Insider

Planet Earth Calling.
We already have a publisher, the products called RACEFORM, there's buyer demand, people are happy to pay and there's advertisers.
Just need RITA's co-operation in supplying the form as I understand to make it happen.
Shelf life - that's a slightly strange request. You'll never please everyone. Its for current published raceform, 3-4 days, its disposable.
Stick with your ipad, phone or laptop. Call me Bizarre, I want to do both, do some research online, study and mark my Raceform, and then enjoy the racing with some online research on the day and much flicking of the pages. 
Each to their own. 
 
 
 
 

Just had an email from the printers saying the Raceform will be back

Yes, you can print the racebook from the internet, but it costs a fortune in ink, it's a lot less convenient, and it doesn't have the same presence in the community as a book displayed on a service station or dairy shelf.

I guess that we are all different. 
The printed format for me. 

I guess that we are all different. 
The printed format for me. 

I guess that we are all different. 
The printed format for me. 

Trainers now have no media outlets to inform punters with... so they should now get better odds for themselves!

I guess that we are all different. 
The printed format for me. 

Agree Nerula, totally. 
What stuns me is there is no marketing whatsoever in promoting the industry to new Clients, TV, radio, media, social media, TV adverts, radio adverts, newspaper articles, TV articles, race books, tote operators. 
All we seem to have is the failed website sucking the game dry
Words fail me, the inevitable outcome is just a matter of time
 

That club down the road that you mention , it wouldn't happen to be the ARC , the club that's looking at the bigger picture and not just looking after their own patch , is it ? . Oh that's right , only for nine months of the year . Just who's looking after their own patch and not looking at the bigger industry picture . 
Close Avondale by all means , i have no issue with it but you can't have NZ's biggest city with no racing for 3 months . So perhaps all participants need to be looking at the bigger picture .

Then who do they sell up next? Te Rapa?? or maybe Matamata?? It's never ending the industry needs to sort itself out without relying on government handouts and daylight robbery. If this goes ahead it will never end, racing trying to take the easy way  out again so it can have a few more days in the sun instead of facing up to the real issues like lack of leadership,innovation and structure. 
Dpn't make it out like its Avondale that are holding the industry to ransom when the entire industry has been in a state of apathy for decades and let it get like this. We have leadership across the industry who are desperate for this to happen to save their jobs and way of life for a few more years when they should be facing up to reality and attempting to find a long term solution for the industry, if this happens they'll all just sit idle on their hands again for a few more years, the industry needs a sort out from top to bottom!
 

Ha no doubt they only surveyed the VIP punter's who only bet sport. No VIP punter who bet on racing and has any clues would make a negative comment such as that.
The bottom line is that it will have an impact on racing turnover.

Long history here beginning with The Informant and now Raceform, where the NZ Racing Board/RITA management have in their sheer arrogance objected to an independent publication as such and withheld their co-operation, thereby making production no easy task or rather impossible. Never mind that having the publication out there increases betting, grows the sport, and is in much demand. No such thing as working for the greater good unfortunately.
Next we'll get the vague RITA communication to suggest that missing Raceform and printed betting form etc doesn't appear to have compromised revenue
 
 

Shane, were did you get your information from?

With racing about to resume NZTR have put protocols in place in case there are to many nominations at time of acceptance. The excess horses will be Balloted or eliminated and would hopefully get a start the following week. I think that Owners that don't owe any Nomination,  Acceptance, scratching fees etc should be the first horses in.  With this huge outstanding debt of 1.7 million for nomination and acceptance fees of which 750K belongs to Trainers why should the owners who have been paying all along have their horses eliminated before these non payers.
I know that the CD Branch of the Owners Federation has asked NZTR to ask for collateral security from these bigger debtors before racing starts. You are in some cases talking tens of thousands of dollars and possibly six figures in some cases. 
Bernard Saundry and James Dunne have been brutal in their attacks on some smaller participants that have owed money and in some cases been in the process of paying money back. The NZTR Board Members have been aware of the way that Saundry and Dunne have operated against these minnows. Where are the Board members now. Is it because the culprits are either friends/ or colleagues of Board Members that they are staying silent. 
If Saundry, Dunne and the NZTR Board Members are not prepared to act and retrieve the bulk of this money owed then they should resign. In the past huge amounts have been written off. Will this be the pattern again and history repeat itself.
Are owners happy to have the horses they have worked hard to pay for in training be eliminated from races while the recipients of this preferential treatment get first options on starting. The time has come for owners to say NO

On course racebooks ? . That would round it out nicely .

1) We are back racing
 2) Turnovers are higher than expected
3) RITA have relented on the question of having tote operators at race meetings
4) It's a lovely sunny day
 
How's that for just a few

Dean is sounding more and more like a competent back room boy rather than an inspirational leader. He is just lucky that none of the three codes have inspirational leaders either or else he would be totally overshadowed.

This really is the opportunity for NZTR to show that they are proactive, able to think on their feet and have the best interests of all racing participants at heart. Sadly, I do worry that it will show exactly the opposite.

They could always go back to the post office, or perhaps that other Wgtn organisation their mate has now wheedled his way into.

You mean like Marton and Feilding have done successfully at Awapuni?

I'd still like to see the analysis that shows that it is economically unsustainable in the longer term.

Hate to think what would have happened if you were in charge of the response. So its madness NZ has so far escaped the worse of the virus. Until its cleared overseas NZ is still at its mercy. I see the way some of the greedies are  behaving and its putting us all at risk. The real winter is coming and its madness throwing caution to the wind,

Racing won't survive by doing all of this cost cutting either.  Punting drives racing, so sort that and racing will come back.  We don't need bookmakers.  Cut the majority of exotic bets and get back to basic bet types.  I don't know how but lets get a trans tasman pool going.  The HK system works pretty well!!  

Wise move John...you're riding winners galore in Aus....!!!! Top Jockey....my fav in oz