Taku Umanga

Garrick Knight‏ @GarrickRKnight 9h9 hours ago More I don’t know how you explain this. R1 - Demideal scr R2 - Littlebitoflove scr R3 - Hampton Banner scr Yet all three raced according to the Stewards report. And they talked to McKendry over his drive on Captain Max in R3. Problem is, he didn’t drive it. Basic, basic stuff

Then it’s been changed - screen shots are on Garrick’s twitter page

Tim Hall - another good young horseman who had a great night - two starters for a win and place.

Excellent

Are you going to send him a couple?

You've gotta have the right surname in this game.

Berger and White

Nope - but waiting with interest

If you ask the handicapper he will say that it was the club's decision - if you ask the club they will say the handicapper has the final say ...... it all depends what your name is!

Have heard that Jacob Wallace is coming back from Australia too - none seem to last too long over there nowadays.

After his current relieving stint for Brent Mangos ends, Scott Iremonger won't be employed in the industry full time. Driving trucks for a thoroughbred transport company. I think I read somewhere that Mariu Parker is heading north?

Unrealistic reserves are the killer (Tardina Stud had the right idea) and the same reason claiming races will never thrive here - people have unrealistic ideas about what their horses are worth.

Isn't 8:35 after 7:30 = late scratching = 3 x divvies?

Race day time Sunday - especially during the Winter. I bet they'd still get the attendance for functions on a Friday night without the races .... on a Sunday they'd get racegoers and families.

Only 56 starters on Friday night - hard to comprehend how ATC can continue to function with that level of participation. Some further thinking may need to be done outside the square ..... why not hold day time meetings every Sunday this time of year? Twas quite pleasant at Cambridge yesterday.

A "no discretion" trial with a small amount of discretion provided for out-of-form horses ....... hmmmmm?

I think there were only 3 nominations for the JD race this week - perhaps they would get a better response from trainers and owners if they were allowed the same privilege as the Monte races and have their own handicapping system within the JD grade?

Amateurs - no contest

PLUS - the Monte races have their own handicapping system meaning they are penalty free - a rating 40 trotter could win could win say 3 Monte races (nearly $10k) and still be rated a R40 trotter! Why isn't this special treatment given to horses that compete in Junior Driver (only 1 penalty free win) or Amateur (no penalty free wins) races?

Why does ATC continue to oppose Amateur racing but are happy to run Monte races where over half the field gets disqualified - farcical!

He did get it wrong - its was pretty funny ...

Does he still think horses wear spreaders so their knees don't hit each other?

The true picture of the Auckland Trotting Club development By Garrick Knight It’s understood the Auckland Trotting Club is facing a minimum initial loss of $40 million on its urban/retail development. That number is likely to blow out further depending on various factors including legal proceedings, sources have told this writer. The development, which had sales of $300 million, was trumpeted as going to deliver a $30 million cash profit to the club. This $70 million swing in fortunes has come as the development approaches three years beyond its original expected completion date. It has been mired with delays owing to numerous construction issues. The club terminated the contract of one of two construction companies, Canam, in July last year, replacing them with CMP Construction. Canam and the ATC subsequently commenced legal proceedings against each other. Club officials are holding a Special General Meeting next week where they will plead the case to members to sell off a parcel of land on Manukau Rd, owned by the club, currently occupied by Caltex and Burger King. The hoped outcome would be to reduce an outstanding loan to Westpac from $40 million to $20 million. Interest on the loan is currently around $2 million per year. The past three years the club has posted net operating results of a $283,000 loss (2016), $69,000 profit (2017) and $500,000 profit (2018). Factoring these into account, an annual $2 million interest payment to the bank, or even $1 million should the debt be halved by the sale of the Manukau Rd land, seems hard to service. In spite of this catastrophe, the club has proceeded with stakes rises, albeit capping race numbers at 8 or 9 to offset the extra costs involved. The light at the end of the tunnel is that the retail development at the base of the development complex is projected to return $2.5 million per year in rent to the club.

The $400 starting fee is for the $20k races which despite the promises are few and far between now. Most horses race for the $15k stake (which is way better than anywhere else to be fair), get $300 for turning up - take off the driving fee and transport and there's not a lot left to put toward that monthly training fee if you don't run in the money.

Are you Iraklis in disguise?