can we learn anything from this

[tim vince 985]

Auckland Friday night 10 races over 4 1/2 hours with 80 horses. last 3 races have 16 horses-- premier meeting

 

Tuesday  9 races  3hours 40 min  and 98 horses 

 

can we learn anything from this???

 

is there a prize to guess number of people left on course for race 10 Friday night- I would guess outside trainers drivers 100ish?

 

 

[Guest]

It is an absolute disgrace to have a Premier meeting with such a pathetic turnout of numbers especially in the so called feature events.

The trackside presenters will hardly be able to contain themselves with excitement.

I wonder if the last 3 races that have next to no runners will still find Mr White yelling out "all dressed up and no where to go"?

Will the Iceman, Magicman and The wizard dominate proceedings.

I won't sleep waiting for the racing to start.

 

[eljay 1,719]

Some interesting talking points respect the Tuesday meeting

 

No amateur race

No Junior Drivers race.

A Country Cup raced in the big city.   Thought that was a reason why the final was shifted from Auckland a few years ago!

 

One big plus however, they have kept the time gap between races down to around 30 minutes.   

 

Sorry Tim, you wont win the prize, they would be delighted with 100 ish!!    If I can remember I will do a head count in the lounge where I am but with the "urban sprawl" at the park it is very hard to get even a rough estimate of attendance. 

[JayTee2016 116]

9 hours ago, Brodie said:

It is an absolute disgrace to have a Premier meeting with such a pathetic turnout of numbers especially in the so called feature events.

The trackside presenters will hardly be able to contain themselves with excitement.

I wonder if the last 3 races that have next to no runners will still find Mr White yelling out "all dressed up and no where to go"?

Will the Iceman, Magicman and The wizard dominate proceedings.

I won't sleep waiting for the racing to start.

 

You forgot The Postman to go with all the other "The's"

Must admit that I to have grown very tiresome of his all dressed up and nowhere to go nonsense. The first couple of times it was ok as it appeared the horse he was referring to was traveling and had no room to improve so seemed appropriate. Now it's used in every race for any horse that happens to be three back on the inside. He uses it as a filler and it's very boring. I'm confident he'd still use it in a three horse field.

My other cringe is when he spots a horse that is finishing faster than the leader in the home straight. The level of decibels go through the roof. Unfortunately it does not make the finish anymore exciting. It just allows him to scream the finish he has been practicing in the woodshed since he was a teenager. Pure cringe.  

[tim vince 985]

Lloyd I will do a count 10 minutes b4 the last and get on the phone to bring the numbers up to a hundred and I can win my own prize- what a bout a saddle trot saddle pace bet on the kidz carts anything but 5 and 6 horse fields as i said why not programme a 20k claimer and watch the horses come out of the woodwork.

 

what about 2 of Tuesdays races and only 7 Tuesday-

 

haven't heard a response from the boards race café spokesman. Or the board or the president or the ceo or anybody. no crisis meeting ?  maybe take the  3 favs in the last treble- if that happens it could be an all time low.

How do we get the turnovers for the last 3 races tonight  -  win place q and tri.it would be interesting reading.

[DC9 203]

17 hours ago, Brodie said:

 

I wonder if the last 3 races that have next to no runners will still find Mr White yelling out "all dressed up and no where to go"?

 

 

Lol. And the horse in the trail will be 'sweating on the passing lane' . Even in July.

[Mt Smart Cats 15]

Surprised to see so much hate for Aaron White. Personally think he goes good. Certainly better than George Simons attempt at calling the trots for a while there few years back. 

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Mt Smart Cats said:

Surprised to see so much hate for Aaron White. Personally think he goes good. Certainly better than George Simons attempt at calling the trots for a while there few years back. 

Don't think anyone hates him at all.

Just think most would like him to change things a bit.

Get totally sick of the same old "nicknames" and sayings like " ribbon of light" , " the wizard" why the wizard now? "All dressed up and nowhere to go" wait for the straight then make a run I say!

Think  his tone of voice is fine!

[globederby12 1,495]

Whinging about it on here wont change it. Why don't you ALL send him, or the appropriate authoritys a message regarding your concerns and possible remedy.

Maybe even applying for the job by pre-empting his imminent dismissal.

Don,t forget guys to start practising in your woodsheds.

[biff 2,158]

IMO and only IMO a caller always referring to a ''magic man' and The Wizard' is distracted......no need, just call em...like Reon, Peter K and Syd T.......now they were legends.

