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Thread: Industry in crisis?? Smaller fields wherever you look

  1. #11

  2. #12
    Senior Member 4YO dizzy will become famous soon enough
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    dot schmidt
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  3. #13
    Senior Member 4YO dizzy will become famous soon enough
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    dot schmidt
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    A Look at the Annual Foal Crop- These are the North America Foal crop numbers published in the Harness Racing Update.
    Foal Year Foals
    1987 22,911
    1988 22,183
    1989 20,894
    1990 19,858
    1991 18,346
    1992 17,001
    1993 16,225
    1994 15,062
    1995 14,458
    1997 14,249
    1998 14,001
    1999 13,717
    2000 14,475
    2001 14,683
    2002 15,031
    2003 15,197
    2004 15,256
    2005 14,909
    2006 14,106
    2007 13,149
    2008 12,228
    2009 11,452
    2010 10,579
    2011 9,859
    2012 8630*
    *Estimate

    Roger I think there might be a bit more then just economic fluctuations happening.


    VVV where is that money tree that will fix everything?

  4. #14
    Junior Member Weanling RFlensing will become famous soon enough
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    Roger Flensing
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    I could be wrong, but it looks like the numbers of sires and live foals have been in decline since the mid-to-late 1980s.

  5. #15
    Senior Member Colt clumsy will become famous soon enough
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    Greg Snudden
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    Quote Originally Posted by Triple V View Post
    IMO, there are a few major problems the Industry currently faces.

    1) Presently there are simply not enough Owners on hand who are willing to race the current foal crop, let alone the Industry embarking on a course of breeding more foals. The HRA Breeders Panel did some excellent work, returned some fantastic statistical research and made a number of excellent suggestions however that particular aspect of their report (the breed more foals mantra) was a steaming great load of old bollocks if ever there was one.

    2) The current number of horses that we do breed have long been scanadlously under-utilized either by way of having their racing careers greatly curtailed either by that which is effectively a 'force them out through the top' handicapping system... or otherwise by way way of a straight up lack of reasonable racing opportunities against their own sex (fillies and mares).
    Wholesale changes in handicapping & a far more pragmatic approach to reasonable racing opportunities for the approx. 50% of the annual foal crop who's requirements we currently only give lip service to at best, fillies & mares, would be smart and welcome moves.

    3) Hand in hand with (2) is a flipside...the furphy that young horses are annually being burned up. This is simply not the case.
    Recent official studies & figures suggest the complete opposite, as compared to their predecessors the foals we are breeding these days are in fact getting to the track in far greater %'s / numbers, they are having more starts per age group & they are racing for longer. This goes directly to the HUGE increase in available sire quality that we have seen in the last decade.
    The young horse being burned up routine is simply not a plausible reason why there are less horses racing/smaller fields. Instead, that aspect goes directly and inescapably back to the above (1)...a lack of Owners. It is no more no less complicated than that.


    In conjunction with the above, when you then consider the ebb & flow of local, State, National & International economic conditions & how they are directly and indirectly impacting on the above, none of the problems that we & numerous other Industries face should come as any great suprise. We can go into each and every aspect and disect the nitty gritty of this & that & the other & that's by no means a bad thing because it keeps things sharp & focussed...but ultimately & inescapably, $$$money$$$ fixes everything.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaiSHcHM0PA
    I think you are on the money with this thread.

  6. #16
    Member Yearling hillbillydeluxe will become famous soon enough
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    Michael Freeman
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    Retired
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    now-Generals Daughter & Passaic River
    For someone who is relatively youngish I returned to the sport i LOVED but the problem is simple, PRIZEMONEY.
    I race both gallopers and Pacers and I cannot believe the fees trainers charge, I know they cannot help it due to the costs and this is where the administraters need to get it right.
    My gallopers pay for pacers and believe it or not I pay $40 a day plus extras in the gallops and minimum prizemoney is $8500 (country),much more provincial. I pay nearly that in Harness racing where the majority of races are either $3000 or $5000. if you want to compare the city rates to prizemoney then there is no comparison.
    I have invested heavily in pacers and to run it straight it would be run at a loss. There has to be incentives for owners and also trainers and drivers, maybe Menangle's prizemoney is too much maybe spread it around. I feel absolutely sorry for breeders as I can buy yearlings for less than service fee, that too happens in the other industry but I find you could lease a galloper much more easier than a pacer.
    Finally, maybe making it harder to buy horses from NZ (My mother is a kiwi) so it's not personal but it means another import is taking the place of a local horse foaling and starting it's career. I remember many years ago they use to have sires stakes races and attached to that were owner/breeder bonuses, does that still happen in Provincial/Country racing?

  7. #17
    Senior Member Horse Of The Year broncobrad has a spectacular aura about
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    Brad Leach
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    Todays Bulli at Menangle meeting, attractive in the fact there are a couple of up and comers going around but woeful numbers. One race has 9 going around, 2 have 8, 3 have 7 and 2 have 6. One $3K, one $6K, the rest are worth $10K. If the powers that be can't see a problem with that then we are r*#ted. As a betting proposition this meeting is a basket case!
    Last edited by broncobrad; 02-18-2013 at 01:05 PM. Reason: Can't do maths

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