Pete is from up that way, maybe he can hunt him down 😂

Unfortunately, Blind Freddy may be able to see the problems but those in power can not. Which begs the question:  how on earth do they remain in power??  

Nah north of Auckland....maybe.

No one thing in my opinion, nor one particular point in time. Rugby, racing AND beer are ALL less popular now than they were 50 years ago, and obviously nationally broadcast racing - firstly via radio and later via television - had an effect on crowd sizes at the tracks themselves. I still remember the days of seperate on-course and off-course pools/divvies. Other forms of gambling would have had some effect, as would Saturday trading and every other little thing that keeps people busy these days. But one thing racing hasn't done is change with the times to remain relevant to each new generation, hence why most of those that do go to the race tracks these days are people that have been doing so for decades. The decline has been gradual over many, many years, and is only really noticeable when one thinks 10, 20, 30 years ago. But obviously the powers that be don't consider on-course patronage important. If they did, they would have done something about it by now, n0? You mention a lot of farmers having horses etc. The fact that racing a horse has become so expensive as it's become more and more exclusive also adds to the problem. Less people involved means less horses at every meeting, which equates to less friends, family, acquaintances and hangers on attending. Imagine if we split fields into division races these days? Closing down country race tracks all over the country is NOT the answer to getting people back involved with attending race meetings and/or horse ownership,  I don't have the answers, however Blind Freddy can see the problems. 

The latest from Hobsons choice   Congratulations! You are part of a community of people who speak up against racism, inequality, and division, and that community has had a big win! The Solicitor General heard our cries of "You cannot be serious" and has pulled a quick U-turn on her dodgy Prosecution Guidelines. Una Jagose KC has taken down the Prosecution Guidelines and is reviewing them. They will be republished once amended. Significantly, she told the media that she realised she had missed the mark after reading and listening to public commentary. That is us! Public commentary is all the Hobson's Pledge supporters who spoke up. We provided you with the Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts of the Minister of Justice, the Attorney General, the Prime Minister, and the leaders of New Zealand First and ACT, and encouraged you to demand answers from them. Hobson's Pledge supporters heard the call and showed en masse on their social media pages and in their inboxes. You made a difference. We can all be very proud of this result. A recap in case you missed the insanity this week: The Solicitor General released her new Prosecution Guidelines to be effective 1 January 2025. In those guidelines were alarming instructions to treat Māori offenders differently to everyone else. "The guidelines ask prosecutors to think carefully about particular decisions where a person (whether the victim or the defendant) is Māori." A defence lawyer writing to David Farrar's Kiwiblog said: Essentially the new guidelines require prosecutors to take into account race when deciding whether to prosecute someone, or withdraw charges against them. Despite the claim that "this does not promote different treatment based on ethnicity", it is clearly designed to do exactly that. As a defence lawyer, when advocating for my clients it will now be logical for me to include in my emails to the prosecution something like "I note that my client is Māori and therefore consideration must be given to the new Solicitor-General's guidelines when deciding whether it is appropriate to continue with this prosecution." I can anticipate that I will get some replies saying this is only a small victory, and we are still faced with a deluge of race-based policies yet to be fixed. However, when faced with so much to be frustrated about, it is important that we take a moment to celebrate these wins. Momentum is important. One backdown can precipitate another. Next time a senior public servant thinks they will get away with slipping racially segregated policies into their guidelines they will think twice. They don't want to have to front the media and eat humble pie. So take a moment to toast the win this weekend. Sincerely, Don Brash Trustee Hobson’s Pledge P.S. If you would like to contribute to our fund for fighting all of the nonsense, please click here.

