Comments worth a post but not a thread of their own

warrenrobinson · January 15

Harness Racing is in a mess not just in WA but all over the country. I read the NSW Derby is now to be run over a mile, last week the Bendigo Cup was run over a mile, the Shepparton Cup tomorrow night has 5 runners, the non handicap system used over a Australia with different version per state, in WA we have orchestrated appointments by the so called entitled for board and club committee's.Nothing to see , it's heartbreaking for a person that's been involved all my life and i could just imagine how all those workers who built the Titanic(the unsinkable) felt when it sunk.Harness Racing the once unsinkable is now the rudderless ship Australia

getthechanges · January 15

assessment - MC history

Chariotsonfire · January 15

It is time for me to ride off into the sunset so far as social media is concerned.

Good luck to all.

JayJay · January 15

Good work GTC reproducing your original proposal back from 1987.

The general premise that Juvenile age Racing MUST carry a lifetime penalty is clearly articulated (even though there were some concessions made for 2 and 3 year olds).

But your sentence which is most salient and which has been lost in the translation over the years through various amendments to whatever system was in vogue (and moreso with the latest allowances for 3yo's in the NR system) is:

On no penalty 2 and 3 year old racing, the small percentage are enjoying a luxury at the expense of the majority of the Harness Racing Industry....[with detrimental effects on turnover and competitive racing and disillusionment for those negatively affected].

Juvenile Age Racing must carry a lifetime penalty as well as an age penalty. Resorting to maiden status the day they turn 4 is not handicapping, it is nest feathering. Pandering to the very small majority of owners with the top line horses by diluting the penalty for winning (5 points to 2 points rounded down) is a free kick and will do nothing to retain owners and trainers in the industry.

getthechanges · January 16

that paper was written in 1987 - go back a couple of years and at a wedding I was seated opposite Ken Hill who was handicapper at the gallops and at that stage I fully supported non penalty races - during the night I said to Ken : I cant believe more people dont want to race pacers because of all the non penalty races and virtually none at the gallops -Ken said are the non penalties at far away tracks for minimal stake money - when I told him they were everywhere he couldnt believe it and said no wonder the trots have so many short priced favs - when leaving he challenged me to prove it (or maybe I said I would prove the opposite) - I kept coming up with proof but when I did the figures they proved him right it wasl like proving black was actually white - about a week after the paper was written I asked FRK who was also on BOTRA what he thought - his answer was he initially thought shock/horror but after a few days h he agreed and supported the paper

Gilgamesh · January 16

Chopchop43 said:

JayJay said:
Field sizes at "Turnover Central" up, turnover up, SP of favourites up, average winning price up number of odds on favourites down....all coming off a very very low base achieved under the RBD heavy HWOE/Conditioned stakes racing. Still nowhere near getting even close to paying our way but undeniable improvement.

So a few things here. Yes all those things mentioned are correct, doesnt mean participants like they NR system. Senior drivers hate it , alot of their drives have disappeared, given to junior drivers as there is just too much of an advantage putting a junior driver on , they've gone from 1 extreme to the other in that regard. Haven't met a trainer whos spoken positive about it either , whether over here or over east . For all the supposed positives this system has given us I still go back to the fact there has been zero statistical evidence given to us from RWWA that this system has been a game changer , and heres the thing RWWA are big on giving themselves a public pat on the back when their ideas and initiatives work ,which leads one to believe has NR actually improved the most important metric for this industry going forward , turnover. If turnover hasnt improved and the majority of participants loathe the NR system then its still a failure regardless of all the positives you've stated.

You could give the participants a $5k handout every time they come through the gates and they would find a way to be negative about it.

The on track product has been crap for years (excuse the agricultural description) as a result a shed load of punters and followers are now gone. As far as im concerned the racing is now significantly better, it actually has some entertainment value.

Rather than asking are participants happy with the new system, I would like to know what percentage of connections going to a race meeting actually give themselves some sort of chance of playing a part in the finish (without needing a Bradbury moment) compared to that same question under the previous model. With the number of in race moves, 3 wide lines (and horses actually winning doing so) I would say those numbers have significantly improved. That is the number one positive I take away from it.

In terms of growing turnover, there is only so much juice you can get out of a lemon no matter how hard you squeeze it. If you want more juice you need more lemons. At least if people are enjoying what they see they might tune in again the next Friday night.

