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The biggest fuck up of an industry you ever did see. Reminds me of the movie titanic we all watching the ship sinking an we are all helpless

The biggest fuck up of an industry you ever did see. Reminds me of the movie titanic we all watching the ship sinking an we are all helpless

I rode trackwork some years ago for Lee and he was a wonderful person. His brother at the time was doing the video for the trails and he was a top bloke as well.

Tim has said the simplest of things that are totally correct.
My argument about having unknowns (trainers and jockeys) at premier meetings makes them unattractive to punt on. No punting, leads to no attendance, no food sales and therefore no profits. 
There is absolutely NO point in constructing all weather tracks without first having a plan of what to race on them.
Millions of $$ of Synthetic tracks will not fix the problems of this industry. Even on a good day at Ellerslie, with a perfect track, the crowds don’t show up. Why??
Poor food and facilities.. Silks has had the same name and food for 30years!! Show me a restaurant that has managed to survive and grow with that backward thinking. The chairs and tables are as old as me. A/c and TV’s old and useless. Etc etc.
Use the same percentages that HK use..
HK 7.3 million - 2 great tracks
NZ 4 million - should be one track but I will agree to three. No more needed, just a change of thinking by the industry to accommodate themselves to the action.
Be ruthless, stop listening to management idiots and idiots with personal geographic desires on this forum. You cannot grow the betting base, the world is changing. Maximise what you have with your turnover, and consolidate your facilities. 
Waste money on tracks that won’t change the product to punters and keep heading South.
A horse doesn’t give a hoot where it races.. just requires a reasonable track. The punter cares where he sits and what he eats when he (she) is both winning and loosing.. 
If I’m wrong then why do horses still turn up at race meeting and punters don’t?
 
 

What a lovely story, in life, it is all about the next generation and sharing the knowledge is what it is all about. I have played snooker for most of my life and I am only to happy to share my knowledge and show players what they are doing wrong etc. It gives me great satisfaction to see players improve and also the delight they get from trying new shots etc and every sport needs the next generation coming through. I take my hat off to all those that give of their time.

What a lovely story, in life, it is all about the next generation and sharing the knowledge is what it is all about. I have played snooker for most of my life and I am only to happy to share my knowledge and show players what they are doing wrong etc. It gives me great satisfaction to see players improve and also the delight they get from trying new shots etc and every sport needs the next generation coming through. I take my hat off to all those that give of their time.

What a lovely story, in life, it is all about the next generation and sharing the knowledge is what it is all about. I have played snooker for most of my life and I am only to happy to share my knowledge and show players what they are doing wrong etc. It gives me great satisfaction to see players improve and also the delight they get from trying new shots etc and every sport needs the next generation coming through. I take my hat off to all those that give of their time.

Without a doubt.
It’s the only way Ellerslie will be ever be able to successfully hold the number of race meetings that the industry needs them to. 

Elerslie should be a Strathayr Track

Have a look at the MOE country races today and the track. A few years back they lost their Cup Day due to inclement weather. They decided to close the track an rip it up, subsequently laying a Strathayr Track similar to Moonee Valley. It's a G4 today, beautiful and green and they proudly boast that they will never have to cancel a meeting ever again due to track conditions!! A country track in competition with today's Caulfield meeting and look at the Stakes on offer. Every race offering $40k. Bussuttin and Young must be chuckling quietly to themselves. They would have been at Arawak Park today - racing for what? 

I lost Thomas on Brisbane Cup day at Eagle Farm in 2001, had Kaapstad Way in.
Colleen and I couldnt locate him, but he had made his way up to the commentary box to see Wayne Wilson and spent the day with him.
He was made most welcome, and through those beginnings, he has forged his career.

