Tony

Shocking when you consider that the Track Manager at Hastings is the NZTR appointed Track Advisor for the CD. I believe he receives an extra 30K plus for this appointment. If he can't get his track right how can he advise the other Track Managers on what they should be doing.

Since NZTR appointed a "Track Advisor" to Awapuni there has had 3 meetings for one full meeting and two abandonments. Would this not mean that NZTR must take some responsibility

Originally I brushed nstrips comments, 3 above here, aside as rubbish and the thread would disappear but it has risen again and his comments are close by to this latest comment. I believe nstrip threatens the integrity of everybody who uses a non de plume on this site. Sure when Training I did get a positive swab like so many Trainers. A positive is an occupational hazard for horse trainers. To name a few recent Trainers to get positives Jamie Richards, Peter Moody Peter Williams, Graham Richardson the list goes on and on. I don't think society condemns trainers who over feed supplement's or have a horse who's metabolism may hold a medicine longer in it's system than the norm. Society would view activities like getting in a car drunk and driving putting the lives of other motorists at risk in a more serious light. Daryl you have every right to come on to this site and defend your friend but to try to discredit somebody with comments that are either 100% false or 50% false(half truths) who does not hide behind a non de plume and uses their real name is pretty low. I made a factual posting because I don't hide behind a non de plume.. The fact that the majority of your comments were incorrect brings the integrity of everybody who uses a non de plume and posts on this site under a shadow. Back to this posting I will be interested in how lonely Bevan Sweeney will be at Trentham tomorrow.

I don't understand why these prominent Trainers would pledge support to Gary Vile. Every one of them know what sort of person he is. If the reason for this eviction from Awapuni is due to Gary Vile's behavior then he hasn't leant his lesson going by his public performance at a recent CD race meeting. He gave a good toweling down to a young jockey who is unashamedly Gay. This young jockey had been riding trackwork for Gary Vile but decided that he wasn't happy in that stable environment so withdrew his services. This made Mr Vile very unhappy and in front of witness's he has abused this jockey calling him a "Faggot". This is totally unacceptable behaviour. No complaint was laid as most young people in the industry know it is likely to be swept under the carpet. Just like an incident 4 years ago. It was early November, 8.45am when Jumps Jockey Gary Walsh walked in to the Awapuni Tea hut and asks Mr Vile for the money owed to him for several weeks for Trackwork . Gary Walsh was sporting a broken shoulder from a recent raceday fall. Mr Vile explodes and grabs Gary Walsh by the neck throwing him against the wall. Fortunately another senior Awapuni Trainer was able to get Mr Vile off of Gary Walsh. This was a cowardly attack on a defenseless man. The then CD RIU person Simon Irvine was well aware of this incident but did nothing at all about it. Again swept under the carpet. If we want decent young people coming in to our industry they need to know they are going to be protected from Bullies and Thugs These prominent Trainers should be pledging their support to RACE who should be commended on not blowing this eviction up any more than it needs to be. I am astonished that these prominent Trainers have willing put their names up and are prepared to take the action noted in the CD Trainers Resolution.

Hi Leggy. This obviously comes from the CD Trainers letter. It says CD Trainers have pledged support but does it name them or is it a vague statement and if so could you please put up their names who have pledged their support.

Leggy have a look at the accounts properly and not the Presidents report that was written by one of Jacinda's press writers. The accounts show a 60K cash Loss, 90+ revenue from Trials but 60K+ expenses from holding the 13 sets of Trials. I think I worked out an average of $2500 profit per Trial. 30K is the amount gained from Trials. Track fees at 55K far exceed Trials income. You come to the track and you are believing that up to 140 horses train there on one day. 65 on one day would be a rear occasion. Thirty horses at the moment would be a good day. Being a local and long time member you might be able to inform us where the 800K Grandstand Fire Insurance pay out is hidden up. There only appears to be around 200K left in the Bank now.

Nstrip ,I never said that the Awapuni grass was better. I said it was open and Foxton closed. Levin who had at least as much rain if not more had grass tracks open all week. I never seen any Awapuni Trainers there on Tuesday galloping on the plough. I know that RACE has offered to pay the Transport costs for Awapuni horses to travel down to Foxton to gallop on the grass while the Synthetic is being built. I'm not sure why those Trainers haven't been coming down to Foxton. Maybe they are happy enough with the Awapuni surfaces and with the uncertainty of the availability of tracks at Foxton it's to hard to plan for. Foxton once had 200 horses working there and I'm told there was always a grass track open. Track fees even only a few years ago made up 2/3rds of the Clubs income. This figure is ever decreasing but the Committee seen unperturbed by the diminishing returns. I'm not sure how you can say that NZTR should be racing at Foxton when the Foxton Track is the CD and possibly the NZ title holder for the past 2 years as having the most cancellations and postponements. I'm sure that Foxton Track will make a miraculous recovery and be in pristine condition for Trials next Tuesday. I don't agree with Leggy that "it's the Moatua Flood gates" that is causing the grass tracks to be closed. I think it more being affected by an energy crisis in the area. On Levin I'm sure it will still be there for many years to come. It is managed by passionate people with plenty of business sense.

