Always back the horse named self-interest, son. It'll be the only one trying
Is it any wonder that harness racing in Auckland is in such a mess that they have to pay trainers $200 bribes per horse to race there so that they can fill a field? Or that the club running Alexandra Park is such a fiscal basket case? The people running the joint don’t even know […]
TABNZ is the funding body for the 3 codes of racing across the ditch. It receives the profits from gambling on races, and distributes it to the dogs, trots and gallops to pay for prizemoney, club operating costs and capital expenditure. Last year the TABNX banked $372.5 million in revenue. $135.1 million of these earnings […]
A mate of mine owns the horse at the back in the famous Graeme Rogerson colours of blue and green with the red cap. He backed it at $26 to win a new house. I only backed it win a car. Is it any wonder that we both feel sick? Why is that $6.80 each […]
Halfway through last year Harness Racing New Zealand’s CEO Gary Woodham and his people had this great idea. They were going to address the declining pacer crisis in the North Island of the nation by introducing a new series that was hugely weighted to encourage and advantage South Island pacers. A race for intermediate grade […]
Who wins The Grinner? Who knows? Usually you start your form by working out who can’t. You can’t do that here. Any horse in the field can win it. This is a great race, simply brilliant. There are more Group 1’s on show here than in the Miracle Mile, twenty in all. God only knows […]
In the beginning, harness racing was sports funded by rich men. Not the landed gentry, but the self made farmers and agents and merchants the rung below. At first it was one against the other, with the prize being side bets placed between the wealthy owners. Then they formed committees, and threw equal parts into […]
It’s funny isn’t it? When the innovate and success driven CEO of the Cambridge Paceway Dave Branch broke the news that he was going to run a slot race and throw $150 000 of the club’s money in as a loss leader to stimulate interest in it, Harness Racing NZ laughed at him. Not out […]
The coat of arms of the Duchy of Cornwall Earlier this year Shartin’s part-owner Richard Poillucci of North Eastern, Massachusetts paid $500 000 to buy a 3-year-old South Island Kiwi pacer named Duke of Cornwall. John Curtin negotiated the deal, no doubt at a huge premium for himself. We’ve told you before about Curtin and […]
Sundees Sun smashed yet another New Zealand record at Addington on Friday night. In fact he obliterated it. The fastest time ever run by a square gaiter from the mobile over 2600m in NZ was 3.12.3 coming into this year’s edition of the Group 1 Fred Shaw Memorial Trotting Championship. Sundees Sun ran 3.10.4. He […]
What it is that Harness Racing New Zealand and the Racing Board don’t get about race scheduling? It is a pretty simple concept. You put your meetings in the place where they will attract the most wagering turnover. Bets = Revenue Revenue = Funding Funding = Prizemoney How hard is that to understand? Not very. […]
