RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
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Railway Heats Auckland

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Just now, aquaman said:

You would think the numerous overpaid Stipes would have the gumption to call a meeting off without waiting for a test guinea pig to be injured and the Vet becoming involved.

Thats right, but then in saying that, sometimes incidents do happen, and calling a meeting off after one injury is not the way to go.

But when the track is determined to be the only factor causing the injury, something needs to be done. Either rectifying the problem on the track, or the last resort, calling the meeting.

 

My pet peeve at the moment, is stipes trying to over-rule trainers, when they want to pull dogs out for the welfare of the animal, by giving them 28 days and fines. Surely those trainers views should be heard, and allowing them to scratch should always be an option.

Even it was 10 day stand-down, which would help the integrity, so trainers aren't pulling dogs out for no reason and blaming the track.

28 days is a long time between pay days for trainers, sometimes the difference between eating and not. 

 

 

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23 minutes ago, mmmyb said:

Thats right, but then in saying that, sometimes incidents do happen, and calling a meeting off after one injury is not the way to go.

But when the track is determined to be the only factor causing the injury, something needs to be done. Either rectifying the problem on the track, or the last resort, calling the meeting.

 

My pet peeve at the moment, is stipes trying to over-rule trainers, when they want to pull dogs out for the welfare of the animal, by giving them 28 days and fines. Surely those trainers views should be heard, and allowing them to scratch should always be an option.

Even it was 10 day stand-down, which would help the integrity, so trainers aren't pulling dogs out for no reason and blaming the track.

28 days is a long time between pay days for trainers, sometimes the difference between eating and not. 

 

 

So true. The stipes are pathetic when it comes to animal welfare sometimes. So hellbent on that dog bringing in '$xx' amount of turnover.

In the thoroughbred code they can late scratch if a track gets downgraded, NZGRA need to take a long hard look at themselves and the way they are policing these diabolical tracks they dish up week after week and month after month. 

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2 hours ago, GONSTA said:

NZGRA need to take a long hard look at themselves and the way they are policing these diabolical tracks they dish up week after week and month after month. 

NZGRA doesn't police the rules, the RIU does and when they fail, the NZGRA board can flex their muscles.

NZGRA doesn't make the rules, remits are submitted to them & voted in/out by the clubs.

NZGRA does make policies & guidelines.

Therefore, if there's a rule in the rule book that needs changing, it's up to the clubs to get it changed, isn't it?

While there's heaps of improvement needed from within the NZGRA, rules enforcement or rule making are not solely in their control.

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https://www.thedogs.co.nz/News.aspx?NewsID=1871

 

Greyhound Racing New Zealand has launched an urgent investigation into the track surface at Auckland on Sunday 21st February.

GRNZ is to review how the dog ‘Jay Low’ fell during a race and subsequently had to be euthanised.

GRNZ Chairman Craig Rendle says the safety of greyhounds is GRNZ’s number one priority and injuries of this nature are totally unacceptable.

“The death of a dog is a tragedy that GRNZ must do everything in our power to prevent. Therefore we will be undertaking a thorough investigation of how this happened and what we need to do to remedy the situation for the future.”

GRNZ is working with Steve Clark, the trainer of Jay Low as part of its investigation.

“We have a responsibility to these animals to provide them with a safe racetrack. I am absolutely devastated at the loss of Jay Low, but I am relieved that GRNZ is taking this matter seriously and my concerns are being heard,” says Clark.

GRNZ is expected to complete its investigation to report to its board by the end of the week. No further comment will be made before then.

 

I'm very glad to see that this issue with Manukau is finally going to be addressed & in the open, head on.

However, the statement says "urgent investigation", but racing went ahead as scheduled the following day. Did it only become urgent today?

What about the other tracks with serious issues, are they less urgent?

Wanganui, are races going to be held tomorrow?

Cambridge, Thursday?

Addington, Thursday & Friday?

The rest?

While I applaud what seems to be the beginning of track safety reform, I hope that it's followed through to the remaining greyhound tracks. Very similar problems extend well south of Manukau.