Chopchop43 · January 16

Gilgamesh said:

Chopchop43 said:

JayJay said:
Field sizes at "Turnover Central" up, turnover up, SP of favourites up, average winning price up number of odds on favourites down....all coming off a very very low base achieved under the RBD heavy HWOE/Conditioned stakes racing. Still nowhere near getting even close to paying our way but undeniable improvement.

So a few things here. Yes all those things mentioned are correct, doesnt mean participants like they NR system. Senior drivers hate it , alot of their drives have disappeared, given to junior drivers as there is just too much of an advantage putting a junior driver on , they've gone from 1 extreme to the other in that regard. Haven't met a trainer whos spoken positive about it either , whether over here or over east . For all the supposed positives this system has given us I still go back to the fact there has been zero statistical evidence given to us from RWWA that this system has been a game changer , and heres the thing RWWA are big on giving themselves a public pat on the back when their ideas and initiatives work ,which leads one to believe has NR actually improved the most important metric for this industry going forward , turnover. If turnover hasnt improved and the majority of participants loathe the NR system then its still a failure regardless of all the positives you've stated.

You could give the participants a $5k handout every time they come through the gates and they would find a way to be negative about it.

The on track product has been crap for years (excuse the agricultural description) as a result a shed load of punters and followers are now gone. As far as im concerned the racing is now significantly better, it actually has some entertainment value.

Rather than asking are participants happy with the new system, I would like to know what percentage of connections going to a race meeting actually give themselves some sort of chance of playing a part in the finish (without needing a Bradbury moment) compared to that same question under the previous model. With the number of in race moves, 3 wide lines (and horses actually winning doing so) I would say those numbers have significantly improved. That is the number one positive I take away from it.

In terms of growing turnover, there is only so much juice you can get out of a lemon no matter how hard you squeeze it. If you want more juice you need more lemons. At least if people are enjoying what they see they might tune in again the next Friday night.

participant happiness should be at the forefront of all things, we are not getting new , young blood into the industry and the main stays are only getting older and closer to retirement , without participants you have no industry so id like to think our opinions and views should be at least sourced before making any big decisions heading forward, as for the quality of racing , I think the country racing is just fine , but the amount of average country class races on a friday night takes away from what is meant to be our premier meeting, and that probably goes back to the shrinking pool of horses we have currently racing , which I would say is a direct correlation to connections not buying new horses and/or getting out altogether, at the end of the day the NR system isnt the answer going forward just like yhe hwoe and for some the mcr system, take a look at the feedback from prominent racing identities over east on social media since day 1 of the NR system being brought in. As for turnover I agree with but without turnover heading on an upwards trend the industry will only get worse, we cant just keep on relying on the gallops to prop us up, how do we fix it? I dont know thats for the people higher up and more clued on to it than me to decide

Markovina · January 16

Re the Gallops propping up Trotting and have for decades

Maybe that comes into play big time with the 8 gallops trainers ( that it is a huge turning point ) and WA Trotting ends up on its knees

That just might be a good thing , because sometimes you have to hit rock bottom absolute rock bottom for decent change to happen

The worst current thing about Trotting Aust wide , re Financially , they are so secretive about the numbers - no one has a clue what the Turnover is

warrenrobinson · January 16

Markovina said:

Re the Gallops propping up Trotting and have for decades

Maybe that comes into play big time with the 8 gallops trainers ( that it is a huge turning point ) and WA Trotting ends up on its knees

That just might be a good thing , because sometimes you have to hit rock bottom absolute rock bottom for decent change to happen

The worst current thing about Trotting Aust wide , re Financially , they are so secretive about the numbers - no one has a clue what the Turnover is

The Gallops don't prop up the trots, sports betting prop up both codes.

Chopchop43 · January 16

Markovina said:

Re the Gallops propping up Trotting and have for decades

Maybe that comes into play big time with the 8 gallops trainers ( that it is a huge turning point ) and WA Trotting ends up on its knees

That just might be a good thing , because sometimes you have to hit rock bottom absolute rock bottom for decent change to happen

The worst current thing about Trotting Aust wide , re Financially , they are so secretive about the numbers - no one has a clue what the Turnover is

its because they would rather bury their heads in the sand rather than admit there is an issue. As Russell Betts pointed out a few days ago, rwwa without any consultation, not even an email notifying participants, have decided to reduced prizemoney on some metro class races. Whether its the right or wrong decision is beyond the point, its the lack of transparency from the higher ups, to the participants that is feeding the disillusionment that most have in this industry at the moment and the people running the show.

