bunyarra

Sydney has a population around the same as the whole of NZ and Wenty is located right in the city in close proximity to Star City Casino. In the '80's Wenty had over a hundred bookmakers now just two or three and the patronage was in the 1000's now in the low to mid 100's on a good night.

Races 4 and 6 were hand timed (obviously very poorly) and were officially recorded as NTT Race 3 is obviously a typo as it was 21.29.

Officially there was NTT for both races which is the correct decision under the circumstances.

Slim that isn't true the time almost always adjusts faster. The reason being is that the beam across the track on the finish line is quite small and is broken by whatever part of the dog's body that hits the exact spot of the beam first, moreoften than not this is the dog's head or chest area. With the advent of the Lynx technology the timer is linked to Lynx and the time is then be accurately corrected to the dog's nose hence why it is generally two to three hundredths faster.For it to be the other way would mean that the dog's outstretched foot, leg or wrist would have to break the beam first thus the time would be a little slower.

Oh no it's not - it happens all the time with the current Selection Criteria in place. A weighted pointscore would be a step in the right direction not just locally but it should be implemented nationally.

Something has to be done in the North with the way races are compiled. Noms continually reopened yet dogs are being left out - you hear it from trainers every week. I know of three trainers in the past two weeks who have nominated 5 or 6 dogs but have been only get one or two in yet there's hardly any races on those cards.Most of those missing out are quality higher (above C1) grade dogs. What's the point of having them and every time a meeting goes by without those grades being drawn then there's no dogs advancing up the grades. Rules need to be changed to allow races grades to be combined whenever necessary particularly in regards to middle distance and staying races and remove the ridiculous clause where full fields etc. plus reserves need to be drawn. Allow 7 dog fields in sprint/middle distance and 6 dogs fields in staying events and we might just save the industry in the North.

Just for your info Jimbob, all the relevant paperwork was sent to NzGRA by me and the previous trainer surely it's not our fault if change of trainer hasn't been updated. I agree it's slack that the details weren't changed in the Tab and the racebook but Peter Early did announce it numerous times throughout the meeting. Carolyn

Have to concur with that Mike, it was a super run tonight. In actual fact I reckon it was deservingof a track record considering the track was actually scarified this morning so it certainly was not a hard lightning fast track.

Couldn't agree more Steve, that noms closing at same time for the two Northern meetings this week was very poorly managed, actually it was disgraceful. No consideration whatsoever for participants trying to place their dogs.

No worries Steve- wasn't aimed at you - just the topic starter who to have his mouth in gear and brain in neutral. By 11.00am this morning the track was in perfect shape. As I said it can be a fine line with the weather. Actually couldn't agree with you more in the point about nominating and not getting all dogs drawn, especially when they can't card twelve races. We have been experiencing the same problem. I believe the committee is also looking at ways to address it.

I really shouldn't weigh into this debate but some people have no idea what they are talking about. I will merely comment on the track today as I am the Track Manager at Cambridge. The track was power harrowed on the weekend and any time tgis task is undertaken the track is susceptible to a softening up period whilst it beds back down. If anyone knows anything about track maintenance and any curator will tell you the same light rain is the last thing you want to see in the hours before a meeting after turning it in the few days prior. Would much prefer a heavy rain or a downpour as it actually packs the track down firmer. If you don't know this then you know nothing about track preparation and shouldn't comment. This task has to be undertaken from time to time to prevent time as tracks becoming too hard which can happen after heavy rain or if they happen to dry out which should never happen. Sometimes though these things are out of our control. As Cambridge is a shared venue other events take place there and ten days ago the annual A & P Show was held there hence the track was being utilised and couldn't be watered as much as I would have liked. Surprisingly it came through not too badly but due to the high winds it had dried out considerably and some sand was obviously blown off the track as well. Rain was forecast last week so whilst the track needed power harrowing I held off doing it to avoid risking the very situation that has unfolded today. The projected forecast last weekend was for good weather throughout this week so the time seemed right. On Sunday evening that forecast changed and this time they were right. You check the long range forecast and pick a time when the weather is supposed to be good for trhe period leading up to a race meeting before turning a track. The forecasters don't always get it right so it can be a fine line sometimes. I take exception to being told no attempt was made to fix the track in time as that is crap. The weather and forecast looked ominous yesterday so action was taken immediately to try and prevent it softening up. I inspected the track this morning at 8.00am and it was raining.as it had been since around midnight. It wasn't too bad but by 9.00am it was considerably softer so I contacted the club secretary and stewards and local trainers amnd arranged a track inspection for 10am.The track had softened even more as the light rain continued. All present were unanimous in that the track was too soft at that time. Now before making the decision to call it off however we firstly had to take into account other factors. Is the forecast for improved conditions, If it is going to fine up then it would only need a couple of hours for it to dry sufficiently for the meeting to proceed.The forecast was to the contrary and for more of the same which indeed proved correct as it was drizzly and showery throughout the day and still is. Absolutely no wind and no drying conditions despite what someone has stated in this thread. I was still at the track at 3.00pm and still couldn't get the tractor onto it. So do you make the early call and save everyone the time and expense of travelling to the track hoping for a miracle or let them all waste their time. The right call was made. I have been involved in the industry for over 40 years in many different facets and have been looking after tracks for the majority of those years. I have done anything and everything in my power and always will to ensure a meeting goes ahead no matter what the weather or other extenuating circumstances has thrown at me. Shovelling sand back on a track at 2.00am in the morning after storms or floods is all part and parcel of the job and if that's what it takes then it'll be done. The only other meeting called off Cambridge under my care (co-incindentally) was the corresponding meeting in 2013. Iam also and owner and trainer and know the disappointment an abandonment can cause but can assure you no-one is more dirty on losing today's meeting than me.

I have two girls who are racing at Cambridge and Auckland this week. They have had two starts already and come Sunday will have raced in the same race at each of their four starts and haven't drawn next to each other once. They will eventually but just shows that it doesn't always happen.

It is a poor service.....so much so that i don't even bother with it as they're rarely up there till nearly a week after. Example Cambridge Thursday....many dogs back up on Sunday at Auckland..........Hmmmm I wonder what hapened to that dog in the run on Thursday...I'll watch the replay....well I would if i could....only to find it hasn't been upoaded.....and generally isn't till around Tuesday two days after Auckland is over. You can watch the replays of every race at any meeting in Australia on track, straight after every race is run. Why should anyone have to wait till they get home to see what happened to their charges in the run. It's something I can't get over here in NZ.......it's such a simple task to undertake. Just one or two TV screens linked to a contiuous loop from the Trackside van or a recording device.

My PC has been down for a couple of days so forgive my slow reply. Congratulations Glen, This has been a pet project of mine for quite some time and is now more than ever the time for it to be looked at as it is definitely a welfare issue. it would be so easily implemented and I can assure you that it will be given significant consideration in the improvements to be implemented in NSW as it was touched upon in McHugh's Special Commission.

Not certain it was the last one but Auckland ran a straight out 527m maiden final on 26/6/16 after failing to get heats the week prior. I had three in it and whilst they weren't flash they couldn't sprint but as they couldn't get draws in the weeks before and after i ended up sending them down to the central districts. I now face the same dilemma again as I bred a litter which are now eighteen months old and they are dead set stayers, pathetic first sections over 375 but excellent run homes. I intentionally bred that way and it looks like i got what i wanted but now starting to regret it as they are going to have very limited opportunities.