bus stop

Yes but who's left with the knowledge to get us back on track. The  current board is not up to it. 

My Two Cents worth I totaly agree with your statement on the Northern racing 100%

My Two Cents worth I totaly agree with your statement on the Northern racing 100%

Gary you need to take into account when making comments of who the top northern trainers are the likes of the class of dog they have access to either dogs that are bought by owners who can  afford to out lay the dollars or have the breeding set up to produce litters which gives them a better chance of getting good dogs to train. There are a number of trainers in the north who I view do a excellent job with the type of dog they race. Keeping in mind that a number of them are racing 2nd tier dogs from the 2 biggest breeders in NZ. Gary cant undersatnd how you left the Craiks off your list they have been one if not one of the best trainers in the North for the last 30 odd years.
Anyway Gary I fear for the future of the northern region as there are not enough the younger generation taking  it on the costs of land etc to set up is just to much and the money is not there to meet comitments.
Also the board are making far reaching decesions which will come back and bite them in the ass i.e. import fees which I feel they are being leaned on by outside influences.

Gary you need to take into account when making comments of who the top northern trainers are the likes of the class of dog they have access to either dogs that are bought by owners who can  afford to out lay the dollars or have the breeding set up to produce litters which gives them a better chance of getting good dogs to train. There are a number of trainers in the north who I view do a excellent job with the type of dog they race. Keeping in mind that a number of them are racing 2nd tier dogs from the 2 biggest breeders in NZ. Gary cant undersatnd how you left the Craiks off your list they have been one if not one of the best trainers in the North for the last 30 odd years.
Anyway Gary I fear for the future of the northern region as there are not enough the younger generation taking  it on the costs of land etc to set up is just to much and the money is not there to meet comitments.
Also the board are making far reaching decesions which will come back and bite them in the ass i.e. import fees which I feel they are being leaned on by outside influences.

Gary you need to take into account when making comments of who the top northern trainers are the likes of the class of dog they have access to either dogs that are bought by owners who can  afford to out lay the dollars or have the breeding set up to produce litters which gives them a better chance of getting good dogs to train. There are a number of trainers in the north who I view do a excellent job with the type of dog they race. Keeping in mind that a number of them are racing 2nd tier dogs from the 2 biggest breeders in NZ. Gary cant undersatnd how you left the Craiks off your list they have been one if not one of the best trainers in the North for the last 30 odd years.
Anyway Gary I fear for the future of the northern region as there are not enough the younger generation taking  it on the costs of land etc to set up is just to much and the money is not there to meet comitments.
Also the board are making far reaching decesions which will come back and bite them in the ass i.e. import fees which I feel they are being leaned on by outside influences.

Gary you need to take into account when making comments of who the top northern trainers are the likes of the class of dog they have access to either dogs that are bought by owners who can  afford to out lay the dollars or have the breeding set up to produce litters which gives them a better chance of getting good dogs to train. There are a number of trainers in the north who I view do a excellent job with the type of dog they race. Keeping in mind that a number of them are racing 2nd tier dogs from the 2 biggest breeders in NZ. Gary cant undersatnd how you left the Craiks off your list they have been one if not one of the best trainers in the North for the last 30 odd years.
Anyway Gary I fear for the future of the northern region as there are not enough the younger generation taking  it on the costs of land etc to set up is just to much and the money is not there to meet comitments.
Also the board are making far reaching decesions which will come back and bite them in the ass i.e. import fees which I feel they are being leaned on by outside influences.

Yes a very common sense approach would make life a little bit easier if  money had to be spent for the care of the dog.

Mike good to hear the sport wont be losing Linda and yourself northern greyhounds certainly need numbers to keep it going very concerned with where northern racing is heading. Quality of dogs racing is not great due to the influx of supermarket dogs. Also hear there are 2 other owner trainers are hanging up the leads when their current dogs stop racing.

But worse still the greedy owners don’t gift these “lemons” to the trainers.....they still retain ownership and sucker these people into training them on deals!! Disgusting. If they insist on doing this they should be made to take them all back immediately after they have finished racing and be made to care for them until rehomed. Half the reason small trainers are on the out is because their kennels are clogged with these “hospital pass” dogs waiting to go to gap or similar, mostly because these small trainers actually care about the dogs in their kennels and don’t consider them just another number.

Just a sign the dwindling numbers in the game, heading for supermarket type kennls who are slowy pushing out the little guy and passing on dogs getting close to their use by date to other trainers to try to scrap a living together with these type of dogs dont how they do it.

Just a sign the dwindling numbers in the game, heading for supermarket type kennls who are slowy pushing out the little guy and passing on dogs getting close to their use by date to other trainers to try to scrap a living together with these type of dogs dont how they do it.

Go into NZ Greyhound web site and go into the trainers list contact details of local trainers are shown. The northern trainer I would recommend would be Jared Udy.

Yes sorry to hear of his passing  was always very pleasant the times I had a chat with him when up that way.
The code certainly could do with gentlmen like Max at the moment.
RIP Max.
 
 
 

Could not agree with you more. I spoke directly with Brian who stated he would be happy to come back if a place became available, but he wasn't interested in pushing anyone out. He also was very supportive of Rosso. We'll just have to wait for now. Hopefully, an opportunity arises in the near future. A great commentator who is very much missed.

NZGRA are just waiting for CR to put together the final touches for their media release.

Dear Craig.

In My Opinion: Collateral Damage.

