tasman man 11

Not necessarily my path !
Trying to get the answers/solutions out of Mikie who agreed the lower end needs  more incentives.
NZ Racing has for some time had one of ,if not the lowest , return to owners on the globe.
Something ,well below 30 cents in $.
I read somewhere that since payments made to all starters , 30% of horses earn over $10k in a season. Do the Math......training fees vary a lot especially South/North.
Yet the licensed participants number has had little change in recent times ...NZ owners and trainers very resilient.
Mikie has many strings to his bows...breeder , owner,trainer , driver , club secretary , funder , sponsor , great experience of the workings of many of NZ clubs and tracks and ties with the Industries leaders and decision makers.
His views are of interest.
I gather that you like me are an enthusiastic but amateur participant who makes the odd inane post on social media !

Using your 'footy' analogy thats like paying club players more while cutting back on the salaries of International/ Star players.
Water down Group races and it may sustain the Industry for another 12-18 months but the breeding side of the Industry would soon collapse as would ownership / betting /stakes and speed up the demise of even more clubs .
Your club has been very well represented at the decision-making level for a long time so surely the word got through , the frail nature of the Industry must have been so very obvious !
So who would not listen , who or what clubs insisted on Harness travelling on the road to certain decline ? Answers please.
The Earthquakes obviously hurt Christchurch for a while , while the ATC tried their own tragic path to try and future proof their future but what did the rest  or the Industry as a whole do !
That's all behind us now .......betting on NZ Harness has been in steep decline in recent years and Aussies bet more on our races than we do !
The big question is what can done to try and sustain the industry and give our young participants some hope for their future !Answers please !

Using your 'footy' analogy thats like paying club players more while cutting back on the salaries of International/ Star players.
Water down Group races and it may sustain the Industry for another 12-18 months but the breeding side of the Industry would soon collapse as would ownership / betting /stakes and speed up the demise of even more clubs .
Your club has been very well represented at the decision-making level for a long time so surely the word got through , the frail nature of the Industry must have been so very obvious !
So who would not listen , who or what clubs insisted on Harness travelling on the road to certain decline ? Answers please.
The Earthquakes obviously hurt Christchurch for a while , while the ATC tried their own tragic path to try and future proof their future but what did the rest  or the Industry as a whole do !
That's all behind us now .......betting on NZ Harness has been in steep decline in recent years and Aussies bet more on our races than we do !
The big question is what can done to try and sustain the industry and give our young participants some hope for their future !Answers please !

You must be an antique to remember that...it was my neighbour EJ Didham who got the 99.I think he may have been winning on Baghdad Note at Trentham in July ,then popped across to the Melbourne Cup and won that for Otago !
Down the road a bit my friends neighbour RJS scored a few 90's ,including a high of 98 !

Don’t knock us 66 year olds ha ha. All my suits are  black so I’m probably exempt 

You must be an antique to remember that...it was my neighbour EJ Didham who got the 99.I think he may have been winning on Baghdad Note at Trentham in July ,then popped across to the Melbourne Cup and won that for Otago !
Down the road a bit my friends neighbour RJS scored a few 90's ,including a high of 98 !

You must be an antique to remember that...it was my neighbour EJ Didham who got the 99.I think he may have been winning on Baghdad Note at Trentham in July ,then popped across to the Melbourne Cup and won that for Otago !
Down the road a bit my friends neighbour RJS scored a few 90's ,including a high of 98 !

If they'd of built it on top of Pukekohe Hill the whingers would be complaining about the wind and potatoe shortages......

It was spot on for the shortest day. No horse had run in over 3 months, open entry races and 5 favourites won. 
 
 

Critter
 
crawl back into your negative life. fuck off

Cheering for you and your Club tomorrow Shane ,
Your enthusiasm is infectious and I think your positivity will get people on track or tuning in,
PS follow the Antony Fuller team tomorrow
Cheers,
CB

Anyone who contributes their time to benefit the industry deserves all the success! 👌

All The Best Shane & Team Counties! 👍

I say good luck to Shane and his Counties Club for trying to attract a few more paying guests to the resumption of Racing.
I notice how Rugby has talked up their resumption and the first weekends crowds have responded to the occasion with significant larger than usual numbers.
We all know this normally is a tough time of year on racing calendar , winter and many horses may have not had the normal length preparation.
A few weeks back there was great uncertainty for the Industry and the thousands who rely on it for their livelihood.
Fields are uncertain ,but whatever is carded I hope the club gets good support and I for one will wish them well and hope to join in some way !
Now is not the time for slagging people off for their endeavours.