 

 


 

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On ‎21‎/‎02‎/‎2016 at 0:19 PM, Hound Fan said:

The track is a disgrace....i will not lose another dog for the sake of it.....to lose jaylow yesterday has just about made me decide to quit , we have had 11 dogs in the last 3mnths breakdown on Auckland and Cambridge.........After conversation with the racing board this morning there will be a press release coming from them regarding tracks and there condition.....Thanks to Graig Rendle we will finally see major changes in the wind and the racing board is 100 percent behind this......But to late for Jaylow.

 

Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear about "Jay Low". Having been through the same thing with "Hurdy Gurdy Man", we know how gut-wrenching it is. They're now chasing the big bunny in the sky.

Lottabull

 

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http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/racing/77197284/Top-trainer-Steve-Clark-claims-track-conditions-putting-greyhound-lives-at-risk-after-dog-put-down

Well now the front line media is involved.

Isn't an urgent investigation with its report to be tabled at this week's board meeting moving quick enough?

A very poor decision has been made.

 

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I know how he feels as it hurts like hell for it to happen to any dog but what is going to the papers going to achieve? And why didn't he get so involved before now ?? Brings a bad light to the sport . Yes it does happen we all know this and I would say all clubs try to fix the problems. I feel that the meeting on Monday should not have gone ahead and I think that people who read the tracks need more knowledge to make the calls they do. 

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Guys you are all intitaled to your opinions but please respect mine....i am the guy who has lost the dog and it is my clubs own problem which i am board member , but you listen to our president tonight there is no problem....there is where the problem lies.....remember the man that wrote the artical has shares in a greyhound and his dog has been put out for 28 days...you can all sit there and throw stones but if the truth hurts then guess who is right......this is my last post ever but at all costs i will continue to fight for safe tracks......

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1 hour ago, I know said:

I know how he feels as it hurts like hell for it to happen to any dog but what is going to the papers going to achieve? And why didn't he get so involved before now ?? Brings a bad light to the sport . Yes it does happen we all know this and I would say all clubs try to fix the problems. I feel that the meeting on Monday should not have gone ahead and I think that people who read the tracks need more knowledge to make the calls they do. 

The track was in good condition on monday so that is a ridiculious call to make

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44 minutes ago, Hound Fan said:

Guys you are all intitaled to your opinions but please respect mine....i am the gu has lost the dog and it is my clubs own problem which i am board member , but you listen to our president tonight there is no problem....there is where the problem lies.....remember the man that wrote the artical has shares in a greyhound and his dog has been put out for 28 days...you can all sit there and throw stones but if the truth hurts then guess who is right......this is my last post ever but at all costs i will continue to fight for safe tracks......

I honestly think you need to rewatch the race, the auckland track is not great,there is no denying that but your dog only became umbalanced once his/her back legs were Slightly  clipped and  I dont think being galloped on would have helped your dogs situation. The track cant be solely blamed for the severity of the injury

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I may get in trouble for saying something cause a lot of you only see me as the starter for the track but I just have a few question I would like to have answered.

After the first or second injury did anyone go up to the stipes, tell them their concerns & then go out to where the accidents happened with the stipes (Ben & Steve), Robert Death, Peter Henley, John & Mike to have a look at the track? If not why not cause how can you blame the track if you don't go out there & look at it yourself? I lost my dog (False Accusation) in the same spot last year & I didn't blame the track or any one it's something that happens & yes it hurts like hell having to say "Yes put her down".

Before you can blame the track or the track curator shouldn't you be 100% sure that is the reason behind it?

I do fully support Tony, Steve & Kathy with pulling Yeboah from the last race & it was sad to see & hear what happened to Jay Low. She was a lovely dog & i will miss her cheeky smile at the track. My heart goes out to Steve, Kathy, Luke & Tony on the loss of a lovely girl.

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11 hours ago, Hound Fan said:

Guys you are all intitaled to your opinions but please respect mine....i am the guy who has lost the dog and it is my clubs own problem which i am board member , but you listen to our president tonight there is no problem....there is where the problem lies.....remember the man that wrote the artical has shares in a greyhound and his dog has been put out for 28 days...you can all sit there and throw stones but if the truth hurts then guess who is right......this is my last post ever but at all costs i will continue to fight for safe tracks......