Like most in this sport, I watched last nights news report with interest because the negative publicity that the sport has been subjected to for nigh on two years has a direct effect on us all.

When you first came to prominence in this industry I like many others thought that your appointment would bring positive change. A change in attitude, and a new pathway that would benefit all. Most were disappointed. What we got was a vision that facilitated the building of an empire, anyone who criticised that vision was labeled "jealous" or a "trouble maker." We also got a new CEO and with him came the "Gagging Rule" which I believe was introduced intimidate anyone who criticised the new regime, namely you. Your vision was never inclusive, it was always about domination with collateral damage.  We have been experiencing the fallout of that vision in recent years which has brought us to this point.  Your interview last night was cowardly, hiding behind your front door, again blaming "jealousy" for the position you now find yourself in.

Jealous, let's look at that word in context. Are those who form the collateral damage group jealous of your success? the answer to that is no. There are many successful trainers in this country who have earned the respect of our industry. Trainers who have been far more successful than you and your partnership. One such trainer currently sits atop the strike rate list and has done for many years. There are numerous other examples but most do not rely on a saturation model. Is it the money? Everyone dreams of winning lotto. Every trainer's dream is to train that one special dog, but that's not what it's about either. So do they want to be tied down to two or three hundred dogs so they too can have wealth and notoriety? most definitely not. That's about ego. Jealousy is just an excuse for a situation that has been manufactured by your vision.

What scares the collateral damage group is their fear of being forced out of the industry by a business model devised to do exactly that. These are people who in some cases built this industry, people who have dedicated their whole lives to the sport, people who have sacrificed much to continue on, people whose absolute passion and love of the greyhound keep them turning up each race day. They have no ego, no wish to be the "Bigtime I Am", no, they just want to retain the right to earn a living in the sport they love. Be honest Craig, you could care less and quite frankly the industry could do without your ego. It's all about respect Craig.

There have been a number of positive changes since your resignation and I applaud the GRNZ for their efforts. There will always be changes which members may not support, in those cases, I would hope that the GRNZ takes member concerns on board and engages in constructive conversation.

It looks like the SPCA case is going to proceed, in the meantime, we all suffer.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/04/greens-want-greyhound-racing-banned-after-live-baiting-scandal.html

Yes GOM. They will get their fair trial before final actions can be determined. But, lack of action by the NZGRA at this stage is more harmful to the code than Coles actions. As happened in Australia the code is loosing it's Social License and we are providing all the ammunition they require. That is why I stated SUSPENSION, nothing else, until the trial action is completed.

Yes agree Brian did a great job on Friday night and greyhound racing need him back on deck. Mark does a job good calling but i think his forte is presenting with his wealth of knowledge he comes across very well when in that roll.
 

Yes Steve the northern region has and will continue to become the dumping ground for the 2 biggest puppy farms here in NZ as trainers require replacement racing stock.Dont expect Cup winners etc they will only be sent north when they are past their best and they dont have the worry about there dispersal.Perhaps they should be charged a fee once the dog leaves their racing kennels to goes towards rehoming.

the 250 dogs a year( i don't actually know if this is the no.coming in) are as a rule ready made race dogs.....
if these cease they will need to be replaced by NZ breed pups or we will lose racing dates and then revenue you cant have both less dogs and same racing without causing another welfare issue........... too get the 250 race dogs i would imagine it will take at least 500 more NZ breed pups a year and who,s going too breed them??  another 150 bigtimes 150 homebushes?  wouldn't this really help our code.......
the ideology behind these anti-import policies is that we are some how helping the Australian industry by taking these dogs, in the 17/18 season Victoria alone re homed 2600 dogs,nationwide i would imagine in 18/19 season they would be re homing well over 5 or 6000 dogs could even be more so 250 would not make alot of difference.......
i would like too think welfare is at the top of everyone's agenda but this policy would make no difference what so ever, its all most a "green policy" mostly feel good but very little common sense......
 

Yes Steve the northern region has and will continue to become the dumping ground for the 2 biggest puppy farms here in NZ as trainers require replacement racing stock.Dont expect Cup winners etc they will only be sent north when they are past their best and they dont have the worry about there dispersal.Perhaps they should be charged a fee once the dog leaves their racing kennels to goes towards rehoming.

Thanks Craig for the above information.Be good to hear the results of tests 
 
 

Yes agree Brian did a great job on Friday night and greyhound racing need him back on deck. Mark does a job good calling but i think his forte is presenting with his wealth of knowledge he comes across very well when in that roll.
 

Not sure about the retirement....!  but spot on with the rest,  I reckon.
Locally,  we have just had the FOURTH meeting at Riccarton SINCE the midsummer meeting [  end of Jan, early Feb, and the only Ricc meeting since Cup in Nov ]  where there used to be none....and Ashburton has stuck itself in there as well during that period.
Now we have the 'Autumn Series'  on its way - another four days - where there used to be Hororata at Riccarton [ an early 'rationalisation' ]  and then the 3 day Easter carnival....and that was it until the May meeting,  Hunt Club and then the National.....and people are wailing about small fields and low horse numbers..?  ffs,  how obvious can it be?
Reduce racedays,  and it might be a bit interesting..at the moment it is wall-to-wall boring....leave at least part of the winter to highweights and jumps,  and spend something  on repair and maintenance of a track or two,  as can be afforded.
And the woeful programming...ye gods...and the handicapping, ye gods again...