Otaki today..some interesting runners…. R1 The Scunner $3.20 - won well at Riccarton, Spratt sticks. Bow Hill the quinella. R2 Linara $6.50 - previously with Neasham in Oz. looks up to these. Ballon D’Or $3.50 the danger. R3 Fury of Flight - first starter for Walker. No trials but smashed into $1.30 R5 Puketiro $5.50 Bet of the day for mine. Ran well in Oz, unbeaten fresh up.

A second horse in Barn 4 at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course tested positive for strangles, a contagious upper respiratory bacterial infection. A 14-day quarantine is now in place at this barn.View the full article

Laurel Park is scheduled to resume racing on Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, after canceling racing over track surface concerns when it was last scheduled to race Nov. 22-23.View the full article

Trainer Bob Baffert called Nov. 27 a "glorious day" as his first starter at Churchill Downs following a three-year suspension from the track, Barnes, was victorious.View the full article

Three is the magic number for trainer Phil D'Amato at Del Mar Nov. 29 as he sends a trio of runners to the post in an attempt to win his third $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G2T).View the full article

A perfect 3-for-3 at Del Mar, Formidable Man will go up against a field that includes New York invaders Donegal Momentum and Carson's Run.View the full article

Turfway Park's Holiday Meet, running through Dec. 29, boasts record-setting purses fueled by support from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. Owners, trainers, and jockeys will compete for more than $7 million in purses across the meet.View the full article

The 12 days is definitely passed, I think that in this case, no news is bad news, they have not publicly published last years annual report, but with the annual meeting being next week they will not be able to hide any longer.

He slaughtered it again yesterday when 2nd fav. Naturally Keke would not have been on but plenty others did their $$ with another poor tactical drive by him. Gave the horse literally no chance and thats why it finished where it did.

Match fixing charges dropped after too many court delays www.thepost.co.nz The Crown has been denied a chance to prosecute two men accused of match fixing after a court found lengthy delays breached the defendants’ right to be tried without undue delay.   Brent Wall and another man were among several people arrested in 2018 as part of Operation Inca, a 17-month police sting looking at corruption in the harness racing industry.   Both men were each charged with obtaining or causing loss by deception after allegedly fixing a race at a Manawatū Harness Racing Club meet on May 22, 2018.   The Crown said they ensured the horse Sportscaster, partly owned by Wall, won that race and each claimed $4560. The initial charges against those netted in the police operation included drug offences and match fixing, and additional betting charges were laid in 2020. Over time most of those charges were dismissed, apart from those laid against Wall, an unnamed man who had name suppression, and a third person. The betting charges were later withdrawn by the Crown who said it was no longer in the public interest to pursue them. That left just the match fixing charges against Wall and the second man, but these were eventually dropped in November 2023 by Judge Michael Crosbie citing the five-year delay. A Court of Appeal decision released in November said the Crown had argued against this ruling and felt, despite the delays, the men still had a chance at a fair trial. The prosecution had intercepted conversations between the pair and had testimony from a steward, footage of the race and expert evidence, but a previous judge ruled even with this evidence the likelihood of conviction was low. The decision said Crosbie carefully considered the case before making his ruling and found the delays had been unacceptable. They started with the additional charges being laid two years after the first, and included “a series of unfortunate institutional errors and resource failures, interspersed with systemic delay”, he said. The judge also found the Crown’s “delayed decisions” to file, continue, then withdraw the betting charges helped make the process “exceptionally long”. There were also ongoing challenges to warrants used by police for surveillance devices and the judge noted this would further delay any trial dates that were still to be determined. Both men had the right to be tried without undue delay under the Bill of Rights Act, and the judge ruled the time it had taken in court “caused undue interference” with this. The Crown, however, said the judge made an error and argued that continuing with the prosecution would not be an abuse of process. They submitted that the offending was serious, their case was strong and there would be no prejudice to the defendants. The Crown argued the judge failed to take into account that the men had colluded to determine the race’s outcome, and said “given the significance of corruption” in the industry, the modest amount they were accused of claiming did not reflect the seriousness of the offending. The prosecution asserted that match fixing was more serious than the betting charges because it was a deliberate act to change the race’s result. The Court of Appeal judges disagreed, however, and dismissed the Crown’s application. “The delay has been very long, is not of the respondents’ making and would be extended by an appeal, the prospects of success for which are limited. “To allow a prosecution to proceed after so long, on a single charge against each respondent for which the penalty is likely to be modest, is not, in our view, a reasonable response or adequate recognition of their right to be tried without undue delay.” The Crown has been denied a chance to prosecute two men accused of match fixing after a court found lengthy delays breached the defendants’ right to be tried without undue delay. Brent Wall and another man were among several people arrested in 2018 as part of Operation Inca, a 17-month police sting looking at corruption in the harness racing industry. Both men were each charged with obtaining or causing loss by deception after allegedly fixing a race at a Manawatū Harness Racing Club meet on May 22, 2018.

