Even the Cricket season is fucked up, this is our prime time for Cricket but nothing until into March but last year when the test were on against Australia 2 weeks in a row no racing at all, surely they can do better or could have done better.

Well we have just seen the POA CEO found guilty and fined for a death there .

Jockeys that were unable to have any rides before the abandonment get $300.  Those that rode in R1 but missed subsequent rides receive $200.  If the jockey has travelled from out of the region they receive an extra $200.  Although not applicable today, in a situation like yesterday at Whanganui, if a rider has already had 2 or more rides on the day before the meeting is abandoned they do not receive compensation. Owners receive $300 if they are from the region, or $500 if they are from outside of the region NZTRCompensationGuide.pdf

Stop and Watch? A little like Paying Cash and Waving Good bye to a friend and customer as part of business and humanities unlike what "Paywave" is known as today, yet another "Lost in Translation". We know which one we prefer and will keep using as it's how the economy and world function as Human Beings and Civilization.

20250222_144429.mp4

One would think lessons of the past have been looked at however we suspect it's likely to be D grade Nippers Rigby as Rugby season starts much earlier than it used to - the Zero Injuries brigade changed that just like everything else people did for Recreation and enjoyment because if one gets a few drops of rain on them or plays in the mud one could get sick and die...True story dating back to Mining days of the 1800's repeating sadly.   One would reasonably expect a little cooperation between all sports and blend in together and have a jointly conducted communications for the betterment of all in society not just an individual cluster....   By the way, why has D grade Cricket taken priority on a Saturday afternoon over the peak period of Summer Horse Racing season?    That Daniel Mcarthy ( ?) host is dreadful and frankly the off button is hit prior to his dribble 

Yes the jockeys and connections of the horses who don't get a run will be compensated.  Unfortunatley I'll get an invoice to pay even though it was no fault of my horse losing the rider. 

While on the subject of "gone"------where's Guy Hervelt ? Hoping he is OK. Conspicuous by his absence.  New appointment so not on leave and already married so not on honeymoon. 

I would like to think there is a place for a radio racing programme + app. Very convenient when out and about.

Still there

As TAB or Entain own the station you would think something will be on, I havnt listened for months, I just gave up on the station completely, except for the Cricket.

