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

RIP Raceform

Recommended Posts

Raceform Born Nov 2019-Dead June 2020

Your birth was greeting with much excitement..

"I’m sure it will prove to be a huge marketing tool in all sorts of ways" Patrick Hogan

“We’ve desperately needed a fit-for-purpose news and form publication – it’s an essential for any racing jurisdiction,”  Tony Pike

NZTR CEO Bernard Saundry also lauded the arrival of RACEFORM.  

Covid 19 stunted your growth and now RITA have killed you off.  Apparently the VIP punters surveyed said you had no impact on their lives.

I personally will miss you and looked forward to our weekly visits.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Long history here beginning with The Informant and now Raceform, where the NZ Racing Board/RITA management have in their sheer arrogance objected to an independent publication as such and withheld their co-operation, thereby making production no easy task or rather impossible. Never mind that having the publication out there increases betting, grows the sport, and is in much demand. No such thing as working for the greater good unfortunately.

Next we'll get the vague RITA communication to suggest that missing Raceform and printed betting form etc doesn't appear to have compromised revenue

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Hangfire said:

Long history here beginning with The Informant and now Raceform, where the NZ Racing Board/RITA management have in their sheer arrogance objected to an independent publication as such and withheld their co-operation, thereby making production no easy task or rather impossible. Never mind that having the publication out there increases betting, grows the sport, and is in much demand. No such thing as working for the greater good unfortunately.

Next we'll get the vague RITA communication to suggest that missing Raceform and printed betting form etc doesn't appear to have compromised revenue

 

 

Prior to that also the Friday Flash which would be ticking on 60 years...

Racing Post UK has also been hit hard with loss of jobs, see online forums and articles about that.

Meanwhile Horse & Hound UK has a feature about Queen Elizabeth & her horses this month.. That's a start on the international arena to get people back involved in Racing as she's gets more coverage than anyone with her peacekeeping words of wisdom.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Quote

  Apparently the VIP punters surveyed said you had no impact on their lives.

Ha no doubt they only surveyed the VIP punter's who only bet sport. No VIP punter who bet on racing and has any clues would make a negative comment such as that.

The bottom line is that it will have an impact on racing turnover.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The problem with RACEFORM is Dennis Ryan. He just can't accept that the old Best bets Turf Digest form breakout has been supplanted by the internet. There is a need for for a weekly publication i.e, one that retains its shelf life but being obsessed with the old form breakout style is ridiculous.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

People have to accept that times change. In the days when the turf digest etc did well we didn't have the internet. Would anyone seriously suggest that we drop all internet based form guides and resort to print only. It must be 15 years at least since I have purchased a printed form guide, other than on course.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, TurnyTom said:

Love my race book and will miss them. 

Only time I'd get a racebook or go oncourse except for a rare social event is if I had a horse in and needed it to refer to birdcage times etc. Last time I was oncourse I got a free one, never opened it and gave it away to someone who wanted one.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

On 6/13/2020 at 12:45 PM, LightsOut said:

Ha no doubt they only surveyed the VIP punter's who only bet sport. No VIP punter who bet on racing and has any clues would make a negative comment such as that.

The bottom line is that it will have an impact on racing turnover.

Going by the various comments on this topic it is very much a case of : To each his own.

However, I am intrigued by the reference to VIP punters and I think you may well be wrong, Lights Out.

How much influence should the VIP punters have?

When something called Flexibet was first presented to the TAB management by the Board it was rejected because of the negative response from the VIP punters. 

The TAB Board members thought otherwise and persisted. The result was: the introduction of Percentage Betting as it came to be known.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

On 6/15/2020 at 9:54 PM, Insider said:

I guess that we are all different. 
The printed format for me. 

Be more specific. What is it you want "printed format for" bear in mind you can print the racebook off the internet.

THe RACEFORM consists of 80% printed racebook. My guess you only want the articles which includes selections, tips etc. Lets be realistic in these cost saving days. Having 100% articles, charts etc will attract advertisers. i.e. money.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I never used a Best Bets (my decision) but I know from friends how much this publication is sorely missed.     At a guess, I would think 50 to 75 pct of punters/racecourse attenders always had a copy.     But today's suits & beancounters don't realise just how much a part of NZ racing this book was and I even seem to remember when the price went up, everyone moaned but they still bought it.      Pity real racing people are not involved in the business decisions of the industry as I am sure if they were Best Bets would still be published and a major part of the racing picture.    

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Agree Eljay, our leaders are totally detached from their Clients, the Punter 

I rarely bet in NZ but Pukekohe this Saturday will be my first go in NZ for 10 years. 

I bet in Victoria due to good fields, all trying, good jocks and superb media coverage in Aussie thru 6 websites I go to, I don't want shiny suit reports from Petone on the Tab site, they are dreaming if they think that fits the bill in 2020

Sadly we have dug a bloody big hole and will be very difficult to get out of and the recent decisions will make it even harder 

All very very sad 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

One thing for certain......there is a wide range of opinion re the weekly race guide.

Older folk speak in raptures about the Friday Flash and the good old days.

My Dad and I loved the FF .....the turn and finish photos , the selection tables Dad always took the horse picked by only 1 of the 5 to 12 scribes ......Gloaming ,Templeton , Percy the Place punter ,Cosmic Court , The Joker etc.But jockeys often not shown and not with the fields , track work pretty patchy etc.No recent form for horses.We loved Hoofbeats too...just photos.I bought Bloodhorse.RIP Cozzie !

The latest Raceform /Best Bets available had all this info but better [not photos] ,articles on breeding , personalities ,trainers comments......getting better each week.Distribution wasn't the best initially .

Trouble is ,most of us ....certainly those that post on here have been there and done that , we are experts and legends in our own lunchtimes.I meet some of you in TAB's and at races.Some of us relish being keyboard warriors. Some just enjoy winding up others.

We resent the journalists who write the stories and then we cry when they become redundant.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Memphis2 said:

Gaz your old man used to back the Lone Wolves too. Ha ha. Hard to do on your phone tho 

Haha Memphis......hope you safe and sound !

Of course there was "Longshot Harry" and "On A Pedestal" too in the FF.

Lone Wolf.....may have one race but Lone Hand [Noel Eales] was a handy CD stayer who won Hawkes Bay Cup and often thereabouts in some big races !

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.