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

Stratford pulls the plug.

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Lets say Stratford decided to run a racemeeting I daresay if requirements such as safety were met then they could. However then NZTR would ban any horse or jockey from participating at NZTR sanctioned meetings. Then it becomes a legal question is the ban equitable and fair.  If Stratford decided to have betting the question would be how to get around the Racing Act and Gambling Act. Perhaps have an overseas agency provide betting to overseas customers only.

If Stratford did somehow find a way the local support would be mammoth. Like shoving it up the status quo.

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There is no way they would be able to hold a meeting unless they come back into the fold. No date would be allocated to them and no betting facilities would be made available to them. Talk of bringing in an overseas betting agency could not happen. The TAB has a monopoly on betting on horse racing betting in New Zealand. Stratford are dreaming if they can run a racemeeting on their course under the current arrangements

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2 hours ago, Stables said:

There is no way they would be able to hold a meeting unless they come back into the fold. No date would be allocated to them and no betting facilities would be made available to them. Talk of bringing in an overseas betting agency could not happen. The TAB has a monopoly on betting on horse racing betting in New Zealand. Stratford are dreaming if they can run a racemeeting on their course under the current arrangements

Rubbish. If they don't hold a betting licence they can set their own date and hold a race meeting under their own rules if they are not a registered club under the Racing Act can't they? What's to stop them? And if an overseas operator wants to contract with the club to take bets on those events, what's to stop that? I think you are the one dreaming.

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5 hours ago, Stables said:

There is no way they would be able to hold a meeting unless they come back into the fold. No date would be allocated to them and no betting facilities would be made available to them. Talk of bringing in an overseas betting agency could not happen. The TAB has a monopoly on betting on horse racing betting in New Zealand. Stratford are dreaming if they can run a racemeeting on their course under the current arrangements

Over here it's called "flapping" and it happens a lot in the greyhound community. There have been flapping horse race meetings and as you say any licensed professional found to have involvement would be looking at a lengthy ban if caught.

It would matter if the Stratford breakaway started a tidal wave of clubs breaking from the current system and setting up effectively an independent horse racing body.At some point, NZTR would have to come to terms with the rebels and the central question would be the one I've often raised on here and other NZ racing forums - "who owns the product?"

In the UK, the arrangement basically is the racecourses get income from the crowds (in normal times) and from "selling" the races to the media through the agreements they have with the two specialist racing channels and the off-course bookmakers.The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) sets the framework of the fixture list so x meetings on a Monday, y meetings on Tuesday etc and the courses fill in the gaps. Meetings over and above the "requirement" have to be self-funded.

As I see it, Stratford couldn't "sell" its racing to the TAB under the current arrangement. 

That then begs the more difficult question as to the demand for the product. In the UK, we can get British (obviously), Irish, French and South African races in the day and the evening is made up of domestic sport in the summer and American action all the year round. Hong Kong racing is early for the betting shops even though many of these now open at 8am (and two Irish dog tracks start meetings at 8.10 during the week for the early business).

Aussie racing is shown through the night on one of the specialist channels and you can play the exchanges at all hours. The time difference makes the showing of NZ racing in UK shops difficult but there are other markets in the Middle East and Japan which may be amenable to taking coverage and that'show you sell the product. I mean, you could start a meeting at 9am in the winter on an artificial surface and it would be an 8pm the previous summer evening in the UK and 7pm in Europe. That's how NZTR has to be thinking - selling the NZ product in an already crowded global racing marketplace. 

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Are New Zealand First strong in Taranaki?   Peters promised action when he scrambled back in 3 years ago and the present mess took 3 years for him to "deliver".     Are the cuts srategically political.      What he doesn't seem to appreciate these cuts will affect a wider area than just the local communities, e.g. transport providers, loss of interest etc.     The elections are not far off, 3 months, and all racing followers from all codes need to boycott NZ First - make it political.     Of course once Winston gets wind of such a move he will announce to the industry that some action was necessary but his intentions will be to re-visit the problem.    That will likely take another 3 years by which time many of these clubs will have either disbanded or gone belly up.     He may well have caused irrepairable damage but he shouldn't be given further licence to complete the chaos he has already caused.     So many believed him last elections, don't be fooled again - afterall he is just a politician and only worried about number one. 

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28 minutes ago, stodge said:

Over here it's called "flapping" and it happens a lot in the greyhound community. There have been flapping horse race meetings and as you say any licensed professional found to have involvement would be looking at a lengthy ban if caught.

 

Thanks,  Stodge,  that has been my thought too, when similar has been mooted before.  NZTR could/would penalise heavily any licensed personnel,  and could also place a ban on horses competing at such fixtures.  It couldn't work under our current structure.

