The Informant

[Mardy 475]

Did I read somewhere that this will now be out on a Thursday? .Not sure if I read it,or imagined it.

[shaneMcAlister 1,015]

1 hour ago, Mardy said:

Did I read somewhere that this will now be out on a Thursday? .Not sure if I read it,or imagined it.

It is out on a Thursday

[sharne 240]

the one thing i miss now is most of the jockeys are missing maybe nztr could look at this

[rdytdy 4,966]

18 minutes ago, sharne said:

the one thing i miss now is most of the jockeys are missing maybe nztr could look at this

As from the 1st August the rider declaration time has been brought forward. 

[mooseman 746]

Sorry 'The Informant' I have stopped buying now after you new layout...2 main reasons..

1. In the racing form book it is very fuzzy to read now ..specially in the track conditions/dist/wins/places/fresh up/2nd up. etc. It seems not as bold print and harder to read.

2. No Thursday trackwork..! (obviously with new sell date)

Big shame how you've changed for the worst..i would rather pay an extra 50c to $1 more to keep the good quality you did have.

Now its back to the 'best bets' for clear reading and own research for trackwork.

Big shame as I was a committed guaranteed purchaser every week.  

[eljay 1,283]

Go to Specsavers!!

[mooseman 746]

5 hours ago, eljay said:

Go to Specsavers!!

Aren't they those small spare tyres in the boot....  ...  ...  ...   ...

[chevy86 1,912]

Can someone tell me why there are many "jockeys" missing in the Informant. I was led to believe as of 1/8/17 all jockey declarations had to be in to meet printing deadlines. Very frustrating when you are doing your study and so many gaps.

And secondly, why does the Informant not identify balloted runners? Are we supposed to guess form weights allocated to those near the bottom of the field. Example. last race Hastings. I assume 16 starters allowed but how would you know?

[Insider 2,116]

1 hour ago, chevy86 said:

Can someone tell me why there are many "jockeys" missing in the Informant. I was led to believe as of 1/8/17 all jockey declarations had to be in to meet printing deadlines. Very frustrating when you are doing your study and so many gaps.

And secondly, why does the Informant not identify balloted runners? Are we supposed to guess form weights allocated to those near the bottom of the field. Example. last race Hastings. I assume 16 starters allowed but how would you know?

Some very good points. 

[chevy86 1,912]

I cancelled the Informant last year because NZPost did not deliver it until Saturday lunch-time! (no use when Friday gone and Saturday races underway) Now it comes Thursday morning by courier but Friday morning would be fine if it meant getting the "full" details! Hopefully Denis and the team read "cafe" and reply and/or take some action.

[The Informant 16]

On 9/2/2017 at 9:13 PM, chevy86 said:

I cancelled the Informant last year because NZPost did not deliver it until Saturday lunch-time! (no use when Friday gone and Saturday races underway) Now it comes Thursday morning by courier but Friday morning would be fine if it meant getting the "full" details! Hopefully Denis and the team read "cafe" and reply and/or take some action.

 

On 9/2/2017 at 4:25 PM, chevy86 said:

Can someone tell me why there are many "jockeys" missing in the Informant. I was led to believe as of 1/8/17 all jockey declarations had to be in to meet printing deadlines. Very frustrating when you are doing your study and so many gaps.

And secondly, why does the Informant not identify balloted runners? Are we supposed to guess form weights allocated to those near the bottom of the field. Example. last race Hastings. I assume 16 starters allowed but how would you know?

Thanks for the feedback Chevy,

Emergency runners are marked in the front of a meeting within the fields, however you are right to point out that previously they were also marked within the expanded form. We are working to get this updated over the coming weeks so punters can easily note the emergency ballots.

We are currently running just under 90% of jockeys for most domestic meetings and expect that as the change of declaration times becomes the new norm we will see a further increase in the amount of declared riders at the time of publication.

regards,

Matthew

[shaneMcAlister 1,015]

2 hours ago, The Informant said:

 

Thanks for the feedback Chevy,

Emergency runners are marked in the front of a meeting within the fields, however you are right to point out that previously they were also marked within the expanded form. We are working to get this updated over the coming weeks so punters can easily note the emergency ballots.

We are currently running just under 90% of jockeys for most domestic meetings and expect that as the change of declaration times becomes the new norm we will see a further increase in the amount of declared riders at the time of publication.

regards,

Matthew

Thank you Matthew for being involved here.

Because we know a lot of stakeholders that say they do not read this site do.  So nice to see the participation.  Thank you.

[chevy86 1,912]

Thanks Mathew--that jockey issue is important but I guess there needs to be co-operation from trainers also.

[slam dunk 1,317]

2 hours ago, The Informant said:

 

Thanks for the feedback Chevy,

Emergency runners are marked in the front of a meeting within the fields, however you are right to point out that previously they were also marked within the expanded form. We are working to get this updated over the coming weeks so punters can easily note the emergency ballots.

We are currently running just under 90% of jockeys for most domestic meetings and expect that as the change of declaration times becomes the new norm we will see a further increase in the amount of declared riders at the time of publication.

regards,

Matthew

Matthew,

Is there any likelihood of any article appearing even just slightly critical of the Racing Board?

[Ohokaman 4,440]

23 minutes ago, slam dunk said:

Matthew,

Is there any likelihood of any article appearing even just slightly critical of the Racing Board?

Or questioning the apparent promotion of Sports at the expense of Racing....??

[rdytdy 4,966]

40 minutes ago, slam dunk said:

Matthew,

Is there any likelihood of any article appearing even just slightly critical of the Racing Board?