Sweenz: Mark, another unfortunate circumstance here today. Mark Davidson, Stipe: Yes Bevan. Unfortunately Windtalker, as he was approaching the 800m in the first race, has slipped BADLY when racing free of interference, Chris Dell’s been dislodged, and Bailey Rogerson’s mount’s been unable to avoid it and she’s been dislodged from her mount. Fortunately both riders are okay and both horses are okay. After a track inspection with senior riders and the track manager significant amounts of slips have been sighted and obviously the safe option is to go home. Yeah, just everybody gets to go home safely, we couldn’t be confident that we could race ‘round that bend for the rest of the day. Sweenz: Okay, the jockeys met individually as is the new protocol and they came back unanimous as well. MD: Absolutely unanimous after seeing the slip and viewing the track, they knew their safety was paramount and they didn’t want to be going back out there. Sweenz: Becoming a bit of a theme and I know you’re only here to enforce the protocols and rules s they stand, but just seems to be an ongoing problem at the present moment. MD: Yeah the CD’s been a bit riddled with these abandonments - unfortunately we lost three races again yesterday – but look, the track managers doing the best- well hopefully doing the best that they can with the resources they’ve got. A lot of tracks are getting raced on more frequently than they have and, y’know, we hope that things can improve significantly.   -----------------------   Sweenz: Kate, two days in a row. Can you make any sense of it yourself? Kate Hercock: No, y’know at home I know people are complaining that it’s our fault. Yesterday’s abandonment certainly had nothing to do with the track, it was a running rail issue that we’ve had with Wanganui for about the last three meetings, and they need to put the running rail back into its true position. So hopefully after yesterday we won’t have that problem. And today, I mean the track rode really false. I though my horse in the first race was a huge chance, and he wouldn’t even let down on it. The horse that fell was clear of interference; it’s not like he just did a little slip, the horse wiped out. The nest race is going to be a 2yo race, you’re on green horses, hitting that corner at speed, you can’t keep putting peoples’ lives at risk. Sweenz: There’s got to be some systemic reasons around this, and I want to talk to you about rail positions. I’m an advocate for leaving the rail in the true position, and you the professionals find the best part of the track. Are you of that mind? KH: Yep, at the end of the day that’s what we’re paid to do. When the rail’s off they can have the rail out 5m, but we still go searching for better ground. So a lot of us don’t understand why they keep moving the rail because at the end of the day they’re trying to keep us off the bad ground, but we have a brain and we can actually get off it and find our own path. Sweenz: Now if we hark back to Hawkes Bay, if the rail’s in the true position THAT day, do you feel as if that meeting would’ve gone along? KH: There’s a lot of contributing factors into Hawkes Bay. I think if the new caretaker had actually put his hand up and said it was human error, they had two horses gallop that morning on the track with two uneducated riders on top. We were there at the track that morning, we could’ve galloped it again if they didn’t realise the horses were shifting. At the end of the day, Hastings is what it is and we’re probably closed down for three years through that. Sweenz: Yeah, and we need that track. And therefore these other tracks are taking a massive workload and getting tired. Is that a factor? KH: It is. They’ve closed down so many tracks now that these tracks just aren’t handling the workload. With Hawera out again Waverley’s picked up another meeting, but they were trying to move that to Wanganui. It’s too much; these tracks just aren’t handling the amount of racing that they’re copping. Sweenz: I spoke to J K Riddell; he described the surface as “shifty”. Is that an irrigation issue in your mind, that the water’s not getting on evenly and that is an issue? KH: Um, yeah no, we’ve had trots here, and that’s the reason we’re not racing at Hawera; because the track’s too patchy. They say that the trotters don’t do too much to the track but I know for a fact when we’ve had the dual meetings and we’ve had to ride after them it’s a huge change to the track. At Tauherenikau the track felt good on the inside but we were all coming down the outside because it was a really false day that day. So sometimes the irrigation does help and some days it really doesn’t help. Sweenz: I know you're quite angry about some so-called keyboard warriors that are attacking the riders. Now this is clearly not a rider issue, this is about a safety issue. KH: Yeah it is, definitely. At the end of the day, if we come to work and it’s abandoned, we don’t get paid. Do they think we like going home and not getting paid? Some of us have mortgages to pay, just like any other human being. But we’re probably the only sport that has an ambulance that chases them. Sweenz: It’s an infrastructure thing, isn’t it? We need more investment in infrastructure to make sure these tracks are at the right spot. KH: Yep, definitely.

My wife just said exactly that . But the biggest problem with it being powered up would be people having to admit they got things wrong in the first place . They still don't accept that there is an issue .

The big question is "Did they really want to know ??".   Well clearly money isn't the issue at present , unless it can only be spent on wonder races . It's clearly the lack of the right people . How many of our tracks are managed by people who haven't trained in the skills of track management ? And I don't mean people who took on the job and upskilled as they went . Fair dinkum if I had wanted to I could have managed a track in the past , was asked if I was interested by people from 2 clubs . Our pathways for track management are very similar to our apprentices schools . There's a reason both have issues .

meanwhile the best "natural track" in CD....maybe NZ.......a few miles down the road.......sits in splendid isolation.....hosting a few Trial Meetings a year FFS........Wake Up        

Kates interview come across as someone very frustrated that the jockeys either arent being asked for their expert opinion, and/or they're not getting listened to.   Her comments around the Whanganui running rail, and the inexperienced riders giving Hastings feedback when the seniors were available were very interesting.

Is it a lack of money and resources? Or a lack of the right people?

I backed Ortem Legacy at Ellerslie. Paying just over $20 when I backed it as they were about to jump. Looked during the running and it had dropped to $12. That's a hell of a drop on a big raceday. I'm not normally betting at this time on a Saturday. Is that sort of thing typical? I suppose small pools and big Aussie bets coming through.

Frankly, it's worse. A lot worse. They've again sent horses and riders out on a track that was clearly unsafe to race on, before acknowledging that was the case. IMO it's actually criminal.

For all the money flowing in our sport at present why can't the powers go and get the absolute best track manager they can who can come here and sort out our tracks and educate our TM's , because currently most of them wouldn't keep their jobs if they were in any other industry .