tasman man 11

Picks Bendigo r7 3 , 6 , 7 , 13 Thanks

Will Star Galleria be allowed to race against horses rated 40 points below his 102 , from behind the mobile ?

I believe ,from experience, there is no hard and fast rule. But the racing policy states that races with 6 or less nominations /withdrawal time MAY be deleted. Races with 4 or less will LIKELY be deleted..........but group or listed races will go ahead regardless. My view is that races with some point of difference e.g. early 2 yr old races or races seen as a stepping stone to upcoming feature races e.g. 2 and 3 yr old races , MAY be more likely to be run with these minimums. Dare I say that clubs which contribute more thru betting turnover MAY be more likely to run a small field than a lesser club with a smaller turnover. Of course the odd trainer can accept with horses then scratch to ensure the race goes ahead. But then ......what would I know ?

Picks Trentham r8 2 , 3 , 5 , 8 Thanks

Picks TeRapa r5.......1,2,4,9 TeRapa r7.......1,2,4,12 Ricc r7..........1,2,5,7 Rand r7........1,4,6,8 MV r3.........1,5,7,8 MV r4..........1,2,4,10 MV r5..........2,3,5,10 MV r6.........1,3,6,7 MV r7......1,2,6,8 MV r8......3,7,8,12 MV r9........7,9,12,13 Thanks

The Valley R8 picks 1, 6, 8, 10 Thanks

Jumping races have been struggling for numbers for a few years now ,but they tried to keep stakes OK to keep it going as Kiwis bet little on them and often small fields. Of course Covid made things worse this year and South Island was ruled out completely....no Grand National. But once we got into October the tracks firmed and the race held on firmer ground than usual. The time of 7min 42 one of fastest ever , with only 10 of last 60 years going under 8 mins. Probably contributed to carnage. Odd to see the 4 x casualties too as fallers rare in the great race......this year there seemed to be a faster pace earlier and a couple faltered on first round at water jump and 3 x went out 2 x jumps later. The race is great to watch , the sheer resilience of horse and rider tested beyond anything else in NZ......three times over the hill....about 6400m or 4 miles. Flag starts in NZ are rare.

picks Geelong Cup..........2,4,5,7 Thanks

Why the need for a Minister Of Racing ? A historical thing ,no doubt , the introduction of the TAB and Gaming Act in 1950's or before ,attracting Governments interest particularly with Taxation. As racing became big business , all the integrity issues seemed to attract more Governmental attention. 'Rugby ,racing and beer ' not so prominent in NZ Society nowdays so it will be no surprise if current politicians try and distance themselves as the sport/industry becomes less relevant.

RIP Neill.....good southern man. Good jockey especially over Jumps , once beaten a nose in Great Northern Steeples. Rode many for strong Bill Hillis stable from Riverton.

Great choice indeed eljay......gotta keep up with the 'menu' that Aussie offers. What entertainment on a dreary Monday ! American Football[NFL] , Ecuadorian soccer , eFootball , and Russian Table Tennis which is just local league stuff played by unknown players. Aussie gambling figures are going off the charts.....gotta try and keep up with them.

Picks... Hastings r8........5,9,10,15 Hastings r9.......1,3,4,9 Randwick r6.......1,2,4, 10 Randwick r7.......1,2,3,12 Caulfield r4........2,5,10,11 Caulfield r5.......2,3,5,6 Caulfield r7........2,6,7,8 Caulfield r8.......4,9,10,11 Caulfield r9.......1,7,11,17 Caulfield r10.....1,2,3,4 Thanks

2005 Melbourne Cup was certainly a great occasion and they certainly turned on the celebrations/drama for Makybe Diva ........threats to scratch her if the track not watered saw significant water applied and when Cup day dawned very foggy it took sometime before some surface water soaked in. By Cup time ,when the hot sun took effect it created conditions like a sauna and tho Makybe Diva won brilliantly many other horses didn't cope as well. Xcellent did NZ proud with an outstanding 3rd ,and Envoy[ KKelso] got a top 10 payout ! One well fancied Irish horse struggled in the sauna furnace and the jockey dismounted ASAP after the line cos he felt the horse was going to drop dead it was so distressed ! But all in all a great Cup....no doubt.