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I couldn’t see where they intend to hold race meetings per say in their press release. I think it will be more retrenching into a training facility like Bryely Park

.Properly handled It still could be an asset to both the community and racing..

I do think that NZTR have handled things wrong.

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Why is the Govt involved in anything to do with racing anyway? Who runs the All Blacks? Formula 1 ? FIFA? NRL? AFL? Yet you can have a multiple of bets on all of them! FFS, Racing is the only sport named above that has a “Racing Minister” and has a Racing Act of Parliament. Why is there no All Blacks Act? America’s Cup Act? Hockey Act? Etc etc. Horse Racing should be set up and run by Racing People with govt having nothing to do with it. They fuck up everything they put their grubby fingers into. Racing only needs itself. It can utilise/facilitate offshore betting for a fee - and govt have nothing to do with it! 

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21 minutes ago, Trump said:

Why is the Govt involved in anything to do with racing anyway? Who runs the All Blacks? Formula 1 ? FIFA? NRL? AFL? Yet you can have a multiple of bets on all of them! FFS, Racing is the only sport named above that has a “Racing Minister” and has a Racing Act of Parliament. Why is there no All Blacks Act? America’s Cup Act? Hockey Act? Etc etc. Horse Racing should be set up and run by Racing People with govt having nothing to do with it. They fuck up everything they put their grubby fingers into. Racing only needs itself. It can utilise/facilitate offshore betting for a fee - and govt have nothing to do with it! 

Come on Trumpy. The Govt and Auckland Council have poured hundreds of millions into the Americas Cup. More than any other sporting event in the country, that sport (if you wish to call it that) wouldn't exist without govt support. Other than Winston's recent handout Racing has never depended on the Govt for its existence. 

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11 hours ago, slam dunk said:

Lets say Stratford decided to run a racemeeting I daresay if requirements such as safety were met then they could. However then NZTR would ban any horse or jockey from participating at NZTR sanctioned meetings. Then it becomes a legal question is the ban equitable and fair.  If Stratford decided to have betting the question would be how to get around the Racing Act and Gambling Act. Perhaps have an overseas agency provide betting to overseas customers only.

If Stratford did somehow find a way the local support would be mammoth. Like shoving it up the status quo.

So if Pike, Latta, Baker, Richards had horses running and twenty or thirty jockeys riding there you reckon NZTR would put a ban on them? Don't think so. On the other hand, if they had the wherewithall to put up stakes either from their own coffers or through sponsorship, could they run an equalisator meeting? Winners probably couldn't/wouldn't be penalised and betting money would be ALL theirs, no tote or TAB rake-off so the result might be quite tidy. I'm sure they'd be well supported if only for the fact that they've stood their ground Just a thought.

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14 hours ago, Stables said:

Little men and their toys

Enlighten me Stables

If Stratfordonians (if that's a word) or Stratfordites paid for their Track 128 years ago with their own money, and they have survived without handouts from NZTR since then why should they be sold up to prop up bigger Clubs who have traditionally been "paid" more than they "generated" anyway?

Are you a Communist?

Mikie

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Stratford can most likely do what they like with their track ,when they like etc etc.

However in the past they[members] have obviously enjoyed being part of the NZ racing scene and run meetings as part of the NZ racing calendar........with betting being overseen by the TAB .

I guess they are an Incorporated society and enjoyed the odd advantage there plus possibly rates relief and other perks ,and received grants etc because of their involvement as a community racetrack under the 'umbrella' of NZ racing.

Dunno how and why their race meetings dwindled to the situation where they only received 1 meeting on NZTR calendar last year !

I know they had a membership blow up which reached  the courts a few years back .......I always thought Stratford to be a strong racing centre. My neighbour Jim Didham shifted there from Otago in late 60's and I think MSmith , JTaylor were other prominent trainers out of there and in recent years Dymand and Bothwell's ring and bell !.

But I digress.

In last season Stratford ran  1 x meeting......NZTR gave them $148, 821 for the meeting , of which they used $95,725 for stakes.

No doubt the TAB got stuff charged back but it would appear Stratford is 'off the beaten track' and there are plenty of other tracks in Taranaki to suit the current population.[Horses and people]

A few biking and walking tracks around the environs of the racetrack sounds a nice idea.

Lets not spend too much time on Stratford...bigger issues out there !

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6 minutes ago, tasman man 11 said:

Lets not spend too much time on Stratford...bigger issues out there !

So what are you doing about the bigger issues Tasman Man?

Anything? 

To me Bernard is telling porkies

If 'he' had no interest in the value of the land he would have just said 'we have no interest so whatever the Committee wishes to do is no skin off our nose'

The fact that he felt compelled to add "that he thought what they had done wouldn't protect then (sic)' gives credence to the apparent porky

Mikie

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