Gilgamesh · January 16

Chopchop43 said:

Gilgamesh said:

Chopchop43 said:

JayJay said:
Field sizes at "Turnover Central" up, turnover up, SP of favourites up, average winning price up number of odds on favourites down....all coming off a very very low base achieved under the RBD heavy HWOE/Conditioned stakes racing. Still nowhere near getting even close to paying our way but undeniable improvement.

So a few things here. Yes all those things mentioned are correct, doesnt mean participants like they NR system. Senior drivers hate it , alot of their drives have disappeared, given to junior drivers as there is just too much of an advantage putting a junior driver on , they've gone from 1 extreme to the other in that regard. Haven't met a trainer whos spoken positive about it either , whether over here or over east . For all the supposed positives this system has given us I still go back to the fact there has been zero statistical evidence given to us from RWWA that this system has been a game changer , and heres the thing RWWA are big on giving themselves a public pat on the back when their ideas and initiatives work ,which leads one to believe has NR actually improved the most important metric for this industry going forward , turnover. If turnover hasnt improved and the majority of participants loathe the NR system then its still a failure regardless of all the positives you've stated.

You could give the participants a $5k handout every time they come through the gates and they would find a way to be negative about it.

The on track product has been crap for years (excuse the agricultural description) as a result a shed load of punters and followers are now gone. As far as im concerned the racing is now significantly better, it actually has some entertainment value.

Rather than asking are participants happy with the new system, I would like to know what percentage of connections going to a race meeting actually give themselves some sort of chance of playing a part in the finish (without needing a Bradbury moment) compared to that same question under the previous model. With the number of in race moves, 3 wide lines (and horses actually winning doing so) I would say those numbers have significantly improved. That is the number one positive I take away from it.

In terms of growing turnover, there is only so much juice you can get out of a lemon no matter how hard you squeeze it. If you want more juice you need more lemons. At least if people are enjoying what they see they might tune in again the next Friday night.

participant happiness should be at the forefront of all things, we are not getting new , young blood into the industry and the main stays are only getting older and closer to retirement , without participants you have no industry so id like to think our opinions and views should be at least sourced before making any big decisions heading forward, as for the quality of racing , I think the country racing is just fine , but the amount of average country class races on a friday night takes away from what is meant to be our premier meeting, and that probably goes back to the shrinking pool of horses we have currently racing , which I would say is a direct correlation to connections not buying new horses and/or getting out altogether, at the end of the day the NR system isnt the answer going forward just like yhe hwoe and for some the mcr system, take a look at the feedback from prominent racing identities over east on social media since day 1 of the NR system being brought in. As for turnover I agree with but without turnover heading on an upwards trend the industry will only get worse, we cant just keep on relying on the gallops to prop us up, how do we fix it? I dont know thats for the people higher up and more clued on to it than me to decide

Im not saying participant sentiment isn't inportant, im saying human nature when change is implemented - when asked if you like it you are going to knock it. Hence ask the question in a different way. The way people react you would think suddenly they were having races where they weren't having a winner, second or third. Low and behold there is still a winner every race, there is still a second every race, still a third.

The turnover change required as not going to happen over night. The only surefire way to increase turnover immediately would be to drop back the tax rates as that would allow the current punter to stretch further. But as stated you need to grpw the group rather than squeeze it harder.

Similarly you are not going to attract new participants over night. You have a far better chance of attracting new people if they find it entertaining, prior to the changes the racing was about as entertaining as watching the merry-go-round at the royal show ride after ride.

Tonight we have Liam Elliott, Ajay Markham, Abbey Vidovich with drives at the metro meeting, 18 months ago jnr driver were getting no chance.

In terms of trots being propped up by gallops, it is true Sportsbetting is what props everyone up but trots are being propped up at a substantially higher rate and they are kicking up louder and louder about it.

Which takes me all the way back to the start. You can bet on anything and everything nowadays, if you want people betting on your offering you better give them some entertainment for their dollar or they will simply go elsewhere.

