Scotch Thistle

The problem is that 1 or 2 % of the people cause 100% of the problems and while they continue to be slapped by a wet bus ticket ,nothing will change.

This is my thoughts on the situation.  Saturday race meetings  get a lot more money than mid week but when it comes to field size often a mid week has more horse. It doesnt matter whether you race your horse mid week or on a Saturday the training cost are the same. It doesnt matter whether you are training a maiden rating 75 or open class horse the training fee is still the same. I think it is about time that they reduced some Saturday stakes and increased mid week stakes. You see horses running around for 20000 on a Saturday and you have 6 in the field. They all get a stake. You see a full field of 16 running round mid week and only 5 get a stake. How is that fair. Which race dose NZTR get more money from.  If there is only 6 in a race pay down to 3rd dont give a payment for getting last. They need to sit down look at the system and change it to suit our current situation not keep going along the path that they have for the last 50 years.  I know a lot you of people believe that country courses shouldnt have a Saturday meeting but if a country course had 1 or 2 Saturdays a year the crowd would be there because it is a novalty. If the crowds are there more money would go over the totes therefor more money for NZTR to reinvest into races.  All the Christmas at the races should be a Saturday or Sunday because a lot of firms dont work those days and they would use it as their Xmas party.  Look at Awapuni yesterday they said they have several hundred people booked in even though the fields were small. 
Its time to change with the times have a look at what is going on and reinvent a new race programme to suit the present not the past

Second failed Te Aroha meeting in 2 months.  Abandoned (12 August) now relocated (12 October).  What odds a treble being completed on Breeders Stakes day? 

I note the 'Announcement ' at the top of the page - Des Coppins to grill Gary Woodham - Questions and Callers Wanted . Depite all his knowledge he really couldn't grill a cheese sandwich.

I agree with him on one point the Easter has been Donald Ducked, how can you run an Easter not even at Easter.... they are farking geniuses....... and moving the Auckland Cup and Derby has been an unmitigated disaster... ruined a great carnival.

Midget  I am not a political animal just a simple Industry man who loves his horses, be it breeding,racing or punting.
My career has given me considerable experience dealing with 
bureaucrats including challenging them in Courts with success.
I have several career firsts to my name by being different and not taking no for an answer.
Dealing with Government officials is an art and requires a united and intelligent approach.
I don't have the inclination, knowledge or interest to challenge your deep views on breeding v racing.
Frankly I don't give a f..k about differentiation between breeders and racing.
I only see us as team members of an Industry and cannot reconcile your clear dislike for breeders.
Like I have said until we project a united front to Government we will be pushing poo uphill.
John Allen who is in the Chair now to be effective with these bureaucrats needs to show we are a united cause.
For once we have got in my opinion an extremely capable leader so why not be smart and change our strategy and get behind him despite our personal reservations.
Six months is not long, surely.
Midget use your influence to bring this about. What have we got to loose.
 
 

Winning rides are good rides.  As Banjo Paterson wrote a long time ago:
The rule holds good in everything in life's uncertain fight;
You'll find the winner can't go wrong, the loser can't go right.
You ride a slashing race, and lose -- by one and all you're banned!
Ride like a bag of flour, and win -- they'll cheer you in the Stand.

If i was them I would get rid of the "right people" and get in someone who knows what they are doing.

It was great to see good sized fields in the Great Northern Hurdles (13) and Steeples (14) yesterday.  It looks like the new pattern of jumping racing is bearing fruit, hopefully sustainably.
Another highlight was having Emily Farr doing the comments on Trackside TV before the jumps races.  A pity for her that she was out injured, but a bonus for the viewers as her close familiarity with the horses, stables and jockeys involved stood out.   She seemed a TV natural, being eloquent and easy on the eye as well as knowledgeable. 

It was great to see good sized fields in the Great Northern Hurdles (13) and Steeples (14) yesterday.  It looks like the new pattern of jumping racing is bearing fruit, hopefully sustainably.
Another highlight was having Emily Farr doing the comments on Trackside TV before the jumps races.  A pity for her that she was out injured, but a bonus for the viewers as her close familiarity with the horses, stables and jockeys involved stood out.   She seemed a TV natural, being eloquent and easy on the eye as well as knowledgeable. 

It was great to see good sized fields in the Great Northern Hurdles (13) and Steeples (14) yesterday.  It looks like the new pattern of jumping racing is bearing fruit, hopefully sustainably.
Another highlight was having Emily Farr doing the comments on Trackside TV before the jumps races.  A pity for her that she was out injured, but a bonus for the viewers as her close familiarity with the horses, stables and jockeys involved stood out.   She seemed a TV natural, being eloquent and easy on the eye as well as knowledgeable. 

It was great to see good sized fields in the Great Northern Hurdles (13) and Steeples (14) yesterday.  It looks like the new pattern of jumping racing is bearing fruit, hopefully sustainably.
Another highlight was having Emily Farr doing the comments on Trackside TV before the jumps races.  A pity for her that she was out injured, but a bonus for the viewers as her close familiarity with the horses, stables and jockeys involved stood out.   She seemed a TV natural, being eloquent and easy on the eye as well as knowledgeable. 