Is there no trainers association for greyhounds? This is when you would expect your northern training 'mates' to make their voices heard and stand up for you. I believe you have been extremely harshly treated when your animal welfare is clearly your main priority when scratching your whole racing team. It's a sad day for the industry when your punished for doing what you have done. The industry needs more people like yourself! 

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Has the Welfare Officer been seen of  or even heard from .?   I reckon the starting date for our new C.E.O. is critical.  Let's keep these bludgers resting on their morals, on the hop and get some  constructive results for the betterment of us all concerned...  

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Interesting Website on maintained sand tracks  www.sportsvet.com  athletic & working dogs...in 2014 GRV commissioned a $40,000 study into various  surfaces around Victorian race tracks taking  samples from 11 tracks for analysis could be good start for nz...

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15 hours ago, alltheway!!! said:

The track was in good condition on monday so that is a ridiculious call to make

The people in charge said the track was good Sunday also . Why were the dogs out if the track was good and how did they fix it so fast ? 

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16 hours ago, Hound Fan said:

Guys you are all intitaled to your opinions but please respect mine...

Your opinion has been & is respected.

Here's a reflection of mine.

 

The Stewards report on the day says: "Track: Good Initial concerns over the hardness of some areas of the track were addressed by the Club prior to Race 1 with the track being well maintained and watered throughout the meeting."

Therefore the "Club" was well aware of the possibility that they had prepared an unsafe track. However, just who is the "Club"? Board, Members, Staff?

Warning flag #1.

How many dogs were late scratched for safety reasons prior to the first race?

 

Move on the race #4, when the first hock injury occurred. The dog jumped from the 7 box and began going amiss not long after the mat and near the area of where the gate where handlers bring the dogs on to the track. It's very rare to have injuries suffered in that area of the track in a middle distance race. The injury then appeared to be then further complicated entering the first turn.

Warning flag #2. How many dogs were late scratched for safety then? What did the RIU further do to ensure the track was safe when an initial concern had become realized?

 

On to race #7, when the second hock was claimed. This time the dog jumped from the #1 box and appeared fine until entry into the first corner, again relatively free of interference and at the point the lateral forces were maximised for the greyhounds frame to endure.

Warning flag #3. Late scratchings? RIU?

 

Race #9, from the 318m boxes clearly saw a dog sustain a front leg injury & nearly run into or possibly impact the 603m boxes because it was unable to handle the inertia after sustaining the injury.

Warning flag? RIU?

 

Race #10, again from the 318m boxes, claimed the third hock of the day. This instance was somewhat similar to the instance in the 7th race, although it was entering the opposite turn & earlier in the greyhounds arc.

Warning flag #4. Late scratchings? RIU - No show still?

Why was only then, a call out for an urgent investigation to be conducted to the GRNZ board chairman (who was likely close by on course)? Why wasn't the investigation initiated by the RIU? They're the ones in charge of running of a race meet from 7:30 in the morning.

Not any of the above questions need to be answered on my behalf. I've already formed my own personal opinions.

 

Sunday's meet at Manukau was not a one-off for their venue. The end result from it was very similar to a race meet when I lost my first dog due to a fractured hock on 06/04/14, when his was the second of three on the day.

 

As I see it, a directive needs to be handed down to the RIU by GRNZ, as they're the ones that make the call on each individual race day.

If & when a directive is issued it should cover at a minimum~

What will be the criteria (in numbers) for injuries incurred on a given day to launch the next "urgent investigation" into track safety for a venue?
Will "concerns" prior to a meet commencing be the testing ground to pull the plug on an entire meet?
At what point will be the proper time to abandon a race meet due to potentially unsafe track conditions?
At what point during a meet will greyhound be allowed to be scratched penalty free due to track safety concerns?

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And my opinion for what its worth.........(probably wont be a popular with some).

 

Most, if not all of the injuries sustained on Sunday appeared, to my eyes, to be the result of competitive racing/ jostling.

Just saying.............