Roger James is a worse "looker".  At least there is no more Peter Earley "there". 

Delany? He's back driving after recent surgery on his hand. In fact has a drive on Friday night.

2.2     sorry was $4 when I backed it and oh I'm definitely NOT  a Mr Hurrell fan club member but credit where it's due

Friday's final declarations are through for Newbury where the ground remains Good to Soft for the chasers and Soft for the hurdlers. The Grade 2 John Francome Novices Chase over 4000m has six runners. CAPTAIN TEAGUE and THE JUKEBOX MAN are 9/4 joint favourites currently and as I said in my previous, I think the latter is a 4800m type so despite his only outing this year being a walkover at Exeter, CAPTAIN TEAGUE would be my preferred.  The Albert Bartlett (the 4800m novice hurdle championship race at Cheltenham) form gets a good run out here with THE JUKEBOX MAN (second), CAPTAIN TEAGUE (tenth) and JOHNNYWHO (eighth) while the winner STELLAR STORY won a Grade 2 novice chase over 4800m at Punchestown last weekend. JOHNNYWHO won on chasing debut at Carlisle and that's a track which isn't easy for the novices. MASACCIO was ten lengths behind CAPTAIN TEAGUE in the Challow last year and was generally inferior to many of these ove rhurdles but he was always going to be a chaser and looked the part over today's course and distance, albeit in lesser company, on chasing debut. It's rare for the Skeltons to have the outsider in any Gradec ahse but BOOMBAWN is 16s despite winning a Grade 2 at Wincanton last time - the thought is the race fell apart with a couple of more fancied types underperforming. It's not an easy race to call - CAPTAIN TEAGUE is the obvious place to start but he has to prove he can jump fences and I prefer JOHNNYWHO who looked the part at Carlisle. Just four run in the Long Distance Hurdle - LANGER DAN has 4 lbs in hand on ratings and certainly mixed it with some decent sorts after winning the Coral Cup (a handicap) at Cheltenham. He was third, between a neck, behind IMPAIRE ET PASSE (going chasing this season) and BOB OLINGER in a thriller for the Aintree Hurdle (one of the finishes of the whole year let alone the jumps season). He was a little further behind IMPAIRE ET PASSE at Sandown - just over two lengths.  LANGER DAN has never run beyond 4200m but there's not going to be a strong pace on and we know he has a turn of foot. STRONG LEADER is however 10/11 for Olly Murphy. His early season campaign last year was moderate but he ended up swerving the Cheltenham Festival and winning the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree to end the season as Britain's top staying hurdler off 158. My worry is he doesn't often run well on seasonal debut (for all the stable are in good form) and his best form is on decent ground and if it's soft I'd be concerned. 

Top UK trainer Jamie Osborne talks through his team for the 2024-25 Dubai Racing Carnival, including Ouzo, Sean and 2-year-olds Heart of Honor and Secret Combination.View the full article

A barn at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course remained under quarantine through the morning of Nov. 27 for a confirmed case of strangles. View the full article

A five-win day at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 23 that included a stakes victory earned Manny Franco honors as the Nov. 18-24 Jockey of the Week.View the full article

Grade 1 winner Volatile was represented by his first stakes winner Nov. 26 when the 2-year-old filly Reliable Source romped in the $100,000 Zia Park Princess Stakes.View the full article

A perfect three-for-three at Del Mar, Formidable Man will go up against a field that includes New York invaders Donegal Momentum and Carson's Run.View the full article

So that's on your first win bet, is there any reason you can't place more smaller bers?,