I have never met one of those Commentators who is not a great bloke.  From Jack O'Donnell to Reon to Tom Wood and T Lee, Jason Teaz and now the new crop Mark McNamara and Matthew Cross.  every single one a personable easy going good fella.
A couple of incidences involving my kids in the last ten days illustrated this so well.  At Greymouth last week a mutual friend took the two of them (21 and 16) along with two or three others to meet Matt who was doing TV work that day.  He spent at least 15 minutes with them discussing all manner of topics including TV, little Irish jockeys, the way their father reacts when one of his bets looks likely to win and whatever else.
Then yesterday I offer to take the younger one and a friend to the commentary box so they could watch Mark strut his stuff.  Twenty minutes later I find them still there having this time dissected the intricacies of the Molloy family and notable members thereof, again little irish jockeys, silly songs from years ago, what big races he commentates and God knows what else.  To be fair the 16 year old has a fair bit of Molloy yap so Mark would not have needed to lead the conversation and appeared to be enjoying it but things like that live with kids and they will remember an encounter with the faces (and voices) of NZ Racing.  When I pointed out exactly how big those races are Mark calls 16 year old said ' he wasn't very skitey about it'
My kids have little real interest in racing other than that created by their father's obsession and the time these guys took when they could have said 'look i'm a bit busy' was really appreciated.  I know those guys read racecafe even if they cannot participate so a shout out to them in thanks for giving a bit of time to a group of kids.  
My kids are lucky I guess to get access to those people but NZ Racing might have grabbed a couple more devotees through the good sociable attitude of two of its stars. 

Was very common practice back in the day

Before they decided to throw all this water on tracks to get the dead 4 rating at race start we had tracks with no bais we now have track bais which leaves punters with little confidence in betting hence turnovers decreasing. I always understood racing was meant to have tracks where every horse had equal chance to win. Sadly so many meetings where irrigation is used you have fast an slow lanes a total joke. Ellerslie boxing day not one favorite won. I know of people that do there betting on metro Australian where most runners get there chance to win. The 80s when I was involved in racing I never recall one meeting been called off. How the guard has changed for the worse

Before they decided to throw all this water on tracks to get the dead 4 rating at race start we had tracks with no bais we now have track bais which leaves punters with little confidence in betting hence turnovers decreasing. I always understood racing was meant to have tracks where every horse had equal chance to win. Sadly so many meetings where irrigation is used you have fast an slow lanes a total joke. Ellerslie boxing day not one favorite won. I know of people that do there betting on metro Australian where most runners get there chance to win. The 80s when I was involved in racing I never recall one meeting been called off. How the guard has changed for the worse

Before they decided to throw all this water on tracks to get the dead 4 rating at race start we had tracks with no bais we now have track bais which leaves punters with little confidence in betting hence turnovers decreasing. I always understood racing was meant to have tracks where every horse had equal chance to win. Sadly so many meetings where irrigation is used you have fast an slow lanes a total joke. Ellerslie boxing day not one favorite won. I know of people that do there betting on metro Australian where most runners get there chance to win. The 80s when I was involved in racing I never recall one meeting been called off. How the guard has changed for the worse

Before they decided to throw all this water on tracks to get the dead 4 rating at race start we had tracks with no bais we now have track bais which leaves punters with little confidence in betting hence turnovers decreasing. I always understood racing was meant to have tracks where every horse had equal chance to win. Sadly so many meetings where irrigation is used you have fast an slow lanes a total joke. Ellerslie boxing day not one favorite won. I know of people that do there betting on metro Australian where most runners get there chance to win. The 80s when I was involved in racing I never recall one meeting been called off. How the guard has changed for the worse

Before they decided to throw all this water on tracks to get the dead 4 rating at race start we had tracks with no bais we now have track bais which leaves punters with little confidence in betting hence turnovers decreasing. I always understood racing was meant to have tracks where every horse had equal chance to win. Sadly so many meetings where irrigation is used you have fast an slow lanes a total joke. Ellerslie boxing day not one favorite won. I know of people that do there betting on metro Australian where most runners get there chance to win. The 80s when I was involved in racing I never recall one meeting been called off. How the guard has changed for the worse

Booooooooring!!!!  the whole industry is a joke! If there is rain on the forcast may as well just call it off the day before...Fucking sick of it 

I don't like swallowing bitter pills but I have to say Murray Baker is a legend.
He's always been very good but since Bjorn ( and now Andrew ) have given him their input he's has truely become an Australasian legend.
Well done that man I say.
 

How good is this guys assessment of her; Daniel O'Sullivan wrote this exactly one month ago: 
(Note that on our Free Handicap this week she is rated below Gingernuts and equal with Jon Snow.)
 