Arapaho · January 16

Like most things the NR system has its positives and negatives .

My thoughts are that,although it is a huge improvement on the HWOE system,it could be a lot better with the tweaking of a few rules and policies.

Firstly my biggest bugbear is horses who have won races,some a number of races with stake money over $100,000,being on a NR lower than a maiden or a horse that has never started.

It is beyond belief, a maiden is a maiden and should be rated as the lowest possible class.

Some will say there is races set aside for horses with no wins as a clause but this doesn't change the fact their NR is 50 that is what they have been rated as,and horses mentioned above are as low as NR30.

The system is NR and the majority of races are handicapped on NR,oddly there are races that these maidens and unraced horses cant even start in, because their rating is to high.

I'm dead against drop back rules,but if there is a need for them surely putting a cap on how far a horse can drop back should come into play.

For instance say if the lowest rating is NR30 a maiden,(which all horses should start at), a horse who has won 5 races in its career can't ever go below say NR35 and a horse with 10 wins can't go below NR40 and so on, irrespective of their recent form.

Something similar to this, would be a improvement, even a cap on prize money won, could be considered.

I'm sure this would make it a lot fairer for all,particularly those owners who have stuck by their horses over a period of time and expense to get them to the racing stage.

Remembering all horses and owners were in the same boat at some stage.

Not sure if there is a age limit on junior drivers or not, but the concession available to them is way too high, especially being able to get a claim until they drive 250 winners. .

I ask how many drivers have driven 250 winners in their careers.

Recently there was a update on the preference policy,which as they say aims to deliver,

1 More efficient and timely field selection and release.

2 Improved field sizes

3 Fairness across the industry to all participants.

Also as part of that policy update, it was stated that Racing WA at its discretion, may allocate a horse balloted from a race , to another race it wasn't nominated for,with its trainer having the option of scratching without penalty when the fields are released.

This totally goes against the rules of nominating and accepting a horse for a race and the time frames allowed.

Trainers should be told, if they want to start their horse on that particular night to nominate for all races eligible,surely this would help with the 3 aims above.

At the present time,trainers who only want to start in a particular race are getting a advantage if that race should fall over, by being put in another race,they never nominated for,then seeing where they draw, then having the option of scratching with out penalty if not happy.

How is that efficient and how is that fair to all the other trainers who have abided by the nominating rules.

Its not only what system is in place, it also matters how its run.

Markovina · January 16

Chariotsonfire said:
It is time for me to ride off into the sunset so far as social media is concerned.

Good luck to all.

Easy to know what your all time favourite movie would be Chariots

After reading your post , it would have to be that 1950s classic Western , " Shane ", starring Allan Ladd

You know , right at the end , hes riding off into the sunset , the young kid is begging him , dont leave Shane , please dont leave Shane - and i think Chariots he might have been riding a White horse as well - hah

Ivorytrunkey86 · January 16

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again,until rwwa build a training facility your not going to get to many new people into the industry,the cost of land these days no young person can afford to set up a property and train 10-30 horses,
And while they’re building that spend some money and pay some of our best trainers and drivers to go to career days at schools and other places and actually promote the game,most people in the trots now grew up in the sport with their parents or family members so it was only natural they became trainers and drivers.
As for the handicapping everyone has an opinion and all valid,but I did see the handicapping job advertised not so long ago and not many put their hand up for the job that voice strong opinions on it.

Markovina · January 16

Re , a couple of points made by previous posters

Junior Drivers , i agree the 250 winners is mile too high - i was wondering why some of them particularly in Vic seem to be concession drivers for ever . Idont know the system in Vic , but they seem to have different grades of them , like C1 C3 C5 etc

And one junior driver got mentioned Liam Elliot , i think he is the most improved young driver in WA - he had alot of rough edges when he 1st started , but now he is quite an accomplished driver and i like backing his drives

Chopchop43 · January 16

Gilgamesh said:

Chopchop43 said:

Gilgamesh said:

Chopchop43 said:

JayJay said:
Field sizes at "Turnover Central" up, turnover up, SP of favourites up, average winning price up number of odds on favourites down....all coming off a very very low base achieved under the RBD heavy HWOE/Conditioned stakes racing. Still nowhere near getting even close to paying our way but undeniable improvement.