It was great to see good sized fields in the Great Northern Hurdles (13) and Steeples (14) yesterday.  It looks like the new pattern of jumping racing is bearing fruit, hopefully sustainably.
Another highlight was having Emily Farr doing the comments on Trackside TV before the jumps races.  A pity for her that she was out injured, but a bonus for the viewers as her close familiarity with the horses, stables and jockeys involved stood out.   She seemed a TV natural, being eloquent and easy on the eye as well as knowledgeable. 

It was great to see good sized fields in the Great Northern Hurdles (13) and Steeples (14) yesterday.  It looks like the new pattern of jumping racing is bearing fruit, hopefully sustainably.
Another highlight was having Emily Farr doing the comments on Trackside TV before the jumps races.  A pity for her that she was out injured, but a bonus for the viewers as her close familiarity with the horses, stables and jockeys involved stood out.   She seemed a TV natural, being eloquent and easy on the eye as well as knowledgeable. 

It was great to see good sized fields in the Great Northern Hurdles (13) and Steeples (14) yesterday.  It looks like the new pattern of jumping racing is bearing fruit, hopefully sustainably.
Another highlight was having Emily Farr doing the comments on Trackside TV before the jumps races.  A pity for her that she was out injured, but a bonus for the viewers as her close familiarity with the horses, stables and jockeys involved stood out.   She seemed a TV natural, being eloquent and easy on the eye as well as knowledgeable. 

It was great to see good sized fields in the Great Northern Hurdles (13) and Steeples (14) yesterday.  It looks like the new pattern of jumping racing is bearing fruit, hopefully sustainably.
Another highlight was having Emily Farr doing the comments on Trackside TV before the jumps races.  A pity for her that she was out injured, but a bonus for the viewers as her close familiarity with the horses, stables and jockeys involved stood out.   She seemed a TV natural, being eloquent and easy on the eye as well as knowledgeable. 

Big credit to the job you have done Chris and big ups for coming on here and being honest and not taking offense when someone asks a question. 

Does anyone else think it is a little unfair that Tom Wood gets the boot whenever anything a bit special happens in the CD?
I happen to think he is a pretty decent commentator and would do a perfectly decent job of the big days.
I wonder what would happen in Australia if Josh Fleming got shuffled out every time a group race was run in Queensland and some flash harry was sent up from Sydney.

Very poor work by Brendan Popplewell telling punters that there is a carry over of money to the First 4 in the Makfi and that it would boost the bonus 50 k that had already been injected into that pool.

Part of the explanation for the weight differential spreading is that the minimum in the Parliamentary was 54, whereas in the Taumaranui Cup it is 53.  Second Innings was on the minimum at Trentham, and still is at Rotorua.
The major part of the explanation is that at Trentham Pump Up The Volume carried 58.5, as Belle Sorriso was topweight with 60 through her higher rating.  At Rotorua there is nothing rated higher than Pump Up The Volume (after adjusting for the mares' allowance) so PUTV gets 60. 
For mine it is absurd that there is so much elasticity depending on whether a field has acceptors who have ratings at the top of a band.  But it happens all the time.  In Rotorua race 10 Rocky with a rating of 70 has 60kg in a R75 race, as the highest ranking male accepted for, whereas he would have 57.5kg if a male with rating 75 male had been entered.  Invites manipulation of the type Te Akau got up to a few years back when It kept entering and scratching a high-rated topweight so stablemate Burgundy would get a light weight. 

Part of the explanation for the weight differential spreading is that the minimum in the Parliamentary was 54, whereas in the Taumaranui Cup it is 53.  Second Innings was on the minimum at Trentham, and still is at Rotorua.
The major part of the explanation is that at Trentham Pump Up The Volume carried 58.5, as Belle Sorriso was topweight with 60 through her higher rating.  At Rotorua there is nothing rated higher than Pump Up The Volume (after adjusting for the mares' allowance) so PUTV gets 60. 
For mine it is absurd that there is so much elasticity depending on whether a field has acceptors who have ratings at the top of a band.  But it happens all the time.  In Rotorua race 10 Rocky with a rating of 70 has 60kg in a R75 race, as the highest ranking male accepted for, whereas he would have 57.5kg if a male with rating 75 male had been entered.  Invites manipulation of the type Te Akau got up to a few years back when It kept entering and scratching a high-rated topweight so stablemate Burgundy would get a light weight. 

If anyone knows a farm manager in Canterbury who won't say anything about adding coffee in his cows' troughs to the IRU, let the Coles know.  

If anyone knows a farm manager in Canterbury who won't say anything about adding coffee in his cows' troughs to the IRU, let the Coles know.  

If anyone knows a farm manager in Canterbury who won't say anything about adding coffee in his cows' troughs to the IRU, let the Coles know.  

Usually hand, sometimes blow, depending on who's egos they are pandering to.