TARANTULA

Pretty sure on social media earlier today she posted a photo of herself down at the beach living life

Ulrika Holmquist.
Positive news from Ulrika Holmquist after the accident: "The doctors are very pleased"
12 May 2025 17:26
During Thursday's races at Norwegian Övrevoll, jockey Ulrika Holmquist was involved in an accident in connection with race 6 when the horse she was riding fell. Many people wonder how it is with Ulrika and now after five days she is ready to go out with several positive news.
What happened?
"I felt that the horse was about to fall and just then it just went straight down. I landed on my head and neck and was lying on the track. Then I was taken by ambulance to Ullevål Hospital. When I got to the hospital, I had a serious concussion and felt very bad. It was very scary not really understanding what was happening, but it's much better now.
After several examinations and yesterday's surgery, the doctor finally came with the news today – they were very happy with the result.
"I have fractures in three thoracic vertebrae in my back that have now been operated on and stabilized. In addition, I have nine broken ribs and a punctured lung. No nerves in my back have been damaged, which is absolutely fantastic. I have a fracture in my neck, but after two MRI X-rays, they were able to assess that it was stable, so the prognosis is very good.
Ulrika says that it feels like she has been given a second chance in life, that she is very grateful and tries to stay positive.
"I'm so grateful for everyone who contacted me after the accident. Even though I haven't answered everyone, I've read every single message and greeting. It means so much to me. The love from the gallop family is great and it means so much. I'm grateful to be a part of it.
In a few weeks, the doctor estimates that Ulrika will be on her feet and be able to start with lighter activities.
"I had surgery yesterday and have been up and walking and standing today. The staff here said that they have never experienced anyone who has done it so quickly before, which feels very positive and gratifying.
Ulrika will not ride any more races this galloping season.
"Now my main focus is on healing and recovering at the right pace. Then we'll see what happens.
The horse that Ulrika was riding, Mon Amant, unfortunately injured himself so seriously in the accident that he had to be put down.
We wish Ulrika a good recovery!
 
 
Positive news from Ulrika Holmquist after the accident: "The doctors are very pleased" - Swedish Gallop

I agree one million percent, everytime they legged up onto a Racehorse, they put their lives on the line.  They have also got the life of the Horse they're riding in their hands too!!  Joe Doyle flew out to Norway to be with Ulrika on Saturday evening.  He gave up his ride in the last race at Rotorua, as well as the rides that he had at Wanganui yesterday that were ridden by Craig Grylls. 

FB message from Ulrika:
 
  Thank you all so much for the incredibly kind messages and support after my fall on Thursday in Oslo. I suffered multiple injuries and have since undergone surgery — I’m relieved to say it went well, and my prognosis for a good recovery is looking positive. It’s been a tough few days, especially with concussion and fatigue, but I’m in good hands and feeling truly cared for. Ulrika is not able to attend to her phone at the moment, but I’m sending all love and thanks. Your support means the world and truly helps Ulrika on her way to mending.          

.  The injuries sound very serious and we can only hope and pray that she can make a full recovery.  Our hearts and thoughts go out to her and her loved ones. 

Can only wish all the best for a speedy recovery, brings home some reality for us that just punt, watch and critique the riders, and I can plead guilty of that occasionally, certainly reminds us of the important things in life.

Ulrika Holmquist who has  ridden successfully during the summer in NZ a few times in the last few years had a bad fall in Norway. She has neck, rib and back injuries from what was a serious fall.
I would  like to wish her well in her recovery and hope everything with her rehab goes well for her and she can make a full recovery.
This industry can be bloody rough some times.

I certainly hope not. They don’t have the resources to bail out the ATC and if they try the ATC will will drag down HRNZ with them. 

And they just turned the public's support away with their decisions over things like the HALL OF FAME and the CARDIGAN BAY MEMORIAL etc. 

