Eclipsed

Impressive handling by the trainer. Turns it out when still green after a 2nd and win on grass tracks and returns to race at the Met. Home and winning with a last quarter of 26.6 last week after going up to sit parked, and jogged it tonight in a 1.55 mile rate - it’s winter? You’d think the phones would be ringing......

a year or so back I hopped in my car and it was on Trackside Radio and Mark was calling the greyhounds. They went back to Des Coppins in the studio and he said “wow how good a call was that - Mark Mac can make anything sound exciting!” His calls, even down to labelling a dead heat correctly, are outstanding.

The Chairman quoted as saying “this is a momentous day for the sport of Harness Racing in NZ” The new structure of 8 will now include two independent directors. There’s never an apples with apples scenario however in checking a couple of multi billion companies on the NZ Stock Exchange EBOS - 5 Directors Freightways - 5 Directors This reduction from 11 is a step in the right direction however could somebody explain why 8 is the right number? An old adage says that the more you have around the table the less that will be achieved......

solid enough read and it's what do you publish versus what's left out. Although it touches on Leo's grandfather, Danny Doolan it doesn't , and might not need to, mention his cousins - the Guerins. The Guerins, also of the good Catholic breed, left plenty of achievers in their lineage. Nor does it give acknowledgement, and again might not need to, of Leo's siblings who apart from Julie equally came through what could be described as a tough yet loving upbringing on the Coast and who also achieved in their own way. Leo and I met in the days when Morty and Gary Lawson ran the Fat Ladies Arms at Nancy's corner in Riccarton. It was cranking and was one of the highest pouring beer outlets in the South Island. As their "advisor' Leo came in fighting from an angle that anything was negotiable despite legal contracts that were already in place! In the ups and downs of life's path there's no doubt that Leo will be a memorable grandparent to his progeny some of whom will live equally colourful lives - such are the ongoing Doolan genes..

What hit the fan? A patsy release from National to show their annoyance at Winston using all of his political nous and ensuring that changes to the Racing Act proceed without delay. Help me understand what the funding changes will be to sports as, despite the headline grabber, it’s not quantified. Funny that.....

have to agree with Tasman Man's comments - the Met did it really well. Went for the whole day and there was a real event buzz to it. The food, service and facilities in our area were superb. The new CEO was out and about talking with people - making sure they got what they paid for. And hats off the The Whale for selecting 30/1 shot Bolt For Brilliance on the box seat on Wednesday night in his 4 selections in race 2. Just a shame to fritter all of those winnings away by the time day was over My understanding is that overall turnover year on year ( Vs Cambridge) was up by almost $200k on a $2.5million total. Will definitely be there again in 2 years time.

yeh yeh point taken as a $47.5mm fillip spread over 4 years aint going to alter a hell of a lot. However a new regime and Racing Act from July headed by somebody most of us, including yourgoodself Leo, who will apply the blowtorch to the low hanging fruit and then the higher hanging fruit will bring some impetus and direction to what's become an unsustainable model. The Board will change. Senior management will change. The modus operandi will change. I'd liken it to Restaurant Brands on the NZX - once labelled a dog with a share price under $3 that's now five years later close to $9 That's how long, and some, change will take in this industry as the code bodies and clubs go down kicking and screaming....

could have been a shrewd move to switch to The Met Still 5 days out, however the weatherman is suggesting ....Addington will be chilly - max temp 9 degrees.Even a hail shower early on? Hopefully this will all pass before Saturday.....

'Why do so many mediocre men rise to the top?' Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeAEFEXvcBg

.... as a likely venue, Westport started 24/24 in the betting

Tiger forecasting winter!

A person I was chatting to said “what’s equity?” I used the example that In 2017 the business I owned had net assets of $69.3 million and there were no borrowings. In January 2019 that same business had net assets of $63.5 million but we now had bank borrowings of $25million So not only had the value of the business gone backwards, it had also “mortgaged” itself up by a not inconsequential sum and was intending to get even deeper in debt. The friend asked how borrowings would be repaid? Sadly the NZRB hasn’t publicly said how this will happen and most likely because it will be somebody else’s problem - Hughes, Allen et al will have moved on. Winter is approaching Phantom.

John Allen should stand for parliament next year. His spin is uplifting..... "Reported net profit for the first half of 2018/19 was $76.2 million, $2.8 million or 3.5% down on last year, a result impacted by the absence of anticipated Racefield’s legislation" Help me understand how a downwards trending result can be a factor of something that wasn't there last year and aint there this year either?? Income from racing plummeted by $8m for this 6 months on the same period last year however sports betting and pokies smoothed some of that chasm. The half yearly report has an Ariadne feeling with Bruce Judge at the helm.... NZRB's Equity at 2017 $69.3m NZRB's Equity at 2018 $53.5m NZRB's Equity at Jan 2019 $38.2m Fear not, as although borrowings from the bank have lifted from $10m mid 2018 to $25m at January 2019, the NZRB's liquidity is as good as gold. "At balance date, NZRB had available (undrawn) $10 million under its rolling credit bank facility" - how reassuring.

NZRB's half yearly report to January 2019 notes that the pokies contributed $636,000 for the 6 months to "reimburse certain race form publication expenses" an increase from the $560,000 funded from the same source for the same 6 months last year. The total cost incurred by the NZRB for the 6 months for race form publication expenses remained steady at $1.1m