That and also the fact that occasionally some dogs will line up with an undetected pre existing injury are contributing factors to these injuries, the other being an unsafe track. But not always the tracks fault. As long as we are keeping it in perspective...sadly we will never have an injury free industry. But certainly can agree that everyone, trainer's, track curators, management should being doing all they can to keep injury toll to a minimum.

 

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Well done to Steve Clark for standing up for what he believes was right in the interests of protecting the welfare of his dogs.

I may be wrong but it seems we have significantly more track-related issues that our cousins across the ditch.  Why is that?  Is it an education thing in relation to curators, is it a lack of investment in the regular maintenance of our tracks?  Or do Australia have the same number of problems but I just don't hear about them?

For mine, it is a shame we no longer have grass track racing - whilst it wasn't conducive to regular racing in the middle of winter, it seemed to be kinder on the dogs with any injuries generally being minor in nature rather than career / life ending (there were exceptions to this of course).

Sincere condolences to the connections of the Jay Low.  I just hope that something positive can come out of this very sad event.

 

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It is an expensive exercise to look after any racing surface whether it is greyhounds, harness or thoroughbreds, however if there are problems solutions need to be found and professional advise sought, I have heard various comments over this in the past few days which I will not discuss here, however it needs to be sorted out once and for all,as their appears to be an inherent problem at the first corner according to the resident experts?

Evidently there is a bit of aggro around over this issue, so an open healthy discussions needs to be had to tidy up the problems at Manukau & Cambridge.

If it is not discussed honestly it will continue to be a festering issue?

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6 hours ago, Lowdown said:

And my opinion for what its worth.........(probably wont be a popular with some).

 

Most, if not all of the injuries sustained on Sunday appeared, to my eyes, to be the result of competitive racing/ jostling.

Just saying.............

That and also the fact that occasionally some dogs will line up with an undetected pre existing injury are contributing factors to these injuries, the other being an unsafe track. But not always the tracks fault. As long as we are keeping it in perspective...sadly we will never have an injury free industry. But certainly can agree that everyone, trainer's, track curators, management should being doing all they can to keep injury toll to a minimum.

 

Totally agree with you. Yes tracks obviously need a lot of work and are nowhere near perfect, but it sounds like the right people are trying to change things which onviously won't just happen over night. But Its easy to blame/abuse tracks, workers and volunteers in the industry, but how many dogs are showing up to the races with existing injuries and then stuffing themselves completely in races. How many trainers are using the track vets quick once over at kennelling time as a warrant of fitness for their dogs. You look at some of the stake earnings of some trainers and wonder how they could afford to put dinner on the table let alone pay to take their dogs to be checked properly. 

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Yankiwi thanks for the email......tried to reply,but i am a dog trainer and it wont let me do it.

If i am reading your email right are you saying all my dogs have stand downs under the wrong rule.

When scratching they were scratched due to track welfare not for a injury..

 

Cheers Steve

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On ‎24‎/‎02‎/‎2016 at 10:38 PM, Jay4 said:

Totally agree with you. Yes tracks obviously need a lot of work and are nowhere near perfect, but it sounds like the right people are trying to change things which onviously won't just happen over night. But Its easy to blame/abuse tracks, workers and volunteers in the industry, but how many dogs are showing up to the races with existing injuries and then stuffing themselves completely in races. How many trainers are using the track vets quick once over at kennelling time as a warrant of fitness for their dogs. You look at some of the stake earnings of some trainers and wonder how they could afford to put dinner on the table let alone pay to take their dogs to be checked properly. 

Jay if you look at our returns for the season I am sure we fit in dreadful earnings category but rest assured the doggies get fed properly and get the vet care they need, it's me who's going hungry.

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On ‎25‎/‎02‎/‎2016 at 9:28 AM, GOM said:

Jay if you look at our returns for the season I am sure we fit in dreadful earnings category but rest assured the doggies get fed properly and get the vet care they need, it's me who's going hungry.

Hi,

We've been keeping up with this case. It's heart-breaking what some people will say/do. We also put our dogs food/housing/vet-care first. If we go without, "so-be-it". As long as our "bubbas" get what they need, who cares what others think.

Cheers,

Lottabull

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