Leading form analyst Daniel O’Sullivan from The Rating Bureau in Australia rates Bonneval as the best of New Zealand’s classic winners in the 2016-17 season and expects a bold showing from her in Melbourne during the spring.
According to O’Sullivan, the daughter of Makfi ran to a peak rating of 104.5 in her Gr. 1 Australian Oaks romp, placing her ahead of fellow Group One winners Gingernuts with a peak rating of 100 and Jon Snow at 99.
“There's no doubt in my mind that Bonneval is the superior horse based on exposed form,” O’Sullivan said.
“Her Australian Oaks win was a supreme staying performance, above the historical average of the race. It was a fast pace, higher pressure race which she relished, racing away to be a dominant winner in a fast time. 
“Her New Zealand Oaks win demonstrated that she also has an excellent turn of foot and sustained sectional speed over 600 to 800 metres. From a staying perspective, she has all of the attributes needed to be a factor at the top level.”
O’Sullivan believes Bonneval will be competitive in the spring with the Gr. 1 Caulfield Cup her prime target.
“At four I can see Bonneval being thereabouts in the weight-for-age lead-up races over 1600 to 2000 metres, building nicely to another peak performance in the 2400-metre Caulfield Cup,” he said.
“I'd expect her to get around 52 to 53 kilograms in the Caulfield Cup and on her Oaks rating that weight will put her in the competitive zone, given the historical rating at the weights produced by the race winners and placegetters.”
A versatile runner, O’Sullivan believes the pace of the race would be irrelevant for Bonneval.
“If they go hard, she's proven to have fast time and genuine staying talent. If the race is run more moderately, she's also proven to have a fast and sustained sectional sprint of 600 to 800 metres,” he said.
“She also appeals to me as the type of filly that could make a little bit of further improvement in her ratings and that would make her a big threat in Group One handicaps and certainly able to compete with the European horses that might come to Australia under handicap conditions.”
Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup placegetter Hartnell is one of the likely topweights for the Caulfield Cup, but O’Sullivan believes the Kiwi mare can pose a threat to the Godolphin galloper. 
“If Hartnell is being set for the race then he's likely to have 58 kilograms. At the weights, Hartnell would need to get back to his spring 2016 form to be a chance in the race and at that level, he and Bonneval would be closely matched. 
“On Hartnell's autumn form Bonneval would be superior, however, on 2016 form he's the superior horse, but the difference in handicaps would bring them closer together. 
“I'm looking forward to seeing her compete in the Melbourne spring.”
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan said New Zealand Derby and Rosehill Guineas hero Gingernuts would need to improve to compete at the highest level in Australia in the spring.
“He's yet to display the same level of talent as Bonneval, either in terms of staying ability or turn of foot.
“Gingernuts raced on very heavy tracks in Sydney and won a solid pace, slogging Rosehill Guineas in good time by being the superior stayer at 2000 metres. He got too far back in a moderately run Australian Derby and was never a factor.
“He might be one that could make improvement, but he needs to increase sharply beyond his 100 peak in Australia as that mark won't cut it in Australia racing at the top level.”
O’Sullivan highlighted fellow New Zealand Derby winner Mongolian Khan as an example of a recent New Zealand horse to improve on their autumn form to excel in the spring.
“Mongolian Khan rated two lengths superior in the autumn at 103 and then improved a further two lengths into his four-year-old season to win the Caulfield Cup,” he said.
Australian Derby winner Jon Snow is another horse that will need to improve to be competitive in Australia, according to O’Sullivan.
“Jon Snow won a well below average rating Australian Derby with just a 99 rating. His prior win in the Tulloch Stakes was 97,” he said.
“Similar to Gingernuts, Jon Snow would need to make big improvement to be a player in the Melbourne spring, otherwise I can't see him being a factor in lead-up races or the Caulfield Cup itself.” 

As smoking isn't Illegal are they able to enforce this. The world has gone fucking mad now racing has as well. 

As someone who smokes i never smoke in a public place around people. I don't even smoke at home if the Mrs is there because she hates it.
In saying that i could do a day without no trouble but why make those that cannot not attend the races.
A simple smoking area like workplaces have would solve this issue.

I can't stand smoking! 
But I have to say I haven't experienced a problem with smokers on a race course or a pub for that matter for years. I can understand the alignment with the cancer foundation etc, but I simply do not have a problem with respectful smokers having their cigarette in a designated area it seems to have worked well for years.
This appears to be a real beat up and is the beginning of pandering to social groups that will never stop and racing may pay a very dear price for it in the long run.

I remember those days so well and how great it is that we no longer have to go into a pub, club and go home smelling like an ash tray. I was a smoker many moons ago and smoked on the bus on the plane, oh how things have turned around. I find 99% of smokers are very aware of non smokers and go away to a quite area to have a fag.
My post was a quick response to how those people in authority or in positions to make these decisions believe they know how people should live there lives. As leighton Smith will tell you, little by little before we know it we won't be allowed out our front door.