I'm curious about this one. The little snippet below is from Race 4 at Trentham tomorrow.  #5 Bellezor has been scratched and beside it's name they have in small print W $0.19 / P $0.16 I'm assuming this is meant to be an indication of the deductions as this horse was scratched after final field betting started?  But I thought deductions were a percentage of your horse's dividend and would therefore vary depending on how much your horse was paying.  The higher your price the higher the deduction in $ terms.  It shouldn't be a fixed amount? Have they changed the deduction rule?  Can anyone cast any light on these little figures?  

Mo'unga . He is a serious horse . May have not beaten a lot yesterday but the way he quickened was impressive . He's a star on the making 

I take HRNZ funded Stakes to mean exactly that, they funded the Stakes not ATC.

So what you mean to say is HRNZ spent $150,000 for GBR of $81,000? GBR fluctuates on the success of punters and favourites.  

All 60 horses are too high in the ratings?

Next stop - South Island.

Thanks John, I knew I'd need rescuing on some part of it, most likely the Soccer ⚽  I'll 'follow your Leed' and go for them, and run with your locals the Hurricanes for the traveling circus. Cheers, Phil

The Turnover for Alexandra Parks Million Dollar night on the 20th December was $955k, the GBR was, drum roll please,       $81k Oh by the way, the HRNZ funded Stakes are listed as $985,000, they were not all full fields, so they saved $15000. Well done Harness Racing New Zealand

Hey thanks for picking up those. My bad Yes  Sacred Satono  US Masters: Jon Rahm

Keeping up with the Northern Hemisphere theme, the wheel starts turning for 2025 with the start of the Carnival at Meydan in Dubai. Most Friday meetings from now on will be Carnival meetings on the way to World Cup Night in early April. The feature on the opening card is the Group 2 Zabeel Mile. This is worth NZ$ 250,000 to the winner and has drawn a decent field as you might expect. The Godolphin combination of trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick have a big chance with OTTOMAN FLEET and he’s the 6/4 jolly with the British bookies but the best of his form is over 1800m or in fast run races such as in America and between that and a lengthy layoff (not seen since August) he looks opposable.  DOLAYLI is top rated and this French galloper was fourth in the Ispahan and seventh in the Queen Anne so this is his level and he has claims. I much prefer course and distance winner SAN DONATO who won this last year and mixed it in championship grade over a bit further. He returned before Christmas with a second over 1400m at a non-Carnival meeting which should have left him spot on for a repeat win.  

No, I’m still in New Zealand for a while yet. I saw on yesterday’s Racing Post a report saying SERPENTINE had been retired. He was of course an English Derby winner in the unique circumstances of 2020 when the race took place behind closed doors on the first weekend in July barely a month after racing had resumed in Britain following the Covid lockdown. Under an enterprising Emmet Macnamara ride, SERPENTINE was pushed forward from the start and made every yard and although a twelve length lead at the 400m peg was cut to five and a half lengths at the jamstick, it was an extraordinary front running performance greeted in near silence. He was 25/1 and the second and third were 50s and 66s with the 2000 Guineas winner KAMEKO in fourth and subsequent exports to Australia such as ENGLISH KING and 2022 Melbourne Cup runner up EMISSARY behind. SERPENTINE was fourth in the Niel and the Champion Stakes and was then sent up in trip as a 4-y-o but was beaten a long way in both the Gold Cup at Ascot and the Goodwood Cup. Exported and gelded, he had a mixed time in Australia racing from 1600 to 3200m.  He won some races but his best efforts were when fourth in the 2024 Sydney Cup and runner up in last October’s Moonee Valley Cup. His final race was when fourteenth of fifteen in the Perth Cup on Wednesday. Most Derby winners go on to stud without racing too much after Epsom but SERPENTINE raced on for three and a half years.  I wish him a long and happy retirement.  

You really are just a tosser...a total waste of space...as my friend would say an oxygen thief...dont bother posting if you are going to just stir shyte, they wont be getting through...as I said earlier tired of no name internet warriors.

Damn - sorry buddy then gotta pick evryone's fav team  Boston Red Sox

Hey Foxmerts, Cubs play in the NL.  And I'm pretty sure you don't want their neighbours the White Sox.

Do you mean Sacred Satono? and you're missing a Masters pick  

Hey Phil, the League Championship is the old second division - Leeds, the overwhelming favourites, currently leading from Burnley and Sheffield United and I share your views on Super 15 but I still reckon you should throw a pick in for the sake of the comp  

I like your thinking Zakhu , the single most important line in racing , innovation is required . But unfortunately if there is any it is purely up north , for the rest of us it is shuffling the deck chairs , the biggest innovation in the CD in recent seasons is the number of big races moved north . Myself personally I don't belief we have the number of quality of horses to sustain "Carnivals". The ones that some would say we still have are but are a shadow of what they were , I have championed "Iconic Days" for a while . Regularly run every 3 weeks and shared around the districts .  In the instance of the Wellington Cup meeting I would suggest we have an "Iconic" meeting . Consisting of , Wellington Cup Telegraph Wellesley  Levin Classic/Desert Gold  Thorndon  The rest of the card can be high stake lower grade races . The races missed have now become pretty low grade leadups , unlike years gone by , so these can easily be slotted in at other dates if they went with regular Iconic days . But certainly innovation that works for every body is a big requirement .

Regan Todd cut the number of horses in his stable to put more time into the top horses. I think the G1 horses need individual treatment and it's hard to give them that if the stable has many horses. It worked for Todd with his horses really making their mark this season. The industry is in good hands with some good trainers coming through, Todd, H & A Cullen, N Williamson

Dunn’s are quantity over  quality…quality  suffers due to quantity…little things missed….. Unhinged can advise his investment re return….. sent Spellbound to N Purdon to get group success… better return…. 

You do need to remember tomorrow isn't really a Wgtn meeting. It is a displaced Manawatu meeting. And the Telegraph is a displaced race, moved to suit Auck. No one in their right mind would start the Wgtn Cup carnival tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how many turn up. They probably won't have to worry about thousands of confused members of the public upset by the disappearance of their grandstand.