Well I simply don’t see how Alexandra Park survives this. 😩

For the year ending 31/7/24;
Total Borrowing  $79.177m        Total Finance Cost $6.914m for the year
Westpac Loan $76.6m,  during the year $8.375m was paid off the Loan, this was the clear funds left over from the $10m Franklin deposit.
All Interest on the Westpac Loan is added to the amount owing, I am not aware of any other sales that would be credited to the Loan during the current year.
Actual Interest paid by ATC was $265k ( not connected to Westpac loan)
If indeed the property sale goes ahead, there will be commission and legal costs to deduct as well.

As much as I agree with Pure Steels assessment of the contribution to racing by Purdon, Herlihy who are champions of our sport, and others, this is about a sustainable future long term for harness particularly in the northern region.  Due to the development problems that are well documented the ATC is in a perilous financial position.  Add to this the fact they struggle to fill fields due to lower numbers of horses trained in the region it is probably unsustainable to carry on this way.   It needs to be put on a financially viable path.  Most likely bymoving to Cambridge.  Just my opinion. 

All valid points Meomy but HRNZ don’t have the resources to bail out the ATC. That’s just a financial reality. If action isn’t taken soon to bring the debt down to a servicible level the bank will take over and neither the ATC or HRNZ will have any say in the matter.  The bank aren’t going to be concerned with the rights of horse trainers & owners or the public who support the ATC or any social divide the lose of Alex Park causes.   It will be a disaster if we bury our heads in the sand and ignore the financial realitiy the ATC is facing. 

Herbie rode a few for colourful owner-trainer Nick Grafas. Nick owned picture theatres in Te Puke and Maketu for many years. Old school trainer that are sadly lacking these days. One day Herbie copped a fine for intererference one of Nick's. Nick marched into the Secretary's office and in his thick Greek accent asked"Ha mucha de fine fa Herbie. On being told the amount he whipped out his cheque book and paid the fine. Not many owners or trainers would do that today!

News of the passing of one of the best jockeys of yesteryear Herbie Rauhihi over the weekend.
He rode 495 winners and was one of the best riders of his generation.
Thoughts and prayers to all his family..RIP Herbie fly high now with the angels.

Two big red flags...field sizes and NZ Betting revenue...but hey everything's great...right????🤔

https://nztr.co.nz/sites/nztrindustry/files/2025-05/June 2025 Racing Operations Report.pdf


 

Happy Birthday to Entain NZ, reality is only 3 years away!!

Thanks and luckily some of our threads never disappeared into thin air after our technical outage.

Me too..its been stressful.

Thanks Scooby. I never realised how much I would miss Race Cafe until the outage.
Even at 4:20 am (now) I was still checking to see if you were back up.
Yahoo!

Our hosting service had a major outage for about 10hrs in Singapore so it caused a major technical issue throughout the South Pacific and caused us to be involved too. So sorry for any inconvenience caused and glad to be back up and running again...unfortunately it was totally out of our hands....so once again sorry for that.

On the PP site this morning there is a reprint of a Garrick Knight article in the Harness Xpress dated 8th May.
" According to ATC President, Jamie MacKinnon, club officials expect to sit down with Colliers reps within the next week and assess what interest or offers are on the table. MacKinnon also says rumours of a high mark offer of $67 million are, to his knowledge incorrect"
" We haven't got to the point where we sit down with Colliers and hear what the best options are, so I don't know where that rumour has come from"
"We are close to locking in a deal, but not that close"
" The best and most suitable offer will be accepted with no further delays, even if that means the club remains in debt to it's lenders"
" If we are left with debt following a sale, well it's not the end of the line, the club still has other assets to fall back on"
I think that it is ridiculous to suggest that he has not been in contact with Colliers through out negotiations since the close of the deadline sale on the 17th April, he must know the numbers being talked about. The statement that the deal will be accepted with no further delay, does rather suggest that the bank has said Sell  Sell  Sell!!
 

All about what websites you use to view harness racing.
How about asking the Hard Questions
Standing starts
Horses being driven for next weeks race
Weak stipes
Team driving
Drivers half carting in almost every race
Unfair handicapping system
Loss of owners and breeders
Handouts to ATC
and I have only scratched the surface