bus stop 230 Report post Posted March 9, 2020 Must be a good feeling when you see your dogs walking to the boxes knowing you will have $6500 in the kitty at the completion of a race. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowdown 299 Report post Posted March 9, 2020 B Cole has built himself an empire in the greyhound game, gotta give him that , he is a millionaire. Hey Brendon how awesome would it be if maybe next year at the Taranaki meeting you could take the day off and leave all the battlers to have a day in the sun, just for a day, like a charitable gesture? Just a thought.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOM 1,017 Report post Posted March 9, 2020 But there wouldn't be enough dogs for a meeting Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bus stop 230 Report post Posted March 10, 2020 Mike what are your thoughts on the future of the two northern clubs they are both struggling to card a 12 plus meeting, as one northen trainer mentioned to me on cup day that the time may come that who's left training in years to come will need to travel to the CD to race but who would want to travel to come against the Coles. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOM 1,017 Report post Posted March 11, 2020 Bus Stop, I am not at all certain of the Northern situation but would bet that it cannot survive in it's present state. The most worrying thing about it IIMHO is that no one in either club appears to care about it or if they do seem incapable of doing something to change things. Both clubs have for decades suffered from a poor percentage of their members interested enough to stand for committee and as a result we have had a lot of the same old, same old, from the same old committee . The reasons for that are many but high amongst them would be in particular the Waikato club's reluctance to develop some interest of their dwindling members. After each AGM I usually grab a racebook to see if there is a new face elected but usually just find a reshuffling of the deck from the last year.. A good example of being informed is I have heard numerous rumours? about the Auckland clubs lease on their site being due to end shortly and no right of renewal. Is that true? I have been a member of the Auckland club for years and have no idea. If it is presumably there is a plan B but is there? There is a number of people dropping out recently because of ill health to themselves or their wallets and although there have been a few welcome talented younger ones it is not keeping pace . It is getting harder to train greyhounds now, not only with restrictive rules and overbearing officialdom but unless you have a few backers with a bit of moolah behind you it is very hard to get traction. Even if you do get some success you still are likely to get a sideways look from members of the public. To answer your question in short BS I would not be surprised if at least one of those clubs finishes in the not too distant future or even both but hope I am wrong. pilli and My Two Cents 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bus stop 230 Report post Posted March 11, 2020 Mike agree 100% with your comments its a shame the way its going but I cant see a light at the end of the tunnel for these 2 clubs. My Two Cents 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilli 81 Report post Posted March 11, 2020 Auckland Trotting Club are racing this Friday with a 5 Race Program..yes that's right,only 5 races. Their total nominations for a full card were less than 60 horses. So,Manukau & Cambridge Dogs haven't sunk to our Rival Code dire levels yet! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Two Cents 43 Report post Posted March 11, 2020 On 3/10/2020 at 11:40 AM, Lowdown said: B Cole has built himself an empire in the greyhound game, gotta give him that , he is a millionaire. Hey Brendon how awesome would it be if maybe next year at the Taranaki meeting you could take the day off and leave all the battlers to have a day in the sun, just for a day, like a charitable gesture? Just a thought.. He probably won't mind doing that, he's still going to make money from the meeting cause the battlers are racing his cast off's that didn't make his standards and he still retains shares in most of them!! GOM 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rules For Some 163 Report post Posted March 11, 2020 20 hours ago, GOM said: Bus Stop, I am not at all certain of the Northern situation but would bet that it cannot survive in it's present state. The most worrying thing about it IIMHO is that no one in either club appears to care about it or if they do seem incapable of doing something to change things. Both clubs have for decades suffered from a poor percentage of their members interested enough to stand for committee and as a result we have had a lot of the same old, same old, from the same old committee . The reasons for that are many but high amongst them would be in particular the Waikato club's reluctance to develop some interest of their dwindling members. After each AGM I usually grab a racebook to see if there is a new face elected but usually just find a reshuffling of the deck from the last year.. A good example of being informed is I have heard numerous rumours? about the Auckland clubs lease on their site being due to end shortly and no right of renewal. Is that true? I have been a member of the Auckland club for years and have no idea. If it is presumably there is a plan B but is there? There is a number of people dropping out recently because of ill health to themselves or their wallets and although there have been a few welcome talented younger ones it is not keeping pace . It is getting harder to train greyhounds now, not only with restrictive rules and overbearing officialdom but unless you have a few backers with a bit of moolah behind you it is very hard to get traction. Even if you do get some success you still are likely to get a sideways look from members of the public. To answer your question in short BS I would not be surprised if at least one of those clubs finishes in the not too distant future or even both but hope I am wrong. Manukau sports bowl is zoned for future residential and I am pretty sure the lease expires around 2025. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniJax 30 Report post Posted March 12, 2020 On 3/10/2020 at 12:39 PM, GOM said: But there wouldn't be enough dogs for a meeting I believe people leave the industry because of Cole as it’s no longer profitable when racing against him. Cole/Ahern never used to have those numbers of dogs 3y ago. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOM 1,017 Report post Posted March 12, 2020 21 hours ago, Rules For Some said: Manukau sports bowl is zoned for future residential and I am pretty sure the lease expires around 2025. Thanks for that RFS , do you know if there is a plan in place for 2026 onwards Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rules For Some 163 Report post Posted March 12, 2020 58 minutes ago, GOM said: Thanks for that RFS , do you know if there is a plan in place for 2026 onwards No I do not sorry 12 hours ago, MiniJax said: I believe people leave the industry because of Cole as it’s no longer profitable when racing against him. Cole/Ahern never used to have those numbers of dogs 3y ago. I doubt hes having that much of a big affect on northern racing. I think it stems down to people retiring from the sport and numbers dwindling up north. In the last 5 years, Steve Clark's numbers have cut back, Craiks do not seem to be racing many dogs now, Schofields are gone, alot of smaller trainers like mike martin have cut back to 1 or 2 or even given the game away, some others have passed or are now to sick to train a small team. Up and coming trainers like james black and halley mullane have also stopped training and very few new trainers have filled this void. It appears peter ferguson and jared Udy have upped their numbers but they still havent filled this large void in the northern region that's there and I've only seen a handful of new trainers appear up north. Numbers were already dwindling prior to this aswell. GOM 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOM 1,017 Report post Posted March 13, 2020 I think RFS has summed it all up rather well with that post Bus Stop Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bus stop 230 Report post Posted March 13, 2020 1 hour ago, GOM said: I think RFS has summed it all up rather well with that post Bus Stop Yes have to agree with those comments yes also I have been told that 3 more senior trainers are pulling the plug once their current teams have finished racing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rules For Some 163 Report post Posted March 13, 2020 25 minutes ago, bus stop said: Yes have to agree with those comments yes also I have been told that 3 more senior trainers are pulling the plug once their current teams have finished racing. Who? Are they based up North? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bus stop 230 Report post Posted March 13, 2020 RFS its not my place to mention names they will come to light when they dont appear on fields in time. On current numbers it may be up to 20 less dogs Rules For Some 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniJax 30 Report post Posted March 13, 2020 On 3/13/2020 at 9:34 AM, Rules For Some said: No I do not sorry I doubt hes having that much of a big affect on northern racing. I think it stems down to people retiring from the sport and numbers dwindling up north. In the last 5 years, Steve Clark's numbers have cut back, Craiks do not seem to be racing many dogs now, Schofields are gone, alot of smaller trainers like mike martin have cut back to 1 or 2 or even given the game away, some others have passed or are now to sick to train a small team. Up and coming trainers like james black and halley mullane have also stopped training and very few new trainers have filled this void. It appears peter ferguson and jared Udy have upped their numbers but they still havent filled this large void in the northern region that's there and I've only seen a handful of new trainers appear up north. Numbers were already dwindling prior to this aswell. I know what your saying but.... he sends his casts off up north and that makes it non profitable to these trainers as they win like once a month. Halley mullane is a pure example of racing these casts off. I think teams don’t need big numbers of dogs because then they focus only on the good ones. As long as small trainers keep racing then the fields will be filled. I’m just waiting for Walsh’s 6 litters to hit the track which will be exciting. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everton 150 Report post Posted March 14, 2020 Said it before, say it again ... Monopolies destroy any competition. NZGRA are to blame for allowing this and everything else that has destroyed the sport, it extends into those in the wider spectrum as well, certain owners, industry people etc etc. Watsup, My Two Cents, Lowdown and 1 other 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOM 1,017 Report post Posted March 14, 2020 If I was going to spend a lot of money to set up kennels and be a participant in the industry especially in the North Island I would want more transparency. Maybe someone has a contingency plan for 2030 but as a new investor I would be looking for a bit more certainty than is evident right now. If anyone came to me and asked about setting up, my advice (and I have been asked ) is don't. Rules For Some 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flabbergasted 67 Report post Posted March 15, 2020 As GOM alludes one of the biggest problems in the North is the current management of which each club has one very common denominator and that is much to the detriment of both clubs but more particularly Waikato. It's more Northern counterpart assumes it is the higher and mightier of the two and seems to make most decisions on behalf of both clubs even when it may not be beneficial to both simply because it may be easier for the shared management to deal with. Particpants concerns are usually taken too lightly or even treated with contempt. Maybe it's time Waikato shed itself of the shared management before big brother takes over completely which is highly likely Plan B for Auckland. GOM 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rules For Some 163 Report post Posted March 15, 2020 18 hours ago, GOM said: If I was going to spend a lot of money to set up kennels and be a participant in the industry especially in the North Island I would want more transparency. Maybe someone has a contingency plan for 2030 but as a new investor I would be looking for a bit more certainty than is evident right now. If anyone came to me and asked about setting up, my advice (and I have been asked ) is don't. Yes, it would be very risky for anyone to spend money setting up a kennels in NZ right now, especially up North where racing longterm is no longer a certainty. (Tbf, it isnt a certainty long term anywhere) I'm sure the Cole case when it gets concluded will make the industry look bad aswell. GOM 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOM 1,017 Report post Posted March 16, 2020 One positive thing, greyhound racing is unlikely to be affected by the new proviso that gatherings of 500 plus or more are banned My Two Cents and 47South 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...