accepted by the PGF, but they were overruled by Winston. But don't let the facts get in the way of an interesting viewpoint.

The main grass meetings will be on the grass track at Riccarton. They are not planning to hold all the $10,000 races at Riccarton and send the $30,000 meetings to Timaru.

Which province is Riccarton in? I thought Christchurch was the second biggest city in NZ. I have never heard the CJC described as a small business before, and Treasury was concerned that other than during the construction process the christchurch all weather would create no long term new jobs. And when all Canterbury winter, spring and autumn meetings are moved to Riccarton because of the all weather do you not think those two things are somehow related.

I find myself agreeing with P4P. If the Racing Industry was a punter and able to bet during the running they would be putting all their savings, and borrowing some more as well, on a $100 shot that has just missed the start by 50 lengths. I like to think that article and the heading is a bit misleading. Surely the industry support for Winston is not that widespread? It seems to be a little Waikato clique of breeders and club administrators; plus probably those running Awapuni and Riccarton. I don't believe the rest of the SI are big Winston fans. Last time Winston was in he wasted millions on stakes for five selected races that all reverted back to their original level or lower as soon as his three years was up. So that effort achieved nothing. This time he is using the Provincial Growth Fund to wipe out numerous provincial racetracks, and probably send Awapuni and Riccarton broke, although they are too stupid to see it. It would be interesting to see if Labour and National even have a Racing policy. They obviously consider the industry so insignificant that they don't give a stuff about Winston trying to dredge up a few wasted votes there. I have always given Winston credit for at least noticing Racing, which the other parties never have. It is just unfortunate his actions and policies have always been misguided and probably self centred.

Winston has already wiped out Marlborough, Hokitika, Motukarara, Waimate and several in Otago and Southland. When the all weather goes in at Riccarton the intention is to hold only one meeting a season between May and Oct in the rest of Canterbury and North Otago; presumably John Grigg day at Ashburton, although who knows, they might try to take that day as well, may as well while they are at it. That will leave Ashburton, Timaru and Oamaru with at best two meetings per season each. And Timaru and Ashburton have had 200 odd horses nominated for their last two meetings, god knows what they are considered to be doing wrong. I don't know what others think, I know Riccarton thinks it is a great idea, but I don't think it will do the industry any good long term. I have no idea where jumps racing will be held. Jumps trainers in Otago and Southland will have to travel to Riccarton for starts, if that club decides to put on any jumps races, which they have been decidedly reluctant to do over recent years. Perhaps they will hold jumps on the all weather. I suppose someone asked about that during the roadshows.

I wish someone had asked him how he could justify using the provincial growth fund to pour money into Christchurch and destroy 6-8 provincial race tracks in the SI.

11 races at Ashburton today (and they could easily have run 12) and 12 races at Timaru two weeks ago, all for $10,000 stakes. And yet only enough horses for 8 races at Wingatui and Riccarton for mostly $30,000 stakes. Obviously the stakes allocation is all wrong, and means nothing to most trainers. Can someone explain to me how spending $15m? odd on an all weather track in the SI will resolve all or any of these anomalies? You wouldn't trust this current lot to organise a piss up in a brewery, and yet we are happy to let then play with $15m to build a new track. And they will just walk away when they stuff it all up. If this was an industry that the general public cared about the media would be all over the staggering level of incompetence. As it is, no one really cares and mismanagement is just going to be allowed to continue until it totally destroys the industry. It is incredibly sad, but to some extent the industry deserves what it is allowing to happen. NZTR must be as amazed as anyone with what they have been allowed to get away with virtually without complaint.

You people don't seem to realise this has been happening in the SI for years. The reason people think SI form is so inconsistent is because horses are hardly ever racing over the distance they prefer, in the class they prefer and after the ideal gap they prefer. And it is why the same horses race for $30,000 one week and $10,000 the next week. They just have to take a start whenever they can. As I understand it, it is considered much more efficient for the industry to hold fewer meetings regardless of horse numbers. Somehow that generates more profit (loses less money). Apparently it will all come right when we have all weather tracks. There will be some incredibly bright young chap at NZTR who has worked all of this out. He won't have ever actually been to a race meeting and has no interest in horses, but he is really good at computers and has worked out that this is by far the best way for the industry to proceed. Actual horses and owners are quite incidental to the operation of the industry and everything would go much smoother without either of them.

You should be racing a trotter in Southland. You race for bigger stakes in maiden class than better class races.

1.13 and a bit for 1,200m at Ellerslie and 1.10 and a bit for 1,200m at Riccarton, both slow. Must be confusing for any outsider trying to understand what a NZ slow really is.

You can't deposit money and then withdraw it without betting with it. So if you deposited $100 and had one $10 bet that lost you wouldn't be able to withdraw the remaining $90. If the $10 bet won you $100 you would be able to withdraw that $100.

Did those NZTR Roadshows happen? Weren't they on last week? Were the NZTR speakers so impressive that everyone left happy?

As people have indicated above the Aussie form is just so much easier to follow. Their racing is much better structured. We don't even make an attempt to structure ours properly. Horses just have to take their chances when they can get them. Ironically, with open entry races there is more chance of horses finding a race over the right distance these days, but then they find themselves racing way out of their class, if they can get a start. All this does remind me that I too have a bonus bet to spend..