HRNSW/NSWHRC- nice work fellas

[triplev123]

http://www.harness.org.au/news-article.cfm?news_id=16787

I've seen something similar to this done in Canada with an 'Ontario breds preferred' condition to a series of races.
Here's hoping the NSW Trainers get behind this initiative.

[BFF]

interesting move by NSW. does this mean perhaps, we are sick of NZ imports taking our money?

[Greg Hando]

About bloody time

[Flashing Red]

I know a lot of local NSW trainers have been complaining about the competition now provided by a number of interstate/NZ trainers and no doubt other high profile trainers that are making their way to NSW due to Menangle. I wonder if this is a response to that? I'm always for catering for the little guy as well as the little guy. I know Yonkers in NYC changed some of their conditions or added conditions to claimers to allow the little guy a bigger piece of the pie, too by excluding some of the bigger stables that dominate...

In saying that though, trainers in NSW have to realise is it going to get harder now. They have had it easy for so many years now, must be a bit of a shock to the system to have all these big guns move in....

[triplev123]

It's all got to do with encouraging nominations Flashing.
Saturday nights at Menangle have struggled in recent weeks but I don't know how much of it is due to any new aspects...though there's no denying that the well graded Kiwi ready mades would have some effect. This very same lack of noms thing has traditionally/historically happened around August-September here in NSW & particularly so here in Sydney every year since pretty much as far back as I can remember taking notice of it. There is ALWAYS a struggle to fill fields in certain grades between about the middle of August through to the first week of October.
It's also around this time every year that the 'put your shoes on the window ledge and jump out' crew here in NSW start to stir, pointing at the lack of noms as somehow evidencing a downturn, that drastic measures need to be taken etc etc. They should just fire down some Lithium and take a breath and shut the &%$# up IMO. :mad:Every year they will bemoan this traditional low point in the noms and shout out about the sky falling and every year it never does.

[David Summers]

I don't know if others remember it , but when I was very young , in the late 60's and 70's I seem to remember that harness racing , at least at Harold Park , went into recess from July to September.

Amazing to think about that these days.

[triplev123]

Christ, you must be as old as dirt.;)
Behold...Ozninja approacheth, armed with scythe & clock. :p
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QaxGLpN9PNE/TdsJmwXIFCI/AAAAAAAAAGA/bQgOAt_Fx1E/s220/FatherTime.jpg

PS. Yes, I remember that. I was still in Primary School.

[Ribbon of Light]

Oz, I remember when that use to happen.
Did you ever hear the fellow broadcast the trots at the winning post below the old grandstand.
Gee that grandstand wall was hot on a summers night,faced directly west.
This area was near the old bell lap indicator.
Loved the way the photo finishes came down on the steel cord in the little carrier.
Loved a lot of this about Harold Park,except for the Millers beer,it was flamin' awful in the plastic cups.
Use to give me a headache the next day.
Them were the days lol.

[David Summers]

Christ, you must be as old as dirt.;)
Behold...Ozninja approacheth, armed with scythe & clock. :p

PS. Yes, I remember that. I was still in Primary School.

I was in a baby pram !! , and kicked up a fuss when my dad had nowhere to take me on those Friday nights!

[triplev123]

Millers is awful all round. I reckon you could drink it from a Gold Chalice that was found in the Ark of the Covenant and it still be would be awful.
My lasting memory of HP will be of the faces peering through the wire fence atop Scotsman's Hill and of Jack Starr's runners moving deftly throughout the assembled crowd up there, taking bets & then zipping over to the phone box to call them in.

[David Summers]

Loved the way the photo finishes came down on the steel cord in the little carrier.

Yes , those were the days. Remember how we used to think that was really "high tech".

[triplev123]

I started going to...or rather I started being taken to Harness Racing meetings around 1971-1972. I was 3 or 4 years of age. My earliest memory of Harness Racing is not of Harold Park though, it is of Menangle. Back then you used to be able to drive pretty much right up to the side of the track and just park your car. I'd get out and go sit on the bonnet all day and watch the races. To have seen it all those years ago and to go out there today and see what it has become...it never ceases to be an uplifting experience.

[Ribbon of Light]

OZ High tech all right.
What about the old tote board,try to read that in a hurry.
Were you there the night Cocky Raider beat Lucky Creed to break his winning sequence.
What I really enjoyed was Ray Conroy's calling,he was terrific.
Speaking of race calling, one of the worst calls I can remember was the Miracle Mile in either 1989 or 1990.
Both won by Westburn Grant.
The one I'm referring to is when Almeta Boy ran second, it was at Harold Park.
Almeta Boy run was a super effort,missed the start hopelessly and was off the track from about the 600,the time was also fantastic.
Was storming home at the end,the caller Ray Hadley seemed to miss the enormity of the run.
It's a replay worth watching.
He was driven by Steven Dove.

[Ribbon of Light]

VVV Lovely memories.
I can remember going there in the 60's for night meetings.
I started to go to HP as a teenager, Ross Chisolm had his horses stabled in my street in Haberfield.
He had some good ones in those days,Sureproof and Sure Great to mention a couple.