So a few things here. Yes all those things mentioned are correct, doesnt mean participants like they NR system. Senior drivers hate it , alot of their drives have disappeared, given to junior drivers as there is just too much of an advantage putting a junior driver on , they've gone from 1 extreme to the other in that regard. Haven't met a trainer whos spoken positive about it either , whether over here or over east . For all the supposed positives this system has given us I still go back to the fact there has been zero statistical evidence given to us from RWWA that this system has been a game changer , and heres the thing RWWA are big on giving themselves a public pat on the back when their ideas and initiatives work ,which leads one to believe has NR actually improved the most important metric for this industry going forward , turnover. If turnover hasnt improved and the majority of participants loathe the NR system then its still a failure regardless of all the positives you've stated.

You could give the participants a $5k handout every time they come through the gates and they would find a way to be negative about it.

The on track product has been crap for years (excuse the agricultural description) as a result a shed load of punters and followers are now gone. As far as im concerned the racing is now significantly better, it actually has some entertainment value.

Rather than asking are participants happy with the new system, I would like to know what percentage of connections going to a race meeting actually give themselves some sort of chance of playing a part in the finish (without needing a Bradbury moment) compared to that same question under the previous model. With the number of in race moves, 3 wide lines (and horses actually winning doing so) I would say those numbers have significantly improved. That is the number one positive I take away from it.

In terms of growing turnover, there is only so much juice you can get out of a lemon no matter how hard you squeeze it. If you want more juice you need more lemons. At least if people are enjoying what they see they might tune in again the next Friday night.

participant happiness should be at the forefront of all things, we are not getting new , young blood into the industry and the main stays are only getting older and closer to retirement , without participants you have no industry so id like to think our opinions and views should be at least sourced before making any big decisions heading forward, as for the quality of racing , I think the country racing is just fine , but the amount of average country class races on a friday night takes away from what is meant to be our premier meeting, and that probably goes back to the shrinking pool of horses we have currently racing , which I would say is a direct correlation to connections not buying new horses and/or getting out altogether, at the end of the day the NR system isnt the answer going forward just like yhe hwoe and for some the mcr system, take a look at the feedback from prominent racing identities over east on social media since day 1 of the NR system being brought in. As for turnover I agree with but without turnover heading on an upwards trend the industry will only get worse, we cant just keep on relying on the gallops to prop us up, how do we fix it? I dont know thats for the people higher up and more clued on to it than me to decide

Im not saying participant sentiment isn't inportant, im saying human nature when change is implemented - when asked if you like it you are going to knock it. Hence ask the question in a different way. The way people react you would think suddenly they were having races where they weren't having a winner, second or third. Low and behold there is still a winner every race, there is still a second every race, still a third.

The turnover change required as not going to happen over night. The only surefire way to increase turnover immediately would be to drop back the tax rates as that would allow the current punter to stretch further. But as stated you need to grpw the group rather than squeeze it harder.

Similarly you are not going to attract new participants over night. You have a far better chance of attracting new people if they find it entertaining, prior to the changes the racing was about as entertaining as watching the merry-go-round at the royal show ride after ride.

Tonight we have Liam Elliott, Ajay Markham, Abbey Vidovich with drives at the metro meeting, 18 months ago jnr driver were getting no chance.

In terms of trots being propped up by gallops, it is true Sportsbetting is what props everyone up but trots are being propped up at a substantially higher rate and they are kicking up louder and louder about it.

Which takes me all the way back to the start. You can bet on anything and everything nowadays, if you want people betting on your offering you better give them some entertainment for their dollar or they will simply go elsewhere.

Re jnr drivers : im all for giving jnr drivers an opportunity but I think this system has gone a bit too far that way, alot of senior drivers are losing 10-15 drives a week which will sooner or later force their hand to leave the industry, look at abbey for example already out drivers her 5 point claim, where will she end up in a years time ? In the exact some position as most senior drivers at the moment , which is struggling to get a consistent amount of drives. There needs to be a balance to the system in that regards

Gilgamesh · January 16

Ivorytrunkey86 said:
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again,until rwwa build a training facility your not going to get to many new people into the industry,the cost of land these days no young person can afford to set up a property and train 10-30 horses,
And while they’re building that spend some money and pay some of our best trainers and drivers to go to career days at schools and other places and actually promote the game,most people in the trots now grew up in the sport with their parents or family members so it was only natural they became trainers and drivers.
As for the handicapping everyone has an opinion and all valid,but I did see the handicapping job advertised not so long ago and not many put their hand up for the job that voice strong opinions on it.