What ya smoking Gruff ? Are you stuck on bridge between jobs ? A rat a tat tat of jovial posts and you introduce Neil Brady of harness and rugby fame into a B Stanaway thread ......who's mother and who milk shaking? 3 x deep breaths and clarify ?

Kinda obvious that level of scratchings due to wide barrier draws. Several 1200m races and connections just not prepared to start at wider than about barrier 9. Avondale usually serves up a nice surface , but there has been serious water restrictions in city recently. And not much spring rain.

All-round outstanding results for Jamie Richards stable today, And great to see the Lindsays win big too !

Please Greg , You confusing me with someone else....I'm quite happy to have my say ,when discussing topics I have an interest in. The topic of the thread does show that some progress is taking place and bankruptcy has been stalled for now but until change takes place in racing and more centralisation /rationalisation accrues IMO NZ racing can't have a bright future . These folk you locking horns with here ,claim passion in the Industry yet other than own a few horses and muck out a few stables they obviously burdened with personal regional bias which badly effects their judgement.If they were really passionate they would be working on committees , in clubs etc doing something useful rather than spreading negativity on social media. They claim to want progress , its change they don't want ! And you can tell them what rest home I in , doubt you will know.........the care here is top class , I'm having a ball !

For someone who claims to be very familiar with South Island happenings you seem to confuse a couple of figures quoted as Saturday race turnovers as a reflection of meeting turnovers , even more puzzling to this South Islander when the CD only had TWO Saturday meetings during the month. A low-key Hawera meeting with 12 races and an Awapuni meeting with 5 x jumping races and they historically low T/O. The other influencing factor was the carry forward figures in the First 4 and these ,particularly on a Saturday attract a surge in Aussie betting into the inflated pools. Of course the Winter Cup had a sizable field and the 2nd horse paid $19 place .The other NZ meeting that day was the lowly Cambridge trots ! Certainly the' good' August TAB result will not go down well with the Doomers and naysayers ...its only one month but there is a bit to enthuse over especially the $2 mill savings in operational costs. But then again ,what would I know ?

IMO the ATC has been let down by both the Programmers and Northern trainers for tonights Trots ,which should be a highlight after being stuck in gridlock since the Bridge became injured and many of us dressed up with no where to go. Plenty of class horses .....but sadly the fields have suffered with scratchings. One 4 x horse field which are the leftovers from big Sales Series race....OK.....but then 1 x 6 horse race and 3 x 7 horse races . Hardly an attraction for punters ! Wait there's more......2 other races with $1.45 favs while the main trot race [ 7 x starters ] features a $1.45 quinella ! It will be no surprise to me if one of the 'hotties' gets beaten but at a time when Betting turnover is paramount to get Harness afloat again it is a tad sad . No doubt a few hardy individuals will enjoy the chance to get out and about and enjoy the racing and food once we are herded into our holding pens and masks attached. At least some top horses racing ...not to mention the Chief ,the Iceman and the Magic Man.......luv it ! A question from me would be .......do our Harness leaders actually care about the betting turnover on a weekly basis ?

Haha....1950's , they often rode track work with no helmet/skull caps ! A lot of the population had false teeth ! Camera on finish line was very new.....etc

I watched it online....55 mins......mainly to see what it was that people seemed to miss. I had never watched a full 'show' before ,sometimes just watching a few minutes of something of interest.The presenters are good harness guys ,but there was a lot of waffle about the NZ Cup /Dominion group 1's coming up in 7 weeks time. Personally it didn't interest me a lot.....talking about the odds for the NZ cup , the possible field , the starting abilities of the main contenders is same ole ,same ole IMO.....boring. Had brief interviews with a couple of big players.....MPurdon , RGreen , BOrange. Boring would be the one word to describe the whole show. If you watch the efforts of Nigel , Andrew ,Jo etc with their live streaming on racedays plus the picking sessions and sheets ...far more interesting....plus stables like the Allstars have their own up to date websites and HRNZ's also has current 'stories' of interest. IMO Interesting , events like the Junior Drivers series organised by the young drivers themselves deserved more than 20 seconds mention. Understandably the presenters will not say anything controversial so its very sanitised ,chat from two studios. Maverick views/guests unlikely to see the light of day. Even allowing for it being the first show back and the current uncertainty over Covid I don't see it as a 'must watch' ! I'd mark it 2 out of 10 !