[bbd]

That race where Cocky Raider beat Lucky Creed is possibly the best race I have ever seen.
I was standing right on the finishing post in that old wooden grandstand.
Another great thing about those times and something I think they should do now. Straight after the race they would put the photo finish in a glass case just outside (I think) the stewards room so everyone could see it.

[David Summers]

OZ High tech all right.
What about the old tote board,try to read that in a hurry.
Were you there the night Cocky Raider beat Lucky Creed to break his winning sequence.
What I really enjoyed was Ray Conroy's calling,he was terrific.
Speaking of race calling, one of the worst calls I can remember was the Miracle Mile in either 1989 or 1990.
Both won by Westburn Grant.
The one I'm referring to is when Almeta Boy ran second, it was at Harold Park.
Almeta Boy run was a super effort,missed the start hopelessly and was off the track from about the 600,the time was also fantastic.
Was storming home at the end,the caller Ray Hadley seemed to miss the enormity of the run.
It's a replay worth watching.
He was driven by Steven Dove.

"Ray Hadley" , gggrrr!!! , don't get me started. Yes , Ray Conroy a legendary caller and a great bloke too. Dad was a good friend and we often met up with him for a chat at HP in between calls. Talk about a passion for harness racing. I will never forget him , he had a big influence on a lot of young harness fans like me. A brilliant , accurate caller.

[Mister JayKO]

What about the lad that used to do the phantom calls of miracle miles past down near the big screen in the old betting ring at Harold Park.

[triplev123]

Bolts most certainly did not cover himself in glory that night. Good bloke though, he's a local here. Solid as. L-O-V-E-S- a punt too. Years ago, and I'm talking 20 years or somewhere there, back when we were all much younger and all used to live elsewhere, Bolts used to haunt our local TAB along with Rabs, Sterlo and assorted others. Those blokes loved to have a bet. It was a great TAB, verging on a spiritual place. It was right next door to a Bottle Shop and then next door down from there was a really good Hamburger shop. Someone would back a winner and they'd shout beers and burgers. The bloke who used to run the TAB at the time was a bit of an arsehole but he was happy for the business and so he used to look the other way.I shudder to think how much $$$ I put through there prior to meeting Mrs. Triple and having my wicked ways curtailed.

[triplev123]

What about the lad that used to the phantom calls of miracle miles past down near the big screen in the old betting ring at Harold Park.

[VVV] Geeze....I remember him. He was an absolute STAR! One night Golden Alley would skip clear. Another night it would be the great Halwes and Newman. He was terrific.

[eliteblood]

Oz, I remember when that use to happen.
Did you ever hear the fellow broadcast the trots at the winning post below the old grandstand.
Gee that grandstand wall was hot on a summers night,faced directly west.
This area was near the old bell lap indicator.
Loved the way the photo finishes came down on the steel cord in the little carrier.
Loved a lot of this about Harold Park,except for the Millers beer,it was flamin' awful in the plastic cups.
Use to give me a headache the next day.
Them were the days lol.

I am enjoying hearing of everyone's fond memories. It sounds like Harold Park was a great place back in those days.

[triplev123]

Back in those days? Says he who played footy with Methuselah. ;)

[Greg Hando]

I know a lot of local NSW trainers have been complaining about the competition now provided by a number of interstate/NZ trainers and no doubt other high profile trainers that are making their way to NSW due to Menangle. I wonder if this is a response to that? I'm always for catering for the little guy as well as the little guy. I know Yonkers in NYC changed some of their conditions or added conditions to claimers to allow the little guy a bigger piece of the pie, too by excluding some of the bigger stables that dominate...

In saying that though, trainers in NSW have to realise is it going to get harder now. They have had it easy for so many years now, must be a bit of a shock to the system to have all these big guns move in....

Flashing come down and try and win a race anywhere it aint easy

[Ribbon of Light]

VVV Wasn't Methuselah Noah's Grandfather.
Now that's going way back.
Almeta Boy......... what a horse,what a run.
Whatever happened to Steven Dove.
I think he may have been Vin Knight's brother-in-law.
When Mount Eden won the Miracle Mile I won the TAB Daily Double.
Your right about Ray Hadley,great bloke,don't know him personally but I agree with most things he says.

The second was Atomic Smoke,driven by V W Frost,started at 33/1.

[Ribbon of Light]

My mates father was a bag man for a bookie at HP on Friday night's.
I think the bookmaker's name was Allen.
He had an arrangement to park his car in the backyard of a private residence up on the hill behind the tote board.
I guess it was for security, paid the guy $2 for the luxury.
We often got the tip for a horse called Goose Step, driven by C R Elliot.
Got the money a few times.
Jimmy Bennett used to drive a horse called Wonder Wings around that time.
Don Clough had a horse called Special Prince,got rolled when odds on one night by Hot Pot 50/1 driven by Keven Rivett.
Was there the night Manaroa won the Lord Mayors Cup with N B Hargraves aboard.
He blitzed a good field that night including Welcome Advice.

