Many thanks for that...please PM me your bank account to send the rest to...happy New Year to you and your family.

Outstanding points raised VOR. Thank you!

Happy retirement Opie. Well-deserved. A brilliant jockey with great hands and balance. These retirements raise an issue that has been going on for decades - the unrealistic minimum weights that jockeys are required to make on a daily basis. Over the last 60 years, I've watched superbly talented jockeys have to retire because they are being required to starve themselves and take diuretic pills in order to earn a living. Little has been done by racing authorities to address these issues, which can have huge mental and physical tolls on their health. Horses are strong, athletic animals and they can carry bigger weights, so I think it's a burden which is unfairly placed on riders.  The average weight for a NZ-European male is 88.5 kgs, Maori 95.6 kgs, Pacific Islander 106.9 kgs and Asian 76.4 kgs. Is it any wonder that we are seeing more Asian riders then? It seems nonsensical to me that we're still asking jockeys to ride at unrealistic minimum weights given that the average NZ male's weight has increased by 12 kilograms in just seven years. Raising the minimum weight by 2 kilograms would be a good start I reckon. I've sat in many jockeys' rooms around the country over many years and had these discussions with riders and when they've told me the lengths they've had to go to (long periods in the sauna, hardly eating, diuretic pills) just to ride some front-running quitter at 100/1, I've felt very sad that the industry doesn't take this seriously. What a shame Opie Bosson is yet another brilliant talent lost to our sport but maybe he will return as a trainer at some stage?

Good morning   Please keep $50 for the site or future competitions for 2025 year. Many Thanks    

100% correct. I think the only exemptions should be for races staged at another track (in Ellerslie's case mostly Pukekohe) while the main track is closed for upgrades. That should also apply to Hastings races run at Matamata and Te Rapa this season. But the Great Northern especially went with The Hill. 

Prove it...PM Me some proof....otherwise I do not believe you.

Since these races have been changed and shifted then the record books and history of the races need to stop also. Example ..The Great Northern Steeplechase should no longer be named as such .The day the Hill was sold ,the race ceased to exist. The race is 3 times over the hill .You cannot compare a horse like West Coast with Hunterville or Hypnotize simply because he did not go over the hill .Most of us think he probably would have succeeded ,but the fact remains it didnt happen .So what ever race he won ,it was not the Great Northern Steeplechase. Example ..The Auckland Cup was the culmination of a series of lead up races ,and the grand final was run on New Years Day..The lead ups included the Avondale,Waikato,Counties cups ,and the the Queen Elisabeth and Nathans Memorial.The geniuses at Ellerslie decided to shift to March and even more ridiculous ,they ran it on a Wednesday..you can scarcely believe that could be true..Similar for the Railway Hcp. They cannot seriously keep the name of this Otaki group 1 to be run at Ellerslie ..it ceases to exist ,its not the same race ,everything is different . I am certain also that the 2 Guineas races at Riccarton in cup week will move to the north island ,most likely Ellerslie ,within my lifetime.

The first race at Gulfstream Park Dec. 28, a one-mile allowance optional claiming turf event for fillies and mares, was declared a 'No Contest' by the track stewards after 3-year-old filly Roscoe Village stumbled and dropped jockey Jorge Ruiz.View the full article

My name is Michael.  

No Te Akau is $157 + GST.   Waller is $161 + GST. Not too much different to the top stables in NZ.

Croix du Nord delivered on his promise with a two-length victory in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) Dec. 28 at Nakayama Racecourse. View the full article

The 156th edition of the Belmont Stakes (G1) was an unforgettable, first-of-its-kind experience.View the full article

No Chevy. Nobody else on the road, no cops. You hook off at Otorahonga take the back way through Pirongia then  go west side of the Waikato river and jump back on the Motorway north of Rangiriri.  

You are clearly an inexperienced owner trainer who hasn't worked out when to stop flogging yourself . And you can choose whichever meaning you want out of flogging , they both fit .

Poetically put.  Having said that how, on God's earth, do we plan to extricate ourselves from such bullshit??  Or do we continue to wallow in the shit?   

Give up Doug...you are on a loser here.

Yes, of course always the mobile, or a Lamb-style run/jog start would suit him. Could he win at Omakau?

I had previously singled out my POST OF THE YEAR, but Voice of Reason, this post of yours usurps it well and truly. So well worded, no bullshit, simply pointing out the mess that the idiots have got us into. 

Seems the whips are cracking on both sides of the argument.  No clear winner just depend on whether you are wearing Murphy blinds or blinkers.

Kerang in Victoria (289km from Melbourne) ran maiden races for $27,000 today. We must be the laughing stock of all racing countries for our pitiful minimum stakes.