THE TORCH

I am still struggling with the cheesy accolades he received near the end of his first ever Cup week gig. You'd have thought he had split the atom. Totally over done and he had Pops, Rodders, and the like heaping praise on him for calling some races. I never ever saw Reon Murtha get profusely thanked for his 40 odd years of calling in the South Island - let alone 40 Cup Weeks! Thats life today though - no perspective of balanced opinion. Just lauded and over the top baloney.

You've got to remember with Hawera that it was issued that meeting at very late notice. Work was done on the track in preparation for a meeting at a later date. But hey it's still the best track in Taranaki and always has been.

Hang on - how many meetings or races are dictated by the inside draws??? Now we have a track that favours those with "bad" draws and its not acceptable. Please.

Yes he is a game changer due to the simple fact that he talks sense! That is the deplorable level that Trackside has fallen to. Common sense is a rarity. I rarely watch Weigh In nowadays, but did tune into this episode when someone notified me that Luke was on. Id say a lot of others might have done the same. Id love to know the ratings for when Luke is on compared to when he isnt. It must be a nervy watch for the likes of Pops, Sweens, and Co. when he is a guest. It doesnt do their reputations one iota of good.

Id say Trackside would be mad to do that.......it would only highlight the immature and amateur bunch of presenters we have had to put up with since Day 1 of the channel. Radich is far too classy for them. He is a lawyer who pops back to "Weigh In" and immediately hits key issues in a direct and meaningful way. A breath of fresh air compared to the stupidity we hear every week like "wins by panels" and "good shopping". Give me strength.

What a blessing it was to see him on Weigh In again today. The guy talks more sense than the whole Trackside staff combined. Id even go so far to say he's the best sports presenter in NZ (not a difficult achievement when you reflect on it). He had 3 "rants" on the show - all three were full of informed, calculated, and logical statements. Why oh why is this guy not used more often??!! And to think a big-headed wanna-be was the catalyst to him leaving the channel all those years ago. Criminal.

So true. Was at university in PN during the early 90's. The Evening Standard was spoilt with the racing scribes on their payroll. Awesome days to be a punter. RIP Stu.

Heck you make them out to be coal miners who have a handful of gravel for lunch! They definitely dont eat humble pie after tipping 40% of the card to lose every meeting. How is that possible?? Maybe they get a commission for every failed tip. Hundreds of names and jockeys?! Please - its not a game of Memory. Its their job - a job where they see and meet those participants every week. Venues? Well the powers that be are making that easier by the day with the Messara bollocks. South Island? Yeah do us all a favor and cut us off from the north and we will run our own industry quite happily and successfully. No need for us to keep propping up you lot. Heres a question - Why do we really need presenters? They add nothing. They go over the same old rubbish every week, every meeting, every hour in fact. The same jocks and trainers get interviewed. The same questions get thrown out. We never learn anything new, let alone worth. We have a 5 minute build up - whoopty. And again we get tipped tripe - in fact if you've had a bet you pray Pops, Sweens, or The Shark have not picked your horse. If so you may as well write it off. Walk into a Ladbrokes or the like in England. No presenters on their loop. Just one person announcing the next from Bangor goes in 2 minutes. Easy, simple, no fuss, and letting the punter get on with what he/she does best: backing their own judgement!

On Trackside it is the endless back-slapping for tipping one winner in 3 months that gets me. Also its the same trainers and jockeys being interviewed. That in itself might tell us other things to about the station and/or industry members perception of it. Geographical bias has also seeped from head office to Trackside. In other sports (notably rugby) its the low level professionalism that is most annoying. It seems irrelevant if you are knowledgeable or presentable as a commentator. Its all about ex-players and gender equality now. Isnt that a prime example of actioning inequality??!! Defies belief.

Sports presenters on TV (and radio/live casts) have dropped to the lowest of standards in the last few years. It is embarrassing the dire levels of being "formally and professionally educated on all matters", and the almost barbaric delivery of "accent, diction and inflection of the tone of the voice the presenter projects to the audience". As for being "well versed and rehearsed in respect of the content spoken" then you can bet your bottom dollar you wont learn anything new from them. Sad, very sad. People say its the sign of the times. Well cancel your subscriptions and when they survey you because you are an ex-customer, tell them why in a very direct way and say you look forward tot he said changes.

You pretty much wrote my sentiments. Everyone please understand this: New Plymouth is not up to scratch. Pure and simple. I've had 2 people ask me today to put something on here about what a joke this is. One a "small-time" daily punter who the TAB completely ignores because he's not a big-noter like farcical organisations like BGP etc; the other a prominent North Island participant in the industry who can not believe how these mistakes keep happening. The "attention seekers" of this industry are killing it, while the perennial battlers keep saving them and propping up the racing game. Its probably time for them to branch out and run their own industry. They'd teach these "pretenders" a thing or two about being realistic, authentic, and looking after the welfare of all participants - not those who think they are privileged economically, genetically, or geographically. For too long the wrong groups have been looked after or received lop-sided favoritism. It's time to push the reset button.

The stipe was very quick on the scene. Might have been camped on the bend in anticipation. NP and Awapuni?? Id say they're on a par in terms of punters confidence. Oh well total focus now on a decent track down in Dunners - great course, great fields - cant go wrong NZ.

Gone.

Horse slips in the 1st race. Well done Taranaki Racing and NZRB. Lets get rid of Stratford and reduce Hawera's calendar.....utter madness. Two superior tracks just down the road but all favours go the way of it. Might have to rename themselves again LOL.

An absolute maestro.

Todays media is an utter embarrassment. Imagine an Ian Fraser on our screens now asking the real questions instead of shows at 7pm advising you on how to clean your oven. Hillary is an example of how we have hit rock bottom

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Give me strength. What a way to prove you're wrong.

As for the drunk jumps jocks remember theyve just rusked life and limb while youre preaching about yuppy presentations. Much rather a few jumps jocks having a beer than what some of the flat jockeys get up to

$100k maiden races Please youre having a massive laugh there. What about the rest of NZ? Remember theyre doing this fir the whole industry.....apparently.....yeah right, just another Tui ad. But you keep believing in that slick presentation wont you??!

Well why not? I mean, heck how can decades of history compete with a "slick presentation"??? Those Microsoft Power Points do it for me every time. Or was it on Google Slides? Anyway, I bet they just oozed style and unproven progress. Hey, they'll never compete with the Hill for longevity, but who cares - he was only a silly old grey-haired bugger anyway. What do thousands of horses who have slogged their guts out over that land feature got to do with the future of racing? Why remember the men and women who have ridden, fallen, and risked life over that hill? Lets neglect the millions of man hours spent maintaining that lump of dirt. Someone showed a power point and some idiot with 5 minutes experience in the game got sucked in by it. I predict there'll be suave new presentation in a few years time to replace the "slick" one after it falls down one of those drains at the 800 mark. Bulldozers start your engines.

If you're happy to get rid of the hill, why not just get rid of the whole joint? That'll change your tune.......

The one time I went there about 10 years ago it was in bad shape but everyone who matters raves about it so I ignore my assessment. Vital in terms of location etc.

LOL yes but just stressing my point about it being used so sparingly. The amount of rain it can drain at such a quick rate is incredible. Excellent footing too. It's pretty easy to choose the good ones - the poor ones is a long list and would upset many on here!

Omoto Hawera Wanganui Wingatui HAstings

First return hes had for a while!