Haha Memphis......hope you safe and sound !
Of course there was "Longshot Harry" and "On A Pedestal" too in the FF.
Lone Wolf.....may have one race but Lone Hand [Noel Eales] was a handy CD stayer who won Hawkes Bay Cup and often thereabouts in some big races !

Haha Memphis......hope you safe and sound !
Of course there was "Longshot Harry" and "On A Pedestal" too in the FF.
Lone Wolf.....may have one race but Lone Hand [Noel Eales] was a handy CD stayer who won Hawkes Bay Cup and often thereabouts in some big races !

One thing for certain......there is a wide range of opinion re the weekly race guide.
Older folk speak in raptures about the Friday Flash and the good old days.
My Dad and I loved the FF .....the turn and finish photos , the selection tables Dad always took the horse picked by only 1 of the 5 to 12 scribes ......Gloaming ,Templeton , Percy the Place punter ,Cosmic Court , The Joker etc.But jockeys often not shown and not with the fields , track work pretty patchy etc.No recent form for horses.We loved Hoofbeats too...just photos.I bought Bloodhorse.RIP Cozzie !
The latest Raceform /Best Bets available had all this info but better [not photos] ,articles on breeding , personalities ,trainers comments......getting better each week.Distribution wasn't the best initially .
Trouble is ,most of us ....certainly those that post on here have been there and done that , we are experts and legends in our own lunchtimes.I meet some of you in TAB's and at races.Some of us relish being keyboard warriors. Some just enjoy winding up others.
We resent the journalists who write the stories and then we cry when they become redundant.

One thing for certain......there is a wide range of opinion re the weekly race guide.
Older folk speak in raptures about the Friday Flash and the good old days.
My Dad and I loved the FF .....the turn and finish photos , the selection tables Dad always took the horse picked by only 1 of the 5 to 12 scribes ......Gloaming ,Templeton , Percy the Place punter ,Cosmic Court , The Joker etc.But jockeys often not shown and not with the fields , track work pretty patchy etc.No recent form for horses.We loved Hoofbeats too...just photos.I bought Bloodhorse.RIP Cozzie !
The latest Raceform /Best Bets available had all this info but better [not photos] ,articles on breeding , personalities ,trainers comments......getting better each week.Distribution wasn't the best initially .
Trouble is ,most of us ....certainly those that post on here have been there and done that , we are experts and legends in our own lunchtimes.I meet some of you in TAB's and at races.Some of us relish being keyboard warriors. Some just enjoy winding up others.
We resent the journalists who write the stories and then we cry when they become redundant.

One thing for certain......there is a wide range of opinion re the weekly race guide.
Older folk speak in raptures about the Friday Flash and the good old days.
My Dad and I loved the FF .....the turn and finish photos , the selection tables Dad always took the horse picked by only 1 of the 5 to 12 scribes ......Gloaming ,Templeton , Percy the Place punter ,Cosmic Court , The Joker etc.But jockeys often not shown and not with the fields , track work pretty patchy etc.No recent form for horses.We loved Hoofbeats too...just photos.I bought Bloodhorse.RIP Cozzie !
The latest Raceform /Best Bets available had all this info but better [not photos] ,articles on breeding , personalities ,trainers comments......getting better each week.Distribution wasn't the best initially .
Trouble is ,most of us ....certainly those that post on here have been there and done that , we are experts and legends in our own lunchtimes.I meet some of you in TAB's and at races.Some of us relish being keyboard warriors. Some just enjoy winding up others.
We resent the journalists who write the stories and then we cry when they become redundant.

This is a pretty good summation.
Ive followed Avondale's issues for quite some time and remember some excellent racing in the good old days ,tho I lived abroad during the night racing debacle.
In particular been out to track for racing and trials in recent years , as well as talking to other participants .
And it has been discussed on this site for some years as well.
I can't see the point in slagging the place off , mainly because of its grim facilities and general 'personality' but its had its time and in 2020 even before the current crisis it was surplus to requirements.
People just don't seem to want to go there.......can be hard to quantify ,other than the disgraceful old stand.
It just doesn't feel inviting the climate seems different and spectators won't go. Travel in and out can be difficult for horses.There are next to no horses trained within 40km.
The horses nowdays are mainly trained in the Waikato and Auckland has Ellerslie and Pukekohe to serve the area ,and IMO Ellerslie is an excellent facility for the big days !
Like the Sahara ,everyone knows where Avondale is but no-one wants to go there.
Do something with it , decide who gets it ,move on ,course closed.
I've got an Avondale Cup win to boost my memories and a photo with Helen Clark !