Before I begin poring over the form for tomorrow I thought I'd mention I went last night and thought it wonderful. It was a bit of a trip down memory lane for me as there are some clips of past Cox Plates, long gone trainers et cetera.  A couple of times I wanted to stand up and shout "I was there that day".  I managed to keep my mouth closed and my bum where it was.  I remember the times I watched her race and, like most of you, had my heart pounding as I jumped up and down cheering her. Watching the film gives you a different perspective.  I didn't have the 'oh, shit, is she going to get up' aspect. It was more a 'well, bugger me dead.  How good was she?" aspect.  I think I'll go again.  We won't see her like tomorrow but happy punting to all. May the best horses win and everyone go home safely.   Avagoodweekend children 

Positivity has been scratched from Caulfield Cup

I know this is looking at the past but I can't help but think what happened regards racing in New Zealand. I grew up in the late 1960s and 70s and had my first job after High School in 1980. $72 a week was my first wage. Back then it seemed New Zealand culture was very much orientated towards Rugby, Racing and Beer. It seemed like most people knew someone who owned a racehorse or knew a trainer. We attended the Riverton Easter races every year as well as the Gore races at Labour Weekend. Other meetings we went to were the annual Tapanui races as well as Waikouaiti on New Year's Day, Kumara, the Omakau trots, and I went to a couple of meetings at Wingatui once I had a car. I can recall seeing Powley winning the Gore Guineas and Mellseur winning the Waikouaiti Cup as well as seeing very fine horses in the flesh like Dig In, Judge Obadiah, Ocean Guard, Waronui and Super Dude. Back then I saw huge crowds at some of those meetings (not Wingatui tho) and parents and their kids would have a picnic lunch out of the boot of their cars and racing seemed so much more popular than it is now. What happened? Where did things start going sour? Was it the rise in other forms of entertainment that began chipping away at the popularity of horse racing? Other forms of gambling? The rise in bureaucracy and the corporatisation of industries like horse racing? I know a lot of Farmers used to own horses back in the 1970s. Just wondering what other people's opinions are for why racing has slipped so much. 

Somewhere near Taupo perhaps?

Randwick R1 #8 100W/100P Randwick R3 #10 100W/100P Randwick R6 #3 100W/100P Randwick R7 #10 100W/100P Caulfield R 9 #7 100W/100P Good Luck all Thanks

Ellerslie R1 #1 100w/100P Randwick R7 #9 100W/100P Caulfield R4 #5 100W/100P Caulfield R8 #1 100W/100P Caulfield R9 #2 100W/100P   Thanks    

That horse who a lot of us ‘own’ didn’t run to Robert’s expectations 

Yep they are fanatics

Still haven't seen a new date for Southland, maybe having 10 races today may in the eyes of the Northern hierarchy suffice.

The thing I noticed today was only 2 races out of 10 had horses scratched that were in the field. Compare that with Pukekohe a couple of days ago where every race had a horse scratched that was safely in the field. That's what happens when you get hardly any opportunities and you have to start when a rare opportunity pops up, regardless of draws and track conditions.

$20m tends to do that….

Several ex kiwis running at Moe today. R6 Savoir Faire for Mark Walker. Fresh up but nice trial recently. $14/3 R7 Codigo $21/4 ( up against BZ’s BB Pivot city ) R9 Farewell to Eire nice run first up without luck $6/2

Speaking of prisoner swaps how was this for a monumental mistake , Yahya Sinwar ,Israeli officials have described Sinwar—who grew up in southern Gaza, joined Hamas in the late 1980s and gained recognition as the founder of the group’s intelligence arm—as the mastermind behind Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. In 1989, Sinwar was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for abducting and murdering two Israeli soldiers, and served in an Israeli prison—reportedly learning Hebrew there—until his 2011 release, which was part of a massive prisoner swap in which Israeli officials freed more than 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been captured by Hamas. Since his release from prison, Sinwar has been involved in multiple rounds of fighting against Israel, including an 11-day crisis in May 2021, when Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad launched rockets at Israel and Israel conducted airstrikes in Gaza.  Sinwar said in that speech he would come for Israel “God willing, in a roaring flood” and “with endless rockets” and “millions of our people, like the repeating tide,”

Maybe they haven't changed for daylight saving.

What was going on there today ??? .. every bloody race was miles behind starting time ... amateur hour