Surprisingly no grass at all. I would have thought the outside of the course proper would have been ok, but no. The Number 1 Grass was also closed along with the number 2 Grass. Even the 2 year old grass was out of bounds for even a baby to trot on. I am informed by some admin people at Foxton that the track is affected by the sea tides. If this is right and we believe in Global warming and sea levels rising this water logged track can only get worse as sea levels rise . Mean while 10 minutes down the road at the Levin Track, grass tracks were open every day last week for gallops. When you see this happening you start to understand why Foxton is a Racing Club that had a $60,000 Cash loss in the last financial year and Levin has a Million Dollars in the bank. Two Clubs with completely different outlooks on how a business is run. Foxton was designated as a Training Track in the Messara Report. This is where NZTR should be stepping in and implementing the terms of the Messara report or else close these tracks down and take their money before the lot is blown. Thirty horses is not enough to pay a Gap man, Track Manager, Track Managers assistant, and pay for all the machinery (Tractors, Mowers etc) required to maintain a Track and the grounds. NZTR would have to move quickly if they were wanting to take the Clubs Funds as they have posted a combined Cash Loss of 100K over the last 3 years. This Club is heading in one direction and they just don't seem to want Trainers money for Track fees.

I read often on this site about this mythical track of Foxton that exists and I would have to compare it to the lost city of Atlantis. The reason I compare these two is when you look at the facts Foxton does not appear to be as fantastic as people believe or are lead to believe. Foxton Track actually has a worse record in the last two years than the New Plymouth Track for cancelations and postponements. At least five Trials Meetings have either been postponed or cancelled at Foxton in this period. And these are Trials with six horse fields not full race fields. Have a look at the Heats from the last Foxton Trials which had been postponed a week due to the Track conditions and you will see that by the 3rd heat it was a scramble to the outside rail. Very reminiscent of watching Wanganui Races. For a Track that has only 30 horses working there and some days down to single figures you would think that it should be in tremendous order. But is it. Today no grass tracks open and all grass tracks apparently closed all week. Last Thursday was the same. People bag the shite out of Awapuni but their course proper was open today for gallops and was open last Thursday. Now before all you patriots jump down my throat, these are facts not fiction. If NZTR were to give Foxton a Race Meeting in the Winter time and it went ahead, the horses would be lining up to race down the outside rail. If the Foxton Track is as chronically bad as the Track Manager and President are telling Trainers then Foxton is not an option for the future and NZTR will have been watching the cancelations and postponements and can not be blamed for putting Trials on the Synthetic when it opens instead of the grass at Foxton.. It is a shame that it is not utilised to its potential as a Training Track. Thirty horses a day doesn't pay the wages and it would be hard to encourage new Trainers to a Training Track that is closed so often or only has an under water plough to work on.

I understand that Sarah was taken to hospital and discharged and went home last night but no doubt battered and bruised. Palliser i agree that it is important that Sarah is ok but these are 2 senior riders who at the 100 metre mark were only thinking of themselves and the prize. They know what can happen when they ride negligently as they did and if they don't then they should not be licenced. I'm sure a drunk driver who has just killed somebody would also be visibly shaken. The only difference here is the drunk driver probably wasn't aware of what they were doing. i think both riders have got very light suspensions with no fines considering the negligence and disregard for other riders and horses. If you get the opportunity to watch again, the gap was huge but closed very quickly because neither rider attempted to straighten their horses. Lets hope that these riders learn for their mistakes and are now aware of what can happen.

So both Asano and Hercock guilty of negligence. Both guilty of causing Sarah McNab to fall from Scotch denying Scotch from a placing and stake money. It doesn't seem fair that the owner will face a bill of $840 from NZTR or will they waive this fee. Yeah right. The owner should have some come back at these riders because NZTR will just take the fee from future stake money if the owner refuses to pay the fee.

I notice that NZTR continue to put GST on the 1% Welfare Contribution. The Welfare Contribution is neither a Goods or a Service and most owners would not be able to claim it back. I know that the Owners Federation has brought this up with NZTR but to no avail. Why NZTR just don't take the 1% out of the total stake to begin with like Australia do is beyond me. Instead they have gone for a very complicated and long winded approach that takes more money out of owners pockets. I guess that when the people setting up the system don't participate in Horse Ownership then they are not going to worry how much comes out.

Bernard Saundry could double the stakes we race for and is in the process of moving that way. Halving the number of races would give him the money to double all the stakes. It's so simple. Watch it happen over the next few years. Wouldn't that look good on a CV. "Doubled the stakes of New Zealand Thoroughbreds were racing for."

I have just been reading the latest TAB News Release about how great the TAB is going at the moment. I'm not an accountant but this part does worry me "Next year, the three racing codes - New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) and Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) - are projected to receive $23 million more in fixed distributions compared to that budgeted for the current financial year, at a total of $140m. This increase equates to a 20 percent rise in growth year-on year (see Table 1 below)." All the comparisons are against "budget" and nothing is compared to past performance. I think that the distribution in 2018 was about 148m. WE were going no good then so how are these figures so great. What am I missing. It would be interesting to compare the expenses this year compared to earlier years rather than "budgeted" with all the cost cutting that's been done since Covid. Are we going to see Press Releases designed to stroke the egos and improve the CV's of CEO's. Will we see the continued increasing of Stakes by reducing the number of races and not the amount of extra money being put in the industry. What have I over looked

Take the $14000 unclaimed stake money from the Eclipse Stakes and add to it the $12000 unclaimed stake money from the Zabeel Classic, and you will have cash left over. I can not understand why there is not an uproar by participants about this "unclaimed stake money" that we are told by Bernard Saundry is funding "the extra races NZTR are putting on"' NZTR have effectively reduced stakes to owners and nobody seems to care. Apparently the "unclaimed stake money" figure is over the 700K so far this season. Still we keep getting this spin or dribble about how great things are going. I think its time to wake up.' If a race is advertised to have a stake of 30K then 30K should be paid out. It must have been budgeted for if advertised.