[lamour 673]

16 hours ago, Brodie said:

Don't think anyone hates him at all.

Just think most would like him to change things a bit.

Get totally sick of the same old "nicknames" and sayings like " ribbon of light" , " the wizard" why the wizard now? "All dressed up and nowhere to go" wait for the straight then make a run I say!

Think  his tone of voice is fine!

Agree Brodie.  "Ribbon of light" is not original and I am sure was used by journalists in the past to describe Addington Raceway.  "All dressed up and nowhere to go" is perfectly fine for me, it describes a horse going well but needing a run.

What really annoys me is journalists or commentators telling us " This horse is going to the big dance next week. ".  I have been to a few dances in my time and have yet to see a racehorse in attendance, let alone breaking out moves on the dance floor..   Seems they are taking a leaf out of OTT  American commentators.

[Mt Smart Cats 15]

6 hours ago, lamour said:

Agree Brodie.  "Ribbon of light" is not original and I am sure was used by journalists in the past to describe Addington Raceway.  "All dressed up and nowhere to go" is perfectly fine for me, it describes a horse going well but needing a run.

What really annoys me is journalists or commentators telling us " This horse is going to the big dance next week. ".  I have been to a few dances in my time and have yet to see a racehorse in attendance, let alone breaking out moves on the dance floor..   Seems they are taking a leaf out of OTT  American commentators.

I have possibly seen a few horses running around at the odd dance. May have been a hallucination but hey....

 

[4bettor-orworse 21]

Prior to Aaron's tenure calling races at Alex Park, George Simon was in the hot seat and I seem to recall a few complaints in here about his performance. (As an aside, I found all of that somewhat surprising as I would have thought calling harness was an easier gig than calling the gallops. Perhaps George's 'heart lay' more in the galloping code than the trots).

Prior to George, Alby had a long-term stint performing the on-course commentary. And even though I'd speculate that the overwhelming majority of punters thought Alby did a fantastic job, even he coped a bit of flak during his final season.

Now they're having a crack at Aaron White. It would seem there has been a stretch of 6-7 years without a commentator that satisfies everybody. Or ...... could it just be that the art of race commentating is one far more difficult and under appreciated that what many people realise or are prepared to admit?

Somewhat akin to impromptu speech making, a commentator has to think on the spot and instantaneously express those thoughts vocally. Under pressure and in the heat of the moment, many sporting commentators will have their 'stock-standard' phrases they reach for.

Perhaps Aaron could use his less frequently. Maybe he needs to add a few new ones. Maybe he could just use the nick-names  when absolutely appropriate. But otherwise, his technique his clear, his calls are generally accurate and his enthusiasm adds excitement to the race.

Unless somebody else presents themself to be head-and-shoulders better, I think we're all better off respecting the challenges the role brings as well as Aaron's dedication to the sport.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, lamour said:

Agree Brodie.  "Ribbon of light" is not original and I am sure was used by journalists in the past to describe Addington Raceway.  "All dressed up and nowhere to go" is perfectly fine for me, it describes a horse going well but needing a run.

What really annoys me is journalists or commentators telling us " This horse is going to the big dance next week. ".  I have been to a few dances in my time and have yet to see a racehorse in attendance, let alone breaking out moves on the dance floor..   Seems they are taking a leaf out of OTT  American commentators.

Canterbury has been spoilt forever with Reon Murtha, and now Mark MacNamara who are brilliant and Mark is extremely witty with it, and doesn't use the same cliches all the time.

 

 

[tim vince 985]

aaron has real passion for the game which I appreciate- has to have a few fillers in their with so small fields.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, tim vince said:

aaron has real passion for the game which I appreciate- has to have a few fillers in their with so small fields.

If he needed fillers Tim then he should get some new material.

if the fields are that small then he could tell a joke or two or promote the sponsor during his calls.

[Blue 1,095]

Brodie, Re 'The Wizard' I think Todd was or maybe still is sponsored by Wizard Finance or something like that. He was also labelled the Cups Wizard winning several NZ Cups in a short space of time.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Blue said:

Brodie, Re 'The Wizard' I think Todd was or maybe still is sponsored by Wizard Finance or something like that. He was also labelled the Cups Wizard winning several NZ Cups in a short space of time.

Thanks Blue, I knew that's why they called him "The Wizard" but I don't think that he is a wizard nowadays is he?

Don't think he wins too many big races at all now.

If Mark MacNamara started calling all the drivers in Canterbury nicknames I think he would get given the word as well, although he might have trouble with full fields.