Probably a lot easier to stay at home in front of Tele but I had to go ...parked miles away , a slower than usual  gate entry for most ...a bit of small time entertainment ,a low flying plane with no flour bombs was the WOW factor ,an ovation for our Essential workers , a fun band ,a tug of war ,and a few racing bubbles. The other WOW moment was at the end when the kids were allowed onto the sacred turf to get close to players.Buying game food ,Chips ,hot dogs and expensive drinks is seen as part of the game experience.They offer a free flag.
But now days there is no form guide or program ,teams go on the screen prior to kick off. Hard to follow substitutions  and a lot whats happening.
But sadly no TAB outlets , better profits in food and clothing.Long queues in some stalls at halftime.Many buses transporting folk !
Its one of those events that everybody wanted to be at......during the day.
Better viewing at home but two well known teams including some household names and All Blacks !
43,100 paying customers....good facility !

Probably a lot easier to stay at home in front of Tele but I had to go ...parked miles away , a slower than usual  gate entry for most ...a bit of small time entertainment ,a low flying plane with no flour bombs was the WOW factor ,an ovation for our Essential workers , a fun band ,a tug of war ,and a few racing bubbles. The other WOW moment was at the end when the kids were allowed onto the sacred turf to get close to players.Buying game food ,Chips ,hot dogs and expensive drinks is seen as part of the game experience.They offer a free flag.
But now days there is no form guide or program ,teams go on the screen prior to kick off. Hard to follow substitutions  and a lot whats happening.
But sadly no TAB outlets , better profits in food and clothing.Long queues in some stalls at halftime.Many buses transporting folk !
Its one of those events that everybody wanted to be at......during the day.
Better viewing at home but two well known teams including some household names and All Blacks !
43,100 paying customers....good facility !

I know how you feel Archer......I was with the wife in the supermarket and we saw the Soup on special so we bought a can along with some Lasagna.When we went to the Self Serve machine it would not give us the special price. We didn't have our Club Card so we had to join the long service lines. A wait there , impatience took over , so we dropped the soup in bin and returned to the SS to buy lasagna.
Then wife couldn't figure how to complete transaction so she just left it and walked out.The supervisor who advised at start of transaction chose to ignore her.
We showed them.......took a stand , gave up.
Problem was I missed out on my meal !

This is a pretty good summation.
Ive followed Avondale's issues for quite some time and remember some excellent racing in the good old days ,tho I lived abroad during the night racing debacle.
In particular been out to track for racing and trials in recent years , as well as talking to other participants .
And it has been discussed on this site for some years as well.
I can't see the point in slagging the place off , mainly because of its grim facilities and general 'personality' but its had its time and in 2020 even before the current crisis it was surplus to requirements.
People just don't seem to want to go there.......can be hard to quantify ,other than the disgraceful old stand.
It just doesn't feel inviting the climate seems different and spectators won't go. Travel in and out can be difficult for horses.There are next to no horses trained within 40km.
The horses nowdays are mainly trained in the Waikato and Auckland has Ellerslie and Pukekohe to serve the area ,and IMO Ellerslie is an excellent facility for the big days !
Like the Sahara ,everyone knows where Avondale is but no-one wants to go there.
Do something with it , decide who gets it ,move on ,course closed.
I've got an Avondale Cup win to boost my memories and a photo with Helen Clark !

I appreciate your kind words , but i can assure you that i know of many more people and many of them of much higher intelligence that have all but given up saying anything . As i have said here on many occasions the powers that be don't want any help , they know it all . Plenty of people have offered opinion and suggestions which have drawn a blank for no other reason than they are considered small players of no consequence . Whilst the ones who hold some status or sway say nought , Why ? .
If they came out and asked everybody for ideas to remedy some of our issues , we could end up with a dozen really good ideas that could be shaped and worked into realistic and achievable projects that could help turn this industry around . Will it happen ? i doubt it will , but i live in hope .

The below is on ARC newsletter.  Thanks