The Doggies are making ground on Harness as far as the betting public is concerned. No doubt influenced by the fact there are so many more doggy races available to have a dabble on. Just counting NZ races ,the doggies have more races than gallops and harness combined. NZ Harness 'lucky' it had no NZ gallops to contend with yesterday , though plenty of doggies and gallops from 9 different countries !! Geez. One wonders if Harness getting the best possible deal from the TAB and how much of this is self inflicted......lack of unity , lack of strong combined voice etc etc. Interesting seeing the last 2 x Sundays how the First 4 pools can grow by some $20 k a race once a jackpot situation arises......probably a lot of Australian money in this ,but it shows folk are looking to bet on bigger pools . IMO harness needs to do more to help itself......sort out the ongoing Management issues , get consistency in stipe issues ,handicapping ,programming etc. On a positive note ,the low cost streaming of picks and interviews by the likes of Nigel , Andrew and Jo etc where the faces of many drivers and little known participants come into your house online is IMO adding a new dimension and well worth looking out for. Much better than being hooked into the endless TV coverage of doggies. But doggies betting on NZ TAB fast closing in on Harness.

Huey , you seem a very negative person ,and how you enjoy dissecting my posts looking for a wrong word ,an error. This is a forum ...I write my own opinion based on my own experiences and participation. The restricted comment was into the referral to the Karaka races as restricted , cos they are ....only horses who pay a fee at the Sales can enter...ie the are restricted.I replied . AS to generating revenue....you think about it.....The races are linked to the sales which attracts International visitors and investors ,often an Aussie horse and/or jockey or two.Better than normal publicity , good attendance and punting , and attracts many 'new' and 'younger' folk on the day and is one of BGP 's big day. It is a great day ,again IMO. Does it generate revenue.......you work that out. I'm sure your tag -team will join in.....the ones who want Timaru developed as a state of art racing centre.....and no need to touch the track !History shows it can get wet / heavy there like most of NZ ! I know a little bit about the South Island and its racing........I have probably lived in the South Island for longer than you and your tag-team mates who will need to come to your assistance. Don't bother reading my posts......ignore them ,thanks ! As for the owners who missed a start at Timaru ,I feel for them cause happened to me many ,many times especially with Maidens and R65. You need to get some form and move up the rankings to avoid the ballot. Its happened for years and I know the feeling. I also know that NZ owners are very resilient , take abysmal returns ,increasing costs etc There are a lot of slow horses about too. I also know that we are in unique times......when covid resulted in racing closing and most horses turned out , many horses were ultimately rushed back into winter work cos of the uncertainty of insolvent TAB etc and there has been a glut of horses as a result. Even Ellerslie ,which has some Jumping races this weekend seems to have twice the normal noms. Extra races will need to be added I guess.Again owners will be disappointed . In closing Huey , dont cry ...try to create. Look at what you can do to help racing and your part in it......constant negativity won't cut it ,this is a social media forum where any thing goes ......keyboard warriors in padded cells ! If you and your followers have the answers ,join a club and get on the inside and work your magic !

List your top 5......I know one thing for sure. i.e. most Harness enthusiasts will not agree ,they will prefer to have their own take on the situation ,often influenced by their own personal interest or situation. Getting consensus a huge hurdle. My top 5.... 1. Competition for leisure and better dollar. 2. Recent generations have many entertainment options....Racing seen as boring.....very boring ! 3. Recent generations have many entertainment options....Racing is too hard to gain knowledge in , and understand. 4. Racing often lacks professionalism ....often run by Amateurs . 5. This is 2020....racings image and 'brand' seen as 1970's ....run by stale ,pale males JMHO My 5 won't be easy to fix , but young female involvement as drivers and trainers should be highlighted more !

Correct.......but there no restriction as to who can bet on them ,or who can attend to watch etc. Is not one of the goals of NZTR to try to encourage investment in Ownership etc ? The Karaka race/day creates a lot of interest here and abroad. Both the race and the day itself rank in the top 7 for betting turnover. Definitely one of the best days racing on current calendar IMO.