The so called open race at Tauranga is a joke , but it sounds good , better than R85 or R87 . Our racing is becoming so unbalanced , really if your going to race a horse it has to be in the north .

The lack of southerners may be explained by the cook straight high seas the rest is simply the strength of Auckland stakes , going by the Levin classic noms it won't be long before that heads north just like Otakis G1 , the Levin classic has already bee down graded to G2 , G3 might be just around the corner  

I found it interesting perusing the nominations for this weekend. Probably not really what you would expect. Auckland, 8 races, all left open. 75 noms Wgtn, 9 races, 6 left open, 111 noms Kumara, 8 races, none left open, 138 noms. Throw in Tauranga acceptances for this Friday, a meeting with full feature stakes, 8 races, 86 horses. I'm not even going to compare the stakes at each meeting. We all know how that would look. Relative crowds at Trentham and Kumara might be interesting as well, although Kumara looks like being wet. Only two SI horses at Trentham, one of whom seems to be permanently domiciled in the NI these days, the other, interestingly enough, a 2yo. We have just about had more southern trained 2yos start in the NI than SI this season, which is a bit bizarre. Perhaps an indicator of a slight problem in the south? Something just doesn't seem to be quite right somehow. Perhaps still questions over the allocation of stakes money and licences. Still, I'm sure much greater minds than mine are continually thinking through and assessing these things. A slot race at Trentham might be the answer.

Must say I have been impressed with young George Rooke since he arrived in NZ. Riding winners on a regular basis well supported by Roger James, Andrew Forsman and Stephen Marsh. That ride to get a 23 start maiden Pure Delight home in the Northland Cup was a beauty……👏

Hardwicke Stakes (G2) hero and Bahrain Triple Crown winner Isle Of Jura is firmly on the road to recovery and will be aimed at a return to Royal Ascot in June.View the full article

Five stakes worth a combined $775,000 spotlight California-bred racing Jan. 11 at Santa Anita Park.View the full article

Apart from the two marked I believe there are at least two more in the top fifteen unlikely to front up but also two more chances to qualify or improve position. While plenty is possibly being asked of TOTG, alternatively did Damask Rose not front up last year after only one start?

A man was arrested in relation to a fire at Caulfield on Tuesday that caused extensive damage to the Australian racecourse's facilities.  View the full article

Man Arrested After Caulfield Racecourse Damaged by Fire No one was injured, but repairs are estimated to cost millions of dollars. By ANZ Bloodstock News Staff Today, 11:41 AM A man was arrested in relation to a Jan. 7 fire at Caulfield Racecourse that caused extensive damage to racecourse facilities.   Police have confirmed that a 51-year-old was arrested at Mordialloc railway station at about 1:45 p.m. local time after reports of several grass fires in the area. The arrest came almost eight hours after firefighters descended on the racecourse following reports of a fire in the Norman Robinson Stand. Sixty-five firefighters and 16 fire trucks attended the incident before the blaze was put out. The fires at Caulfield and Mordialloc have been treated as suspicious, with Racing.com reporting there is closed-circuit television footage of a person allegedly lighting the fire in the Caulfield grandstand. "Investigators are investigating links between the three grass fires, in the vicinity of Attenborough Park and reserve in Mordialloc about 12:30 p.m. and the grandstand fire this morning," a Victoria Police statement read. "The man, whose last known address was in Wangaratta, will now be interviewed by detectives." No one was injured in the Caulfield blaze, but repairs are estimated to cost millions of dollars, with the club expected to be without the Norman Robinson Stand, the 1876 Bar, and the Medallion Bar for next month's Blue Diamond Stakes Day. Melbourne Racing Club chairman John Kanga said repair works will start as a matter of urgency. "We are going to rebuild and make it bigger and better," he said. "We are fully insured and we will start as quick as we can. There won't be any delays. "The positive thing is no one was injured. It's pretty ugly, a lot of superficial damage to the bars. Structurally it will be fine. We will rebuild it accordingly." Incident controller at Fire Rescue Victoria Dennis Smith said there was "significant" damage done to the grandstand by the fire. "Thankfully, with their quick work and some really good work from the internal fire systems, they were able to stop it from spreading to the adjoining grandstands," Smith said. "It [the grandstand] is timber, so it burnt pretty well. The 1876 bar behind has also been impacted by fire. This area, being such an old building, there was potential for it to become a very significant fire. It could have been a lot worse." Caulfield's Heath track was set to host a meeting on Wednesday, but the fixture will now take place at Mornington. "Whilst the racing surface was not impacted, building surveyors, health officials, and investigators are currently inspecting the venue," an RV statement read. "Accordingly, the MRC believed it was in the best interests of all parties to make the call now to transfer tomorrow's race meeting to avoid any further disruptions for participants and patrons. "Mornington was deemed the most appropriate transfer venue with Sandown still a few weeks away from its planned resumption following a major renovation. "Race times, field sizes, and prize money will remain unchanged at Mornington, with the first race at 3:40 p.m. and the last of eight races at 7:30 p.m." For more Australia and New Zealand racing, sales, and bloodstock news, visit ANZBloodstockNews.com.

https://www.dia.govt.nz/Resource-material-Our-Policy-Advice-Areas-Racing-Policy#submissions Not sure, but this makes for interesting reading (including links) , shows minutes from meetings held in parliament and lots of reading about the decision and legislation etc.  What strikes me is that the reason they are pinning this on is excessive injury rates, also read in there "the status quo will not address concerns of animal welfare organisations". Now, if I'm in the horse racing industry, I'm fighting for greyhounds right now! You have injuries too, you have animal activists haters too... horse racing is next.. smh, and the silence is deafening in terms of any support for greyhound racing, from anyone, I'm sure there will be developments this year.  In terms of legal challenges,  what I cant believe is Aussie owners, for example, have been told all your dogs can not leave NZ to be racing dogs, they must be retired/desexed... how on earth can a government decision just seize people's animals/property..?  

any odds offered on a legal challenge on this political decision, happening?

Good on you Charlie.    I love stuff like this   Researching the history and mystery behind such wonderful items that are so historic, for something we love so much.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/478981488566954 the Cabal

https://www.facebook.com/reel/524611136771007 Nato and Ukraine

Did the former Foxton caretaker move over there?

What is going on in Australia……? https://www.racing.com

The List: An Update and Review of the Top 25 General Sires List RankingsView the full article

I am not on FB but my father is .  Actually let me fire up my old FB and I will message him for you 

I sent him a facebook message last year but he hasn't seen it, probably because we're not connected - any other way I can contact him? 

Gulfstream Park and the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association reached an agreement supporting changes to existing state legislation that enables the live racing schedule to become independent of the venue's pari-mutuel license.View the full article