GreenT

Currently no. There is also another elephant in the room here HRNZ BOARD NEWS LIKELY RESTRUCTURING OF THE DATES CALENDAR "It is considered from a harness perspective the new model will reduce meeting costs and benefit all industry participants. It is intended that current races staged at Tuesday meetings will be added to other Meetings during in the week, so there will be continuity of opportunities for lower grade "Tuesday type" horses. Each meeting will have three to four lower stakes races to accommodate these horses. This will ensure that there is continuity of racing opportunities for such horses within their respective regions." Do punters want this? Why would you waste your valuable leisure time (and or pay to attend!) When you are going to have to sit through 4 rubbish races where half the field are throwing the anchor out at the 600? Why would you dilute a good racing card with 4 rubbish races? If you thought on course turnovers and crowds were poor now, wait till next season. Find dates for these horses if you must, but do not reduce the attraction of meetings which can attract good size fields with form horses. Its quality fields of a reasonable size that encourages punters to bet. Yet again HRNZ do not balance the interests of their customers with the interests of industry participants. It

Absolute rubbish. Kevin Paynes calls were accurate from start to finish in order of race position and finish position. When was the last time Kevin Payne ever called the wrong horse in a finish as Wood has ( twice recently that I can recall ) Geena's Star and The Poacher ?

The Box Seat take on this lead up race to the Derby was a classic. The Butt stable were keen to dominate and show the other Derby contenders Stunin Cullen was not a horse to be messed with. The only ones who get messed with were the punters who believed this.

Before sounding off about these things, don't any of you ever do any background work? Rattle Snake Venom causes very severe bleeding as well as initially localised to the bite site then rapidly spreading necrotic tissue damage as it causes red blood cells to basically explode. It is most likely diluted Cobra venom that is being used as a nerve & pain blocker. It is often dried out/crystalised and then reconstituted for use at a later date. I do not care if it is grizzly bear bile, polar bear pooh or whatever- If it is illegal and the scum using it are gaining an advantage over other trainers , then the trainers using it have to be banned for good. The gossip currently doing the rounds of horses doing form turnarounds within 24 hours of arriving at certain trainers stables and vets who have mysteriously disappeared into thin air will guarantee racing turnovers keep declining.

Enough is enough. It is time to get these scumbags who are using this stuff out of the game- for good. The officials who are running trotting and have also been turning a blind eye to this (again) should also be sent packing. The lessons that should have been learned in the past with drugs have obviously not been absorbed by those involved. The new Chief Stipendiary position in the Racing Integrity unit is currently being advertised. I would hope that any candidates for this job are total outsiders and have no connection to the current trotting administration who has allowed this situation to repeat itself. Chief Stipendiary Steward position A new and independent Racing Integrity Unit is being established to bring together current integrity functions within each of the three racing codes; Thoroughbred, Harness and Greyhound. The Racing Integrity Unit will be charged with protecting the integrity of the racing industry in New Zealand, ensuring a consistently high level of supervision and prosecution services under the Rules of Racing for each Code. The Chief Stipendiary Steward is responsible for the management of racing integrity across all three codes. This role is responsible for the overall operation of the function of Stipendiary Stewards and Racing Investigators, ensuring that racing within New Zealand operates in accordance with legislative requirements and in adherence to the respective Rules of Racing. This is a high profile role and will contribute significantly to the Racing Industry by enhancing the reputation of racing by creating and maintaining an environment where corruption and malpractice are unacceptable within the industry. This role also contributes significantly to the development of new rules, practices and policies connected with racing, and across all three codes."

"Mr McDermott also stated that he had added a galloping hood to the gear of this mare and that he was very pleased with her track work in the last few weeks and was expecting a bold showing today." Why then when this gear has been added previously and notified,did Mr McDermott tell the Stipes he had added this gear and attributed this to the form change?

RACE 1: SEARELLS CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS MOBILE PACE The trainer of BROOKSIDE BABE (winner) J B McDermott was questioned regarding the improved performance of this mare and advised that at its last start it had missed away early and was forced to chase the field throughout which had not suited her. Mr McDermott also stated that he had added a galloping hood to the gear of this mare and that he was very pleased with her track work in the last few weeks and was expecting a bold showing today. The Trainers and Stipes have agreed this gear is not performance enhancing -Someone had better tell Mr McDermott to tow the party line. Keep up the good work keeping the Punters in the loop AFTER the event guys.

The recession or tough economic times has got nothing to do with this issue Alf. If it did I would expect the positions of the 50 odd staff who are earning over $100k in the RIB,TAB,HRNZ etc to be put under the microscope. The only question here is was Kevin Payne doing the job well and were the Racing public ( particularly those in his area) happy with him? Is his replacement a better commentator and will he add more value to racing in the South than Kevin did? Were these questions asked by Luke Walding,Broomhall and co before they made the decision to replace him and did they even bother to do any research amongst their customers ( the racing public ) to justify it? Are Walding ,Broomhall and co adding any value to racing or are they in effect reducing value to racing ? Why are they still there if they are reducing value? Read all the posts on Race Cafe and on other sites and judge for yourself.

I have to agree. The Harness link article below exposes some shoddy practices by the RIB when ironically on 21st June everyone sat around the table with Racing Minister John Carter and agreed Integrity and Communication were the way forward for Racing. Were the some of the Racing Industry staff present having a wee doze off during this meeting or do they consider themselves to be so high up on the food chain they are above all this Integrity and Communication nonsense? Here is some good communication and Integrity from the RIB. http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=82073 Payne was told the news by the New Zealand Racing Board's head of broadcasting, Glen Broomhall two Mondays ago (July 5). He is yet to receive anything in writing. Payne has given just under two decades to the three racing codes in the Deep South. He shifted from Auckland to Dunedin where he worked for Radio Pacific. He was also a presenter for initially Action TV before it evolved into Trackside TV. He also did radio work. "When I made the move south in 1990 it wasn't just a career change, it was a lifestyle change. I left family behind and had to make a whole new start. Now 20 years later they said my axing was simply a financial decision. It stinks and what I did all those years ago right up until now counts for nothing," he said. "They told me it was purely a financial decision and obviously my experience counts for nothing. I remember once at a casino function one night Luke Walding of the RIB told Dave McDonald, Ian Chambers and myself that he could fire and replace us at the drop of a hat. Well now that Ian and I have gone, you have to wonder if poor old Davey Mac will be next," Payne said. Payne said his contract ran from August 1 to July 31 each year. Sometimes he said he had started the new season and a contract had still to be put in front of him in September. "They have shown no loyalty whatsoever and it all comes down to economics for them, which is sad. They would rather go for young blood over experience. It's as simple as that." Improvement of integrity services needed Racing Minister John Carter http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=81597

All I want from a caller is an accurate call and by that I mean call all horses as they run in order and be accurate in a finish. Kevin Payne does both these roles and at this stage of his career he is better than Tom Wood. I do not think race callers need tipping ability as a prerequisite for the job. PS Tom Wood is not the world

Why would you replace someone who (a) knows the Southern racing scene backwards ( is a competent and accurate race caller © has at least 10 years of calling left in him with a novice who is still learning and has a long way to go? Thomas will get there but it will be a while. Whoever made this decision needs to give themselves a large uppercut and then do NZ Racing a favour and climb to the top of the nearest tall building and jump off. Thanks for the memories Kevin.