Reply With QuoteGiven all the shit that has emerged in NSW in the last 2 days makes you wonder why anyone wants to race harness horses at all, doesn't matter where they come from.
Lance, agree regarding losses to overseas corporate bookmakers and the like, about $50 - $70 million missing from stakes to all three codes on some estimates. Not just TAB down though, spend on pokies down also. And yes there are NZ TAB issues that need to be resolved, big ones. Cheers John
Given all the shit that has emerged in NSW in the last 2 days makes you wonder why anyone wants to race harness horses at all, doesn't matter where they come from.
It looks like horse numbers is even a bigger problem in NZ. They are so worried about whats happening in Aust, they fail to see the problem in their own back yard.
A second MEETING(in just the last few weeks) has been cancelled next week due to insufficient nominations. Not to mention all the trials that have been cancelled recently as well.
it appears that so many horses are being exported, they cant even fill fields.
Midfrew - whats going on?
Roosters, not sure. Trying to work it out by getting the numbers together from vaious sources. In addition to the above Forbury could only muster seven races and this Sunday at Rangiora was not overly full on the noms. Hopefully just seasonal. But I fear given the drop in foal numbers and almost 800 exports to Australia we may have a problem. Perhaps we need an Export Fee! Going to be hard to fill 12-race programs from mid March next year when harness becomes a Thursday to Sunday sport.
John
Midfrew the other way to look at it - does NZ really need these 14/15/16/17 horse fields?
It appears that all horse codes in many countries around the world are experiencing a similar decline. Not all places, but many. Maybe it quite simply is a sign of the times and the huge foal numbers from years gone by are simply an abherration in the modern day.
It goes without saying that racing isn't as popular as it once was. I had a lunch this week with a bloke who was 74. He owned gallopers and he said his dad (whom would be say +/- 100 now) and all his mates were all into racing. All of them. So through sheer wieght of numbers, we have to expect some sort of decline because there are so many challenges to it as a relaxation / hobby medium.
In this day and age you can get a stack of entertainment for very, very little outlay. Look at what SKY channel provides in terms of sport coverage. The kids of today are growing up with sports betting and a bucketload of sports, while up to 30/40 years ago it was all about racing.
Maybe we have to realise that our position on the sporting landscape is smaller than what it currently is.
exactly BM, everyone i know that punts, punts on sports or pokies, sports through multi\\\'s and pokies when there pissed
never on the trots, a very small number on the greyhounds - they love the lottery factor
Post #304 and #305 exacty. I yearn for the day every track has a restaurant / bar on premises just to get people near the track.
perth last night 109 starters 56 from new zealand 50 percent imported
All good for the Australian Breeding Industry must make breeder's in the west feel rosey seeing this and some people wonder why this report was done to try and assist breeder'sOriginally Posted by trigger
Have whoever you want on but don't ever have yourself on
TBM, do not disagree about the big fields. What the wagering turnover figures do prove conclusively is that you need 12+ equally rated horses in a field to maximise turnover. Drop even one or two below 12 and the wagering drops by a greater proportion.
Your second point is on the money. My personal biggest concern is not the lack of foal numbers but the diminishing number of owners. This is one reason why I think HRA is crazy to deter cheap purchases of going horses from NZ with the Import Fee because access to NZ enables current and new owners to get into and/or stay in the industry relatively cheaply, and have a chance of a win!
One figure I would like to see published is total number of NZ imports that had at least one start in a race v. total number that recorded a win for the last five years. I suspect that the percentage is very high. We all know, as you pointed out in an earlier post, that the sport/industry is for enthusiasts who like to win races. An NZ import increases your chances of winning.
Last edited by Midfrew; 08-13-2011 at 01:20 PM. Reason: typo
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