[Flashing Red]

Flashing come down and try and win a race anywhere it aint easy

It is hard to win a race anywhere, I feel NSW in recent years haven't had it as tough as Qld (competiting against the likes of huge super stables McCarthys and Dixons who will have 3 or more horses in each race) or Victoria (where the winning metropolitan trainer won't even tally 30 wins for the season); now it will be the toughest place to win in Australia... a pretty big turnaround for the locals to get use to. JMHO.

[Gtrain]

Its funny to listen to everyones favourite memories of HP. Selfish but mine clearly was copping a tip for a mare named Kidmen on Miracle Mile night. Got tipped her to roll Nidya and she got up the inside to win. Was on Nidya each way too at 70s and Kidmen was 40s. Things got really really messy after that. Dunno if Ive backed a winner since.

[ringman]

OZ High tech all right.
What about the old tote board,try to read that in a hurry.

He was driven by Steven Dove.

Here it is and note the pools and its on a dog meeting to boot

[ringman]

What about the lad that used to do the phantom calls of miracle miles past down near the big screen in the old betting ring at Harold Park.

do you mean freddy he was at it for years

[ringman]

Its hard to imagine now that Harold Park once had 4 betting rings there were more people in the interstate ring than go to meetings these days.anyone remember the name of the hotdog bloke who owned them all ? he passed away last year but his name has slipped my mind.
he was a owner/punter and was loaded with cash and assets.

[Ribbon of Light]

Ringman,
I think that was him.
Short guy with silver brushed back hair and tanned skin.
Used to call them with one hand over his ear,very accurate.
I remember the rush from the main bookmakers ring just before they jumped down to in front of the winning post on the concrete steps.
I recall having a feed of fish cocktails and chips with a squirt of lemon.
This was got from a shop at the top of the bird cage enclosure.
Many a time I tried to get square on the last at Mildura with a group of other desperadoes.
Not knowing the form or the horses very well.

[ringman]

ROL
Yes thats fred story gos he was going to be a caller and did call some races at the old granville gymkana but had a nervous breakdown after a family tradgety.

yeah the fish cocktails were nice

[Ribbon of Light]

RINGMAN.........Poor Fred, seemed to be well known.
You would see the same faces there every Friday night but would never know their names.
I had so many favourite horses,mostly they were of average ability but I liked them anyway.
Some that come to mind are Smokey Blaze, Knighthood,Daring Sally,Far Away Places ( a trotter ),Seventy Seven,Silver Portrait,
Bannerman,Spike,Pundit,Intangible Command ( another trotter ),Bilpin Boy etc etc

[common sense]

flash has nailed it here... it should always be tough to win races, especially 8k races, i dont like them trying to make weaker races just to fill up a field

money better spent keeping high metro graded horses racing, thats who people want to see.. perhaps 8k dividend by 20 = an extra 400 bucks for every FFA horse that turns up to the races that week, it would take 2 weeks and we'd have 20 high class FFA horses (10 colts and 10 mares // 1 race each) racing every week

[gregcattell]

Steven Dove is in W.A. & yes he is married to Vins sister Sue

[Ribbon of Light]

Thanks for that info Greg.
Gee he drove a great race on Almeta Boy that night of the Miracle Mile.
I think with an even start he would have made it interesting for Westburn Grant.
I encourage anyone to have a look at the replay.

[David Summers]

Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvDsrywiS4A

[Ribbon of Light]

OZ.....Thanks for the link.
An unbelievable run,Westburn Grant got all the favours.
Almeta Boy gave them a good start and still finished it off.
He won another six races after the Miracle Mile run,27 altogether.

[triplev123]

flash has nailed it here... it should always be tough to win races, especially 8k races, i dont like them trying to make weaker races just to fill up a field

money better spent keeping high metro graded horses racing, thats who people want to see.. perhaps 8k dividend by 20 = an extra 400 bucks for every FFA horse that turns up to the races that week, it would take 2 weeks and we'd have 20 high class FFA horses (10 colts and 10 mares // 1 race each) racing every week


How many alter egos are you going to run on this forum Buster?
Thesushitrain, doubled123, now common sense? Same ISP, same person, across the board.
Why not just go with the old cricketing parlance of Slow Turner? :p
Uncle Russ would frown on such behaviour you know.

[aussiebreno]

Why are you complaining VVV. You can get 4 Bottles of Makers Mark now!

[triplev123]

THAT'S GOLD! Hahahahahaha. Nice work Breno. The memory of an Elephant.;)

[Daryl New]

Lets hope that the NSW Trainers do get behind it. As it stands NZ imports are dominating Metro racing because - questionable programming, ease of access to the market for those who can afford it, and a stagnant NZ racing product. This is an attempt to share some of the largesse throughout the state by encouraging those in the country areas and metro to race at Menangle on Saturdays. The conditions of MO only and prizemoney restrictions appear about right so that one horse cannot dominate, however they need to vary the distance also. I'm over all these scampers.I think it was 2 weeks ago when 68% of the horses racing at Menangle Sat night where NZeders.