Have you not read Brian de Lore's articles? 

[Midget 4,390]

Surely if you're going to criticise the NZRB you must proportion far more blame to NZTR.

The NZRB is only interpreting the Racing Act as they see fit ( I agree the Act is a pig but that's what NZTR agreed to in 2003 )

It's NZTR and their board that's allowed this erosion to happen without offering resistance, and it's NZTR that's failed to invest in this code and failed to develop cohesive policies and strategies to grow the industry.

 

 

[slam dunk 1,317]

1 hour ago, rdytdy said:

Have you not read Brian de Lore's articles? 

Ok have now. Perhaps I should subscribe. Still Ohokaman has got a point.

Afterthought.   Why is Midget so pro NZRB???

[Midget 4,390]

2 hours ago, slam dunk said:

Ok have now. Perhaps I should subscribe. Still Ohokaman has got a point.

Afterthought.   Why is Midget so pro NZRB???

Midget is not pro the NZRB, he just happens to understand the Racing Act and its interpretation.

Responsibility for this code lies with NZTR, and the industry has been in steady decline under the NZTR watch.

In addition the Racing Act was written in conjunction with people who still lurk around NZTR, amongst others Chittick and Acklin, so if they couldn't see the dangers of emasculating our code then, and the current regime can't see the danger in The Racefields legislation now, how can you blame anyone but them ?

The two most significant advances in NZ racing since 2003 were 1) Fairtax, introduced by Winston, engineered by a lobby group, with no NZTR involvement other than that they wasted the entire proceeds.

2) The second event of significance was the crisis meeting on million dollar night this year. NZTR was there but completely stuffed it up with incorrect information about a non existent offer from Tabcorp. However, the Trainers Assn was there, with implied threats to disrupt racing, the NZRB then panicked and agreed to the extra funding we're now seeing being wasted by NZTR again.

My position is that a NZTR and Alan Jackson don't do anything useful, it's just more of the same with them, wasting money on stakes when there's zero evidence increased stakes increase participation, and they seem unable to morph this industry into something relevant.

If I'm wrong just tell me two things, what has NZTR done in the last 14 years that's been good for NZ racing and those who derive a living from the game ? And secondly, what has Alan Jackson ever done that warrants any hope being invested in him as an industry leader ?

These are serious questions, I've asked them here many times, and I'm still waiting for an answer that suggests my interpretation of the situation is incorrect or unreasonable.

 

 

 

[Guest 2Admin2]

NZRB are killing the Golden Goose and NZTR have no power to change that.  Too late to go on strike.

[Midget 4,390]

37 minutes ago, 2Admin2 said:

NZRB are killing the Golden Goose and NZTR have no power to change that.  Too late to go on strike.

Never too late but hard to organise.

The problem is the Trainers Assn was effectively bought off long ago when NZTR took over their finances, and if any effective action was to be undertaken against the NZRB interpretation of the Racing Act it'd need the trainers cooperation and support, but they're reeally just puppets now, albeit expensive puppets.

Who else could take disruptive action ? Owners, too disorganised, punters, no coordinated representation, breeders, why would they....jockeys, no reason to..

[Leggy 2,955]

2 hours ago, Midget said:

If I'm wrong just tell me two things, what has NZTR done in the last 14 years that's been good for NZ racing and those who derive a living from the game ? And secondly, what has Alan Jackson ever done that warrants any hope being invested in him as an industry leader ?

These are serious questions, I've asked them here many times, and I'm still waiting for an answer that suggests my interpretation of the situation is incorrect or unreasonable.

OK. I'll tell you. 14 years ago, NZ racing was essentially self-sufficient based on earnings from wagering on domestic product. In a quest for higher stakes, mostly driven by breeder desire to sustain stakes for the best horses, and international pattern race status, NZTR has ignored the development and the sustainability of the domestic product, increasingly relying on revenue from other sources; primarily government largess,  sports betting, wagering on overseas racing product, and more recently pokies. I have warned here and elsewhere for some years that racing is not entitled to those sources of revenue and that once sports and the public taxpayer wake up, with the stroke of a legislator's pen, those revenue sources can be returned to sports and the taxpayer where they belong.

The chickens are coming home to roost and the hapless NZTR boards and management in the meantime have totally failed to do any of the necessary things to make their own product an attractive and self sustaining wagering product.

In a nutshell, that's what NZTR have done in the last 14 years.

[Midget 4,390]

I cannot argue with you.....

[slam dunk 1,317]

28 minutes ago, hesi said:

Very well summarised in a paragraph or two, thanks.

I would add in, that NZTR as a national body, don't seem to have a lot of power, mainly an admin body from what i can see.  The clubs are an entity to themselves, doing what they like within reason, certainly not unified by the national body

No I would argue differently. NZTR grew from the Racing Conference. All they were and still are is a regulatory body.  I think far too many have got some notion they are a company with control over everything. 

This setup may solve the structure.

Break away Trackside from TAB put under control 3 codes but a degree of independance. Includes all media and marketing. No duplication of services.

Slim down TAB so it just does wagering. Get rid of high salaries. Tell NZ Sport jump in the lake and let local clubs interact with local sport.

Shift NZTR to Ellerslie racecourse slim it down as well.

Create a new entity grouping the physical assets of the clubs and get it acting like a proper company with land sales, purchases, leases etc and sharing resources includes human resources.

 

[scooby3051 5,291]

Blah blah here we go again...making noise in here does SFA get it out onto the racecourses or nothing will ever change...JMHO.