100% the urban sprawl has been one of the biggest downfalls of harness racing.

Around this age it was always my plan to look for 10 acres and have a horse or two over the summer. Now the areas where I thought i might have said land has 100 plus houses dqueezed on to the 5 acres!

Arapaho · January 16

Ivorytrunkey86 said:
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again,until rwwa build a training facility your not going to get to many new people into the industry,the cost of land these days no young person can afford to set up a property and train 10-30 horses,
And while they’re building that spend some money and pay some of our best trainers and drivers to go to career days at schools and other places and actually promote the game,most people in the trots now grew up in the sport with their parents or family members so it was only natural they became trainers and drivers.
As for the handicapping everyone has an opinion and all valid,but I did see the handicapping job advertised not so long ago and not many put their hand up for the job that voice strong opinions on it.

You make some very good points regarding training facilities etc.but as for the job of handicapper (think they have a few who have a input) the problem is the majority of the one's that have a opinion on it are participants and would have to give up what they love whether being a owner, ,breeder,trainer ,driver etc

getthechanges · January 16

I have believed for quite a while that the NR system has a fundamental flaw which is the 50 starting point and being able to drop to 30 points

I think the matrix is ok but the start point should be the lowest point and no horse should be able to drop below that point

if 30 was the starting point it would allow horses to enter the NR at a lower level and if it wins a few softer races for its connections then good luck to them - the horse shouldnt be penalized for having ability but it should be penalized for its performances

the starting point has been at 50 -45 and I think 35

I believe the start point should be 30 alond with races for maidens and up to four or five wins

figures havent been checked but should be cloe

see attachment

attached is how I envisage it working

the attachment also shows how 3yos will have lower point totals with 50% reduction ( figures yet to be double checked

savethegame · January 16

Stand Corrected in the eighties horses would arrive from Adelaide sure they raced with 2 for 1 was it called Inner Circle--Outta Circle racing not penalised for winning on Outta circle
Horses what arrive mostly for Kersley like Saddle Tramp, Rite,maybe Aladdin's Lamp.Start in a Qualie with something like 10- 12 wins on record and we're very good horses.

warrenrobinson · January 16

Gilgamesh said:

Ivorytrunkey86 said:
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again,until rwwa build a training facility your not going to get to many new people into the industry,the cost of land these days no young person can afford to set up a property and train 10-30 horses,
And while they’re building that spend some money and pay some of our best trainers and drivers to go to career days at schools and other places and actually promote the game,most people in the trots now grew up in the sport with their parents or family members so it was only natural they became trainers and drivers.
As for the handicapping everyone has an opinion and all valid,but I did see the handicapping job advertised not so long ago and not many put their hand up for the job that voice strong opinions on it.

100% the urban sprawl has been one of the biggest downfalls of harness racing.

Around this age it was always my plan to look for 10 acres and have a horse or two over the summer. Now the areas where I thought i might have said land has 100 plus houses dqueezed on to the 5 acres!

Don't agree with Government money being spent on a training facility, our industry was built on hobbyist that had a horse or two with a full time job. Long term you finish up with an asset. I believe only around 15-20% in our industry are so called professional out of that 90% of the 15-20% only think they are. Put your money into property and you can't loose.

Chopchop43 · January 16

warrenrobinson said:

Gilgamesh said:

Ivorytrunkey86 said:
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again,until rwwa build a training facility your not going to get to many new people into the industry,the cost of land these days no young person can afford to set up a property and train 10-30 horses,
And while they’re building that spend some money and pay some of our best trainers and drivers to go to career days at schools and other places and actually promote the game,most people in the trots now grew up in the sport with their parents or family members so it was only natural they became trainers and drivers.
As for the handicapping everyone has an opinion and all valid,but I did see the handicapping job advertised not so long ago and not many put their hand up for the job that voice strong opinions on it.

100% the urban sprawl has been one of the biggest downfalls of harness racing.

Around this age it was always my plan to look for 10 acres and have a horse or two over the summer. Now the areas where I thought i might have said land has 100 plus houses dqueezed on to the 5 acres!
Don't agree with Government money being spent on a training facility, our industry was built on hobbyist that had a horse or two with a full time job. Long term you finish up with an asset. I believe only around 15-20% in our industry are so called professional out of that 90% of the 15-20% only think they are. Put your money into property and you can't loose.

I think a training facility would suit hobbyist of all ages who cant afford to go buy land big enough to have stables and a jog track on bare minimum, i think training complexes over east in both racing codes have worked with great success. Prices of land have gone through the roof, what better options do we have to entice new participants into the industry whether they plan on having 1 or 10 horses in work ???

Markovina · January 20

Interesting winner of Race 3 at Junee last night Sheer Vitality , won by over 30 metres

The breeder was Alison Chisholm , i havent seen her name connected to harness racing in a long time . Ithink it would be fair to say , she was a highly controversial participant back in the day , back in the Moonee Valley days i think . The owner of the horse was Kevin Chisholm , im pretty sure thats her father

savethegame · January 20

Keen on that she won pacing cup and ran second in interdomion with horse called Sunshine Band under the name of Alison Smith (trainer) , later she drove the horse as Alison Chisholm, it had bit history with officialdom.

JayJay · January 20

Yes, Sunshine Band was one of her horses but she was Alison "something else" back then, I cannot remember her former name. Colgate Gleeson drove it for her. Won a Cup in Perth....and plenty of others. Young Mister Charles time.

I reckon she copped a cobalt disqualification about maybe 10 or 12 years ago and TCO2 offences as well. It'll come to me later her name.

Edit: Smith, Alison Smith.

I rather liked the win of Lord Myrmecia at Globe Derby last night.....out of my former mare Lady Azalea, two to race, both winners, more to come. I bought her really cheap from NZ ($8.5k) as she was a grand daughter of the mighty Blossom Lady, by Bettors. Had a bit of fun with her racing and she is now keeping the Blossom Lady line alive.

getthechanges · January 20

similarities see attachment

Markovina · January 21

Had a sneak peek at the fields this Friday night at Mildura , and noticed that 1 of the races was called " Get well Soon Wayne Hill pace "

Of course top notch SA Reinsman and also drives at most Mildura meetings

The cause - Race 2 on Monday at GD - on the very short price fave - you cant see him tumble but even tho he had little control but it was going very slowly , maybe in hindsight it would have been better if the clerk of the course wasnt involved , because it looked at last vision the horse might have stopped on its own accord

But Hill has a compound fracture of the spine and herniated discs and been advised he will need a minium of 6 months off after surgery

Just a question on the gear , the stewards report says The ring on Bit in the horses mouth malfunctioned and WH was unable to control the filly - why would that happen , is it poor quality gear - poorly applied gear , or just bad luck

Rocket_Reign · January 21

Markovina said:
Had a sneak peek at the fields this Friday night at Mildura , and noticed that 1 of the races was called " Get well Soon Wayne Hill pace "

Of course top notch SA Reinsman and also drives at most Mildura meetings

The cause - Race 2 on Monday at GD - on the very short price fave - you cant see him tumble but even tho he had little control but it was going very slowly , maybe in hindsight it would have been better if the clerk of the course wasnt involved , because it looked at last vision the horse might have stopped on its own accord

But Hill has a compound fracture of the spine and herniated discs and been advised he will need a minium of 6 months off after surgery

Just a question on the gear , the stewards report says The ring on Bit in the horses mouth malfunctioned and WH was unable to control the filly - why would that happen , is it poor quality gear - poorly applied gear , or just bad luck

Just bad luck, the bits can break on a bridal it’s rare but does happen

warrenrobinson · January 21

Had a mare called Audrine back around 1980 when the bit broke while jogging not a good feeling but all ended up ok with her heading home minus the cart and driver.

savethegame · January 30

Be interesting to see who was behind Craig Rail not getting his contract renewed to call in N.Z
IMO His one of best calllers in Aus/NZ
His signature line further back then Walla Walla.
,His coming back to Australia Was Entain-Ladbrokes-Hamilton behind the decision, few others have lost there media jobs be interesting to see if his offered a position calling in
Aus.
Will call his last meeting Sunday at Gore.

G'day Punter!

In this Discussion

Who's Online

Comments worth a